European Commission Faces Pressure to Strengthen Medical Alert System Amid Massive Investigation into Rogue Doctors

Strategic Insights -

A thorough investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), in partnership with media outlets across Europe, has shed light on a disturbing phenomenon where hundreds of doctors banned for serious misconduct were still practicing in other European jurisdictions, exploiting systemic loopholes and weak oversight mechanisms. The probe, titled Bad Practice, uncovered more than 100 cases of doctors who had lost their medical licenses for egregious offenses – including sexual assault of patients, deliberate misdiagnoses, and gross negligence – yet continued to work in other European jurisdictions.

Key Takeaways:

  • The European Commission's Internal Market Information (IMI) system, designed to facilitate communication between medical authorities in 30 member states, is riddled with inefficiencies and underuse, with several countries filing zero alerts since 2016.
  • Ten other countries have filed fewer than ten alerts in nearly a decade, and many cases of doctors banned for misconduct were still working in other European jurisdictions.
  • Eglė Savulienė, the head of Lithuania's healthcare accreditation authority, explained that identifying the specific doctor referred to in IMI notifications was nearly impossible due to vague data entries.
  • The European Commission's own auditors had identified similar problems in 2023, citing confusion among national authorities about what constitutes a reportable disciplinary action.
  • Norway has been among the most vocal in demanding reforms, with representatives from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research urging officials to overhaul the IMI system and include more comprehensive details in the alerts themselves.
  • The Norwegian Board of Health Supervision reopened dozens of investigations into licensed doctors and subsequently suspended or revoked the licenses of at least 13 physicians.
  • The United Kingdom is also tightening its screening processes for foreign-trained doctors, with the General Medical Council (GMC) piloting "tougher verification through specialist providers" and encouraging other global regulators to "share information more openly and consistently."

Statistics:

  • Since 2016, when the reporting requirement was first introduced, several countries – including Malta, Greece, Liechtenstein, and Estonia – have filed zero alerts through the IMI system.
  • Ten other countries have filed fewer than ten alerts in nearly a decade.
  • The European Commission's own auditors found that IMI recipients were often "overloaded" with alerts but lacked the clarity or resources to process them effectively.
  • The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research has called for overhaul of the IMI system and more comprehensive details in the alerts themselves.

Sources:

  • Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)
  • The Times (London)
  • Weekly Blitz
  • European Commission
  • Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
  • General Medical Council (GMC)
  • Norwegian Board of Health Supervision