An osteopath who had sex with his receptionist and patient has been banned from practising because of the relationship.
The pair worked at the same Victorian clinic when they developed a relationship, which included gym workouts and lunch dates, from about October 2018 to February 2019.
During that time, the osteopath also treated her up to a dozen times.
The Osteopathy Board of Australia took the man to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal over the sexual relationship and for failing to maintain proper records for her treatment.
In a decision handed down last Wednesday, VCAT found the osteopath put the woman's health at risk and breached the code of conduct, and the sexual and professional boundaries guidelines.
VCAT members said he engaged in professional misconduct after failing to record and/or maintain adequate clinical records for the treatment he provided.
They added by not reading the patient's clinical notes after she asked him not to, he "put his friendship before his professional obligations" and ultimately provided her a "lesser standard of care".
He had argued there was a practice or culture of treating colleagues at the clinic, but VCAT said this did not lessen his professional obligations and noted other practitioners who treated the same woman at the clinic made notes.
In a submission, the Osteopathy Board argued that "personal, intimate, and sexual relationships between an osteopath and their patient poses a risk that inappropriate treatment will be provided and has the potential to compromise the treatment of the patient".
The osteopath, who was first registered in 2016, was hired by the clinic as an independent contractor in 2017.
The woman, who cannot be named for privacy reasons, was employed by the clinic as a receptionist and babysitter the following year.
After developing a friendship at first, it became sexual in November 2018 when the woman was invited to sleep at his family's beach house.
VCAT found that while he "did not exploit the power imbalance in the doctor patient relationship" or breach her trust, having a sexual relationship with a patient, even when it was formed outside the clinical setting, "had the potential to compromise care".
He was reprimanded and remains banned after his application to be re-registered as an osteopath was refused.
