HPRB's Interference Quashed by BCSC

In Moore v. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. & the Health Professions Review Board, 2013 BCSC 2081, the BCSC "slapped the Board's wrists" and reigned in its interventionist approach in this case.  The College's Registrar is authorized under section 32(3) of the HPA to investigate and dismiss certain kinds of complaints.  An individual who was a prisoner in the correctional system at the time, complained that a physician had wrongly changed his prescription for a particular drug.  The Registrar investigated the complaint.  The complainant's story was inconsistent with the physician's version of events.  Nevertheless, in view of the nature of the complaint, and the evidence considered, the Registrar dismissed it.  The Review Board decided that the investigation was inadequate and directed the Registrar to review the file, interview the complainant and ask him certain specified questions.  The BCSC concluded that the Review Board's decision was patently unreasonable in that it failed to take into account the statutory provisions around the Registrar's role (para 113) and did not accept the deference it owed to the College (para 118).  It said that the Registrar's decision fell within a range of outcomes that were reasonable and rational.  Therefore the Board was not entitled to intervene.  (para 121)