The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia is going to court to shut down skin-care clinics run by an unlicensed doctor who shares a name with a longtime employee of the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) dermatology department.
The college filed a petition in BC Supreme Court on November 15 naming Mehran Ghoreishi aka Seyed Mohammadmehran Ghoreishi, Mehran Ghoreishi dba Vancouver Laser Center, Complement Healthcare and Perfect Look Laser Hair Removal and Photo Facial Centre as respondents.
According to the petition, Ghoreishi and the clinics have offered Botox, dermal filler, thread lift, dermabrasion, microdermabrasion and platelet-rich plasma procedures without authorization under the Health Professions Act. Vancouver Laser Center and Complement Healthcare both share an address at 260-2121 Marine Drive in West Vancouver, while Perfect Look operates out of 830 Denman Street in Vancouver.
Ghoreishi has never been registered with the college but “nonetheless provides services in a clinic setting that only registrants of the College may lawfully provide,” the petition states.
“While doing so he also unlawfully uses reserved titles, including ‘doctor’ and ‘Dr.,’ in a manner that expresses or implies he is a registrant of the College who is entitled to practise medicine.”
Meanwhile, the procedures offered by Ghoreishi and the clinics can all cause “substantial harm” if conducted improperly.
“Mr. Ghoreishi’s conduct places public health at grave risk. The College has been put to expense in its investigation of Mr. Ghoreishi and prosecuting him in this proceeding,” the petition states. “It should not be necessary to use court time to prevent Mr. Ghoreishi from doing what he knows or ought to know he his prohibited by law from doing.”
However, the petition does not mention that Ghoreishi shares a name with Dr. Mehran Ghoreishi, who is a research associate at UBC’s immunodermatology lab and recipient of multiple research grants from the Canadian Dermatology Foundation. The college’s lawyer, Brent Olthuis with Hunter Litigation, told Business in Vancouver that the two are indeed namesakes but could not comment further.
The college seeks injunctions to restrain Ghoreishi from practising medicine “so long as he is not a registrant of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.” Ghoreishi and the clinics had not responded to the petition by press time.
