Former P.A. doctor wants to address ‘public bias’ against him

Following the publication of a CBC investigative report this week, the CPSS said it would investigate Furstenberg’s online presence. paNOW reached out to the college for comment but it said they could not offer a spokesperson on the matter until next week.

Furstenberg wants his perspective told

In the wake of the CBC report, Furstenberg said he wanted to address what he called “the vilification and assassination” of his character since revelations of his misconduct surfaced in 2017.

“I’ve been trying to keep my family and friends out of the public eye but I do feel it’s been somewhat slanted and I need to speak up and give some perspective from my side,” he told paNOW.

Furstenberg admitted to his professional wrongdoing but wanted the public to know that he was not a threat as he pursued his digital health coaching venture.

“For sure I’m not here to seek sympathy and to say that I’m a victim after losing a marriage of almost two decades and pretty much losing everything,” he said. “I’ve made a few wrong choices that I’ve paid for, and it’s not OK for any physician to have relations like that with clients or patients. But I’m hoping to get past the public bias.”

Furstenberg said he wanted to talk to paNOW to try to get past ‘the public bias.’ (Glenn Hicks/paNOW Staff)

Furstenberg noted none of his “mistakes” were criminal and “nothing was without consent”, saying the clients he’d had sexual relations with were met outside of his practice.

“None of them were patients first and [I did not] use my authority as a physician to get them interested in me,” he said. Furstenberg also claimed none of the 10 people on the list of cases being investigated by the CPSS went to the college with a complaint, but suggested it was others who brought the matter to their attention.

“That doesn’t mean what I did was in any way acceptable, but what I’m asking for is understanding [from the public] that I have a lot to offer in the health and medical field and that’s why I’m looking for an avenue to offer that.”

Why he thinks he’s still a doctor

That avenue is a Facebook page in which Furstenberg offers online videos of health tips and advice. That is what drew concerns in the CBC report, especially his online moniker ‘Dr. Jof’ that he continues to use even after his investigation. That could imply to potential clients that he is still a registered physician.

While Furstenberg insists he is not duping the public, he maintains he should be able to use the term doctor just as a qualified carpenter is always a carpenter even if they move onto something else, as he put it.

“My medical qualifications are there, my experience is there,” he said. “I am not misleading anybody that I’m practising medicine or I’m a licensed registered practitioner.”

He did however admit to and apologize for only recently removing his previous website doctorjof.com which had been operational before and after he lost his licence.

I was not trying to do anything sneaky. I welcome any inquiry _{– Josias Furstenberg}

paNOW asked Furstenberg — who rents a home in the city with his girlfriend — if he understood that some people might find his online presence inappropriate, especially when it came to potential customers who may be vulnerable. He said that might be a valid perception but he insisted he was not taking one-on-one personal consultations as part of the business. The CBC investigation cast doubt on that though when an undercover reporter was offered a potential private meeting with him in Saskatoon.

Furstenberg insists any such meeting would not have happened without a chaperone, “just from my own piece of mind and my own legal protection,” he said. “Whatever I do in terms of health coaching would have to be online; one-on-one, even if I did consider it, would have to be under strict circumstances.”

Asked about the prospect of facing a probe from the CPSS regarding his online health coaching Furstenberg said he welcomed it.

“I don’t want to do anything illegal, I’m not trying to become a medical practitioner again, that has past, so I have nothing to hide,” he said. “I was not trying to do anything sneaky. I welcome any inquiry.”

Furstenberg also wanted to dispel talk among some media that he had fled to his native South Africa during the CPSS investigation. He insisted he had gone back to South Africa to visit family and explore work options, but he never ran away.

Claiming the right to earn a living

“Have I not considered never coming back?” he said. “That would be like letting the public bias win. I’m a normal person who has bills to pay. Yes, I’ve made mistakes. I’ve never denied that, but I have the right to exist and to help.”

As some members of the public will no doubt question the appropriateness of Furstenberg’s online health venture, he said he just wanted to get on with trying to make an honest living as he’d become almost unemployable.

“There’s an urgent need to put food on the table,” he said. “I am not a threat. I’m doing what I’m doing openly and I sincerely want to offer help to those who do need help. That’s where I’m at.”

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow

by Glenn Hicks

Former P.A. doctor wants to address ‘public bias’ against him

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