Everything You Need to Know About the 'Bad Practice' Investigation

OCCRP's "Bad Practice" investigates how doctors banned or suspended for serious misconduct can relocate and continue practicing in other countries, highlighting gaps in cross-border data sharing, oversight, and transparency across European regulators and the EU’s IMI alert system. Building a database from public records and FOI requests, reporters confirmed many such doctors remain active, documented inconsistent use of alerts and legal constraints among member states, and captured responses from authorities, experts, and victims calling for stronger cooperation, clearer guidance, and more robust safeguards.