Annual Report 2015 | Page 21

Protecting and eMpowering

Public members of Council and members of the medical profession sit together on the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee( ICRC) and carefully consider all the facts of these cases. Dr. Robert McMurtry, an orthopedic surgeon, and Ms. Joan Powell, a public member, are members of the ICRC.

Investigations photo: D. W. Dorken

Sometimes, the College will receive information that raises possible concerns with a physician’ s care or behaviour. A duty of medical regulation is to investigate such concerns.

The Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee( ICRC) oversees all investigations into physician care, conduct, and capacity. This includes all public complaints, broader practice( Registrar’ s) investigations and inquiries into incapacity.

Registrar’ s investigations and incapacity investigations remain small in numbers proportional to public complaints. They are, however, often more intricate than most patient-related complaints, which require looking at the patient’ s record and relevant information related to the patient( complainant’ s) concerns. Registrar’ s investigations include review of 25 patient charts by an external assessor, interviews, and often observation. Incapacity investigations include various types of external health assessments, interviews, and review of records.

What trends are we seeing?

Over the past few years, we have seen an increase in the following types of investigations:

• screening potential patients for admission into practices;

• physician advertising;

• care and record keeping in walk-in clinics;

• billing concerns;

• infection control practices;

• diagnostic testing without clinical indication;

• concerns about inflated cost of lenses, ophthal-

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