Investigations
Public member Ms . Lynne Cram and Dr . Anil Chopra , a Toronto emergency department physician , are members of the Inquiries , Complaints and Reports Committee .
Investigations
When the College receives information that raises possible concerns with a physician ’ s care or behaviour , we act quickly to investigate such concerns .
There are three areas of a doctor ’ s practice that our investigations process covers – the three C ’ s :
• Care
• Conduct , and
• Capacity
Care is all about the clinical interactions with a doctor .
Conduct speaks to a doctor ’ s behaviour while delivering care .
Capacity speaks to a doctor ’ s ability to deliver care . Examples of incapacity may relate to substance abuse , physical illness , or mental illness .
Once we ’ ve gathered all the relevant information , a complaint gets reviewed by our Inquiries , Complaints and Reports Committee – or ICRC . The ICRC is comprised of both doctors and members of the public . The Committee oversees public complaint investigations , broader practice ( Registrar ’ s ) investigations , and inquiries into a member ’ s 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 . Registrar ’ s investigations include review of generally 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 .
PHOTO : CLAUDIA HUNG
24 COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF ONTARIO