LOOKING AHEAD
trate our goals. The median age of physicians in
Ontario is 51 years, so over the next 20 years, a
significant number of our physicians are going to
be over the age of 70. In harnessing the College
data for analytics, we will be better able to answer
the questions:
• What will be the composition of active practis-
ing physicians in Ontario over the next 20 years?
• Do we need different assessment programs for
physicians who are at different ages and stages
in their career, based on how they practise and
their practice experience?
• Can we support physicians with early engage-
ment to potentially prevent complaints down
the road?
We are also looking at further expanding our
repertoire of assessments based on evidence. For
example, the literature suggests that increasing
physician age is associated with declining practice
competency. To this end, we already assess all
physicians who are 70 years of age or over in On-
tario to fulfill our mandate of supporting physi-
cian competence and practice improvement. The
literature also suggests that other ‘risk factors’
may be associated with practice quality – such
as being in a solo or isolated practice. There may
also be ‘support factors’ for high quality practice
– for example, physicians working in a group
setting tend to have fewer practice issues. Using
good data, current literature and our contextual
experience as the basis for evidence, we can better
tailor our programs based on risks and supports
across a physician’s career to optimize the effec-
tiveness of our programs, support our mandate,
and use our resources efficiently.
The use of data and analytics will be key to
the many other initiatives across the College now
underway, including the Education Strategic
Initiative. One component of this strategy is to
understand the data associated with measuring
the constructs and effectiveness of educational
decisions focused on professionalism and com-
munication by College committees. Through the
continuous evaluation of education at the Col-
lege, the education strategy will continue to take
shape over the next year.
The long-term impacts of the data strategy
will allow us to routinely use data and evidence
to make good operational decisions; have con-
fidence that our programs are effective and our
operations are efficient; and have the ability to
test new ideas and know that they work – all
towards supporting safe physician practice and
good patient outcomes.
In the coming months, we will also continue
our work in addressing the opioid crisis that is rav-
aging the country. In 2017, we launched a strategy
that takes a wide-ranging approach, one that puts
patient and public safety at the forefront.
The College has identified and committed to
specific actions to ensure safe and appropriate
prescribing. Our work in this area will be in-
formed by the new Canadian Guideline, as well
as by our continued work with a broad range of
partners. Long-term success at addressing this
crisis will continue to require the coordinated ac-
tion of many and we are dedicated to continuing
this work.
As many of you know, this will be my last
Annual Report message to you. I will be leaving
the College in the spring of 2018 to pursue other
interests.
Serving as the Registrar of this College for the
past 15 years has been the greatest professional
experience of my life. It has been a true privilege.
I would like to thank the many Presidents
and members of Council for the opportunity
and support given to me throughout the years. I
would also like to thank the many, many Ontar-
io doctors who have contributed to the College
mission of public protection and, in so doing,
have strengthened the foundation of professional
regulation. And lastly, I would like to thank the
smart, dedicated and hard-working College staff
– if any credit is due, it goes to them. Thank you.
ANNUAL REPORT 2016 39