QUALITY PRACTICE
Peer Review of Medical Records :
In spring 2019 , the Peer Review of Medical Records program became a mandatory component of the College ’ s Quality Assurance Program with oversight by the Quality Assurance Committee . The program was put on hold in March 2020 due to COVID-19 with tentative plans to resume in early 2021 . To date , 68 reviews have been completed with 50 % receiving a Successful outcome , 41 % receiving a Partially Successful outcome , and 9 % receiving a Not Successful outcome .
The College uses aggregate data from the Peer Review of Medical Records program to identify the areas requiring more attention in medical records . The College is committed to supporting the profession with continued improvement in the important area of record-keeping .
Peer Advisory Conversation :
The College completed the final phase of the Peer Advisory Conversation Pilot in 2019 . The conversation tools were evaluated and revised based on feedback from the participating veterinarians and Peer Advisors during the four phases . The full program was to launch as a voluntary Quality Assurance program in 2020 , however , the launch was put on hold due to COVID-19 . The tentative launch date of the PAC will be early 2021 .
FACILITY ACCREDITATION
New Facility Accreditation Model and Inspection Standards :
The College Council approved the piloting of the new inspection process and draft facility standards to take place starting January 2021 . Piloting of the standards is proposed to take place with voluntary facilities prior to full-scale stakeholder consultation to permit “ on the ground ” feedback and potential revision . The pilot will run in two phases over two years . Approximately 50 voluntary facilities will be inspected within the new model each year . After each pilot phase , an evaluation will take place and a report will be provided to the Accreditation Committee and Council , and shared with stakeholders .
Non-Compliance with Weekly Controlled Drug Audit :
The Accreditation Committee determined that noncompliance with the management of controlled drugs is an area of risk . To address this issue of non-compliance , a veterinary facility which is not performing the weekly controlled drug audit at the time of their accreditation inspection , and has not provided evidence of correction within 30 days , will be referred to the Accreditation Committee . In addition , a letter from the Committee Chair is sent to the facility director whose facility will be inspected to inform them about this new compliance measure .
The Registrar referred seven veterinary facilities to the Accreditation Committee for on-going non-compliance with the weekly controlled drug audit . Consequently , the Accreditation Committee imposed conditions and limitations on the certificate of accreditation , such as a shorter renewal term and submissions of the weekly controlled drug audit at regular intervals to the College .
Temporary Use of Video Inspections during Public Health Emergency :
The appropriateness of conducting the facility accreditation via video conferencing was determined on a case-by-case basis and required the Registrar ’ s approval . An undertaking was signed by the veterinarian acknowledging that a condition of being issued a certificate of accreditation was a condition that an in-person inspection would take place in the future . 27 video inspections occurred between April 17 to July 31 , 2020 .
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COLLEGE OF VETERINARIANS OF ONTARIO ANNUAL REPORT 2020