Right-Touch Regulation
Continuous Improvement
Quality Care
Investigations
Ensuring timely resolution of patient complaints
Throughout 2022 , we remained focused on our purpose to serve in the public interest by promoting safe medical practice . Ontarians deserve quality care and must have confidence in the province ’ s medical profession .
The principles of right-touch regulation inform every aspect of our complaint and investigative framework . In evaluating risk and being proportionate in our decision-making , we are nimble and targeted in our oversight of the medical profession . Through right-touch regulation , we are better positioned to anticipate and respond to issues of public protection .
Courtesy Calls
Our Courtesy Call initiative is an example of a more proportionate approach . The practice is simple and straightforward – when we receive a low-risk , non-clinical concern from a patient , we will make a courtesy call to the physician . CPSO made 1,371 courtesy calls to physicians in 2022 — a 50 percent increase from the 914 courtesy calls made in 2021 .
Top Reasons for Making a Courtesy Call :
• Medical records
• Communication concerns
• 3rd party forms
Both doctors and patients have appreciated the personal touch of these calls , and how they have prevented minor issues from escalating into formal complaints and investigations by CPSO . This , in turn , frees up our resources to tackle higher-risk concerns .
Complaints
Like other regulatory colleges across Canada , we have seen an increase in complaints since the pandemic . Many of the complaints appear to be borne from frustration of an inability to receive medical care in a timely way . This was a theme echoed in the Ontario Patient Ombudsman ’ s report , which stated that “ the pandemic continues to be an important factor in the complaints [ it ] receives ,” noting staffing issues , access to care and communication issues related to fraying tempers headed the list of reasons patients filed a complaint . We believe the rise in complaints that we have received over the last several years is a barometer of the pressures within the health care system . A small percentage of the complaints are of high or moderate clinical concern , with the majority being about communication or administrative concerns .
In 2022 , we received 4,225 new complaints . Slightly higher than the 4,173 complaints received in 2021 .
REDUCED THE NUMBER OF CASES !
2022 1,444 ongoing cases
2018 2,242 ongoing cases
45 % of cases ended in early resolution
The majority of complaints are low risk and fall under :
Communication and Administration Concerns
CPSO ANNUAL REPORT 2022 17