“ We are committed to continuing to work with our health system partners to increase physician supply in Ontario .”
Registrar / CEO ’ s Message
Answering the Call for Change
Registrar and CEO Dr . Nancy Whitmore reflects on the challenges and accomplishments of 2022
Welcome to our 2022 CPSO Annual Report . With the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to put an enormous strain on the province ’ s health care system , we had another demanding year at the College . Amidst all the challenges that 2022 brought , we continued to make improvements to the way we regulate the practice of medicine in Ontario .
Health human resources shortages across Ontario continue to affect access to care for patients and we are working closely with the Ontario government to address the physician supply issue . Over the past year , we have amended a number of our registration policies to remove barriers and allow more physicians to practise medicine in Ontario and we are committed to continuing to work with our health system partners to increase physician supply in Ontario .
The physician supply shortage is closely related to physician burnout and moral injury , another major priority for us in 2022 . Over the past five years , CPSO has focused on improving our regulatory approach to decrease burden and minimize our role in contributing to burnout . We continue to work diligently to improve processes and apply the principles of right-touch regulation throughout the College . Resulting changes include improving complaint resolution timelines ; supportive and informative communications – including a new podcast ; and significant streamlining of annual renewal questions and process .
In 2020 , we moved away from our historic quality assurance program and launched our proactive Quality Improvement ( QI ) approach . By the end of 2022 , over half of Ontario ’ s practising physicians outside of hospitals have engaged in our QI program .
And for hospital-based physicians we have partnered with close to half of the province ’ s hospitals . This new QI approach has been well received with over 80 percent of physicians reporting that they found the process collaborative and worthwhile .
In 2022 , we also began to educate and inform regarding the threat of Health Disinformation . You may have read in a recent cover story of Dialogue about the ongoing spread of health and medical disinformation impacting the health and wellbeing of citizens around the globe . We had the pleasure of having Mr . Imran Ahmed , founder , and CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate , speak to our Council in March . Mr . Ahmed also sat down with Council President Dr . Rob Gratton to discuss how disinformation influences the way people interact with the health system , and what healthcare providers can do to address it . One of the key concepts Mr . Ahmed highlights is creating “ networks ” of health care providers and influencers to share fact-based information more broadly . This allows health providers to leverage the trust they have earned to inform and influence . Creating networks of good information is one powerful method of countering misinformation and the spread of digital hate .
I want to close with a thank you to our 2022 Council , chaired by Dr . Janet van Vlymen , for guiding our continued innovation . And a warm welcome to Dr . Rob Gratton who takes the helm for 2023 . I encourage you to read our annual report to learn more about our accomplishments — and challenges — of 2022 .
Dr . Nancy Whitmore CPSO Registrar & CEO
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