reports from council
ernment ’ s updated regulations governing the medical use of marijuana . Under the updated regulations , patients are now permitted to access marijuana in forms other than dried , including fresh buds and leaves , and cannabis oil . Patients are also now permitted to apply to Health Canada for authorization to grow their own supply of marijuana plants , or to designate someone to grow plants for them . The new regulations do not change the role of the physician in authorizing patient access to marijuana for medical purposes . As before , physicians are still required to complete a medical document which is effectively equivalent to a prescription . The complete revised policy is available online .
Registration Policy Change Council has approved the Registration Committee ’ s recommendation to revise the existing Restricted Certificates of Registration for Exam Eligible Candidates policy to provide increased clarity regarding exam eligibility and subsequent applications . This would allow extensions only in exceptional circumstances . The policy was originally designed to provide physicians three years to complete any outstanding examinations . The Committee has routinely approved requests from physicians to extend their restricted certificates of registration beyond three years to allow them to continue to write their outstanding examinations . Recent changes from the certifying bodies , however , put the College in a position where it was at risk of creating a permanent supervised class of certificate for individuals who continue to be unsuccessful in their attempts at completing the required examinations .
Changes to OHPIP Standards Council has approved the revised draft Out of Hospital Premises Inspection Program ( OHPIP ) standards . The proposed changes to the standards document were circulated for external consultation last summer . Only specific sections of the OHPIP Standards that reference the role of the Medical Director were updated , including responsibilities related to infection control and quality assurance . Stakeholders , in general , expressed support for the proposed changes .
Proposed $ 30 membership fee increase After reviewing the proposed budget for 2017 , Council has recommended a $ 30 fee increase . This increase would bring the fee that a physician pays to renew a practice Certificate of Registration for independent practice from $ 1,595 to $ 1,625 . Over the past five years , the College has increased the membership fee for an independent practice certificate by $ 75 . This represents an average of 1.2 % over those five years .
12
Dialogue Issue 4 , 2016