REPORTS FROM COUNCIL
lationship is already in place between the individual and member at the time the health-care services are provided; the member provided the health-care services to the individual in emergency circumstances or in circumstances where the service is minor in nature; the member has taken reasonable steps to transfer the care of the individual to another member or there is no reasonable opportunity to transfer care to another member.
Council’ s proposed regulation recognizes the unique nature of psychotherapy and the particular vulnerabilities of patients undergoing psychotherapy and therefore extends the time that an individual is considered a patient. The proposed regulation also reflects the current expectations of those providing care to patients in the most vulnerable of circumstances, as outlined in the College’ s Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries and Preventing Sexual Abuse policy.
We will be consulting on the proposed regulation shortly. Stay tuned.
Continuity of Care – Draft for Consultation
We are currently consulting on our Continuity of Care policy and its four draft companion policies that address different elements of continuity of care. We now want to hear your feedback on the expectations that we have drafted.
The draft umbrella Continuity of Care policy sets out the principles of professionalism that underpin the companion policies and the general expectations that have broad application. The companion policies set out expectations regarding specific elements of practice and are: Availability and Coverage; Managing Tests; Transitions in Care; and Walk-in Clinics. Council directed that, given the breadth and scope of this project, these policies should have an extended consultation to allow the profession and other stakeholders the opportunity to provide meaningful comment. The consultation is now open and runs for six months and we invite members to provide their feedback by December 9, 2018. In recognition that there are a number of health-system factors that are beyond the control or influence of individual physicians, the policy’ s working group put its focus on developing policy expectations related to those elements of continuity of care where physicians do have a role to play. The College’ s recommendations regarding broader systems issues that can be a barrier to or facilitator of continuity of care will be set out in a separate‘ white paper’ at a later date. The policy’ s working group includes family physicians and specialists, physicians who work in teaching and community hospitals as well as members of the public. The article about the draft policies is on page 11.
Rescindment of Methadone By-law Council has rescinded the Methadone by-law to allow the transition of the Methadone Committee from a by-law committee to a specialty panel of the Quality Assurance
PHOTO: CLAUDIA HUNG
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DIALOGUE ISSUE 2, 2018