FROM THE REGISTRAR'S DESK
Moving Forward
Nancy Whitmore, MD
College Registrar/CEO
H
appy New Year!
The year 2018 was certainly a significant
year for me. I was given the privilege of
serving the CPSO as the new Registrar
and CEO. As a physician who has been in a health-care
leadership role for the past 10 years, it is an incredible
honour to be leading the charge in protecting the pub-
lic. As I look back at my first six months on the job, I
think we’ve made some great progress. And I am excited
to move forward into 2019 together.
I have been applying my passion and commitment to
continuous improvement using LEAN methodology
to make a number of changes here at the College. In
December, we launched Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR). ADR is used to resolve less serious complaints
in a timely and more appropriate manner. We are aim-
ing to resolve a significant number of these complaints
within 60 days. You can read more about ADR in this
issue.
I also want to share some successes we have had in
lowering our time to respond to complainants. From
January to June 2018, our average time to respond
was nearly one month (20.8 business days). As of
December 2018, that time has improved and we are
now consistently contacting complainants within two
business days. The quick turnaround has been positively
received by patients and we are expecting this to have
a significant impact on complaint resolution for both
the complainant and the physician. We are going to
continue to actively work on improving the complaints
process in 2019.
Over the last six months, I have been committed to
improving our relations with you, the members whom
we regulate. I firmly believe that we cannot properly
protect the public without positive engagement with
those who are providing the care. Improving com-
munications with you will be another strong focus for
the College in 2019. I look forward to sharing a new
website with you in the spring.
I am also thrilled that Dr. Sheila Laredo has joined
the College as Chief Medical Advisor. Dr. Laredo is a
passionate and skilled physician and is looking forward
to helping us achieve our ambitious objectives. Read
more about Dr. Laredo on page 21.
At the December Council meeting, we said thank you
and farewell to Dr. Steven Bodley who has been actively
involved with the College for nine years, most recently
as President. We also welcomed Dr. Peeter Poldre to the
President’s chair.
Lastly, I want to thank all of you. I want to thank you
for not only opening your emails, but also opening your
minds to the idea of working together. We had more
than 5,000 of you respond to our strategic planning
survey, with more than 800 volunteering to participate
in open forums to help us improve our work. I am
grateful for your time and your commitment to shaping
the way we regulate in the coming years.
I will be visiting many of the districts in 2019 – I
hope you will come and say hi.
Warmest regards,
ISSUE 4, 2018 DIALOGUE
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