An Action-Packed Year

The year 2019 was action-packed and I am extremely proud of the incredible work this organization has achieved in a relatively short period of time. And we have so much more to do in 2020.

At our last Council meeting, we welcomed Dr. Brenda Copps to the President’s role. Dr. Copps is only the 6th woman to take the President’s chair in the 150-year history of the CPSO. I am truly excited about working with Brenda over the next year. We also said a big thank you to Dr. Peeter Poldre for his leadership. It has been a pleasure working with Peeter in what was an extremely ambitious and successful year.

Working with several health-system stakeholders, we launched our Continuity of Care policies. As you can imagine, we have heard some mixed feedback on the policy. We’ve received emails from physicians who are thankful we have created this policy — that it’s manageable and good for patients. I’ve also received feedback from physicians who said the policy is too burdensome; and yet heard from others who don’t believe we’ve gone far enough for patients. This policy was necessary to create, although with something as complex as continuity of care it was difficult to strike the perfect balance. Prior to approving these policies, we were significantly behind other medical regulatory bodies across the country. I believe what we have developed is a workable policy. We even took a less prescriptive or stringent position in a number of places as we tried to focus our expectations in a way that was reflective of the practical realities of the Ontario practice environment. It is an evolving policy and we will continue to review and update it as the Ontario health system evolves. You will find some FAQs regarding Continuity of Care that we hope clarifies some of the questions around the policies in this issue of Dialogue.

I believe we’ve developed a workable set of policies by focusing our expectations in a way that is reflective of the practical realities

In this issue of Dialogue, you will also find two articles regarding Boundaries and an article regarding Complaints received by the College. Almost half (43%) of the complaints received are communication related complaints. The article gives some great information about the simple steps and small changes physicians can make in order to avoid a complaint and improve relationships with their patients.

As you may have noticed, we have redesigned Dialogue! This modern and clean line design reflects the modernization of the College,
overall. You may also have noticed that we have launched e-dialogue as well. This new online version of our magazine will allow you to access the information and articles you need from your phone or other electronic device. It is our hope that you will find this useful.

Finally, I want to thank all of you for your willingness to engage with us over the past several months. I strongly believe that in order for the College to properly serve in the public interest, we must engage with those providing the care. As we move into 2020, I hope to continue to work together to ensure Ontario citizens have trusted doctors providing great care. Your openness and feedback has been extremely valuable.

Looking forward to what’s ahead!

Best,
Nancy