CPSO’s Board of Directors has approved a streamlined Professional Obligations: Delegation of Controlled Acts document (formerly referred to as “policy”) that more clearly articulates physicians’ core responsibilities when delegating controlled acts. The updates reinforce that delegation is not meant to replace physicians, and that physicians remain accountable for care provided through delegation.

Specifically, physicians are expected to:  

• only delegate when doing so does not compromise the patient’s health, safety and quality of care
• clinically assess a new patient prior to delegating or within two business days, unless an exception applies
• never leave delegates to manage a practice or patient population independently
• be physically onsite to supervise delegates, unless an exception applies (e.g., the risk associated with the delegation is low) 

These revisions also help strengthen safeguards against inappropriate delegation practices across practice settings, including in cosmetic clinics and virtual care settings where the risk of unsupervised practices has been a growing concern for patient safety.

The accompanying Guidance for the Profession (formerly referred to as “Advice to the Profession”) provides additional information on key issues related to delegation, including delegating to Internationally Trained Physicians.   

See our Delegation of Controlled Acts infographic below.