TRAnsparency
Transparency – What You Are Saying
We respond to some of the common themes emerging from our consultation on
Phase 2 of the Transparency Initiative.
I
Q&A
n December, the College asked for feedback to its proposals for Phase 2 of the
Transparency Initiative. Specifically, the College is proposing that the following information
about physicians be included on the public register:
photo: istockphoto.com
• Caution-in-person outcomes
S
• pecified Continuing Education or Remediation
Program (SCERPs) outcomes
• Criminal charges
• Licences in other jurisdictions
• Discipline findings in other jurisdictions
During our extended consultation, the College appreciated hearing the views of all who participated. We
noted that dominant themes emerged from the consultation and have presented them here in a Q&A format.
The vast majority of physicians will have a College
complaint filed against them over the course of
their career (if not more than one complaint). If
this proposal goes through, there will be a
plethora of useless information about physicians posted online.
Yes, many physicians do receive a complaint made
against them in the course of their career. The percentage of physicians, however, who have complaints which
result in a Specified Continuing Education or Remediation Program (SCERP) order or a caution-in-person is
relatively small. In 2013, 4% of all complaints received
had a SCERP outcome (111 physicians) and only 4%
of all complaints received resulted in a caution-inperson (96 physicians). The College’s proposal is to post
only cautions-in-person and SCERPs.
In determining which ICRC outcomes should be
made public, the Advisory Group for Regulatory Excellence (a group of six colleges, including the CPSO)
looked at the degree of risk to patients. AGRE’s recommendation was that the more serious outcomes, those
responding to issues of moderate risk – such as SCERPs
and cautions-in-person – should be made available
to the public. The most serious issues are referred to
Issue 1, 2015 Dialogue
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2015-03-19 11:18 AM