Site Search
Skip to main content

Annual Renewal of Your Medical Licence Opens Online November 1st

Online renewal of your medical licence and corporation permit is open from November 1st until November 30th, 2017.

Physicians licensed with the College must renew their medical licence annually. Annual licence renewal is mandated by the province’s Medical Act and Medical Practitioners Regulations.

If you are a physician practising medicine under a corporation in which you are listed as a Medical Director, you must also renew your corporation permit annually with the College.

To complete your medical licence renewal for 2018:

The College must receive all Certificates of Professional Conduct (CPCs) directly from the issuing jurisdiction if you have practised medicine outside Nova Scotia:

  • since your last annual licence renewal;
  • since you obtained your initial Nova Scotia licence in 2017; or
  • you are registered as a “non-resident” physician.

If you are discontinuing your licence, please review the necessary steps required to do so. If you are permanently or temporarily closing a practice, please review the statutory and regulatory requirements.

If you have any questions, we are here to help.

Please contact us at: registration@cpsns.ns.ca.

Back to Top

Opioid Prescribing

The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in opioid prescribing, along with an increase in opioid-related harms. Dr. David Juurlink is a recognized expert regarding opioid prescribing and the opioid crisis in Canada. Recently, the College hosted a presentation by Dr. Juurlink which reviewed the measures needed to reduce the toll of opioid addiction and improve the care of patients with chronic pain.

Dr. Juurlink is the Eaton Scholar and professor of medicine, pediatrics and health policy at the University of Toronto, where he is director of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology. His presentation entitled, “Reflections on the North American Opioid Crisis” was attended by 120 people at Dalhousie University earlier this month.

While Dr. Juurlink’s presentation is not available to distribute due to copyright issues, his recent interview for a CMAJ podcast “Chronic opioid therapy: rethinking ‘doing well”, provides an overview of his key points presented.

Back to Top

Physician Peer Review Update

The College’s new practice assessment program, Physician Peer Review – Nova Scotia (PPR-NS), launched in April. PPR-NS is a quality improvement program intended to support physicians in practising to the highest possible standards.

Participating physicians receive feedback on multiple aspects of their practice, including office setup and processes, record-keeping and patient care. Physician wellness and professional development are also addressed. In addition to a written report, physicians are supported in identifying goals for practice improvement and professional development through a direct discussion with their peer reviewer.

Reviews are performed by trained physician peers, using either an off or on-site approach. We have been particularly pleased with the quality and depth of reviews that can be achieved when a physician provides their peer reviewer with secure remote access to an electronic medical record. This technology holds considerable promise in terms of reducing program costs while increasing the number and quality of reviews.

To date we have initiated practice reviews for 55 family medicine specialists. 2018 will see an increase in the number of reviews in family medicine as well as the introduction of reviews for other specialties.

Back to Top

Immunization

Physicians providing primary healthcare are reminded of the obligation to offer immunizations appropriate to patients at each stage of their life. As well, with flu season now upon us, physicians are also reminded that immunization is a matter of public health.

“In both our clinical practice, and as leaders in health care facilities and Health Authorities, there are many opportunities for health care providers to promote and support annual influenza immunization,” noted, Dr. Robert Strang, Chief Medical Officer in a recent memo to immunization providers.

We encourage physicians to refer to the Immunization Toolkit for Immunization Providers developed by the provincial Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division Public Health Branch. At this time, physicians may also wish to review influenza and vaccination information provided by Doctors Nova Scotia.

Back to Top

College Council Report

At its October meeting, the Council of the College approved the following revised professional standard:

Because of mixed messages from the federal government, there has been confusion about mental health and eligibility to medical assistance in dying. Bill C-14 does not specifically prohibit a mental health condition from being the sole underlying condition to support a request for medical aid in dying. The Council approved a revision to Standard to reflect this along with the following explanatory footnote:

“Since one of the criteria for eligibility requires a patient to be capable of making decisions, particular caution should be paid to this eligibility criterion in the context of a patient with a mental illness. Caution is also advised in general when addressing patients with mental illnesses seeking medical assistance in dying, as the federal government is in the process of reviewing the issue of such requests where mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition. It is uncertain what the outcome of this review may be, and while it is underway some confusion has arisen as to the eligibility of patients where mental illness is the sole underlying medical condition. While the eligibility criteria do not exclude such patients, the fact such review is underway warrants further caution. Physicians are encouraged to seek advice from CMPA or other counsel before dealing with such cases.”

Physicians are expected to stay current with professional standards and guidelines. The complete catalogue of professional standards and guidelines is available any time to all physicians on the College website.

Back to Top

The Prescribing Course: Safe Opioid Prescribing For Chronic Non-Cancer Pain

  • December 9, 2017 in Halifax
  • January 27, 2018 in Wolfville

Register Online

Back to Top

© 2024 College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia