Health and Practice Program
The Health and Practice Program is a confidential and collaborative approach to ensuring the health condition of a College registrant (physician, podiatrist, and physician assistant) does not impact patient safety. Each registrant’s health situation is unique and is approached respectfully, sensitively, and with the utmost confidentiality.
Program Objectives
Registrant health is a priority for the College as we are tasked to ensure patients are receiving competent medical care.
To the extent the registrant’s health permits, our focus is to ensure the registrant is supported to maintain a safe practice. In some instances, this may include ongoing monitoring, changing scope of practice, a health assessment or a leave of absence from practice.
What To Expect
We may become aware of a registrant’s health condition when:
We connect with you only if we require additional information about your health condition or work environment so as to evaluate the impact of your condition on your ability to practice.
Our goal is to ensure the supports you need are in place to balance your health and clinical responsibilities.
The College does not provide direct treatment but connects registrants to available resources.
Duty to Report
When a registrant has reasonable grounds to believe that another registrant’s health condition may impact that registrant’s ability to practice safely, there is a professional obligation to report this concern to the College. This obligation arises whether the registrant in question is a patient or a colleague.
Reporting to the College is not the same as filing a complaint.
A registrant’s reporting obligations are provided in the College’s:
Professional Standards and Guidelines Regarding Duty to Report Health Professionals
Physicians should contact the Canadian Medical Protective Association for advice when considering their reporting obligations in any specific circumstances.