Fitness to Practise Committee
The Fitness to Practise (FTP) Committee rarely
hears cases, as matters of incapacity tend to
resolve through health monitoring agreements
with the Ontario Medical Association’s
Physician Health Program.
When incapacity matters resolve through
monitoring agreements, the allegation of
incapacity before the Committee is withdrawn.
The FTP Committee referrals and caseload
have been decreasing since 2013.
There were no hearings in 2014, 2015 and
2016. There were two referrals and one hearing
in 2017.
Compliance Monitoring and
Supervision
restriction requirements in each of the various
outcomes appears to be increasing. This
layering of outcomes increases the complexity
of the files. Also, Committees are increasingly
issuing outcomes, such as clinical supervision,
which are often complex in and of themselves.
Since 2015, there has been a 14% increase
in the number of active files with supervision
issued by a variety of Committees.
With the amendments to the Regulated
Health Professions Act in May 2017, the ICR
Committee has the power to impose Interim
Orders earlier than at the time of referral to the
Discipline Committee or Fitness to Practice
Committee. These interim orders would be
issued when the ICR Committee identifies a
risk of harm to patients and therefore directs
the Registrar to suspend, or to impose terms,
conditions or limitations on, a physician’s
certificate. Nineteen Interim Orders were
issued in 2017 and it is anticipated this
number will only rise.
The College’s Compliance, Monitoring and
Supervision Department (CMS) monitors all
Committee decisions, undertakings and Orders
(outcomes) for which there is an education,
remediation and/or restriction requirement.
The CMS monitors over 1600 active files. The
total number of education, remediation or
CPSO ANNUAL REPORT 2017 // page 26