On May 1, 2018, important amendments to the Protecting Patients Act, 2017 and the Regulated Health Professions, Act, 1991 (RHPA), came into effect.
Definition of a Patient
A new regulation provides an expanded definition of a patient, for the purposes of the sexual abuse. A patient includes any one of the following:
- a person who received health care services from the member and payment is charged or received,
- an entry is made by the member to the health record for the person,
- the person has provided consent to a health care service recommended by the member, or
- the member prescribed a drug for the person.
The definition of a patient has also been expanded to extend their status as a patient by one year after the practitioner-patient relationship ended. This means that, if a practitioner engages in a sexual relationship within one year of the termination of the member-patient relationships (even if consensual), this constitutes sexual abuse and subject to mandatory revocation.
However, the person is not a patient for the purposes of sexual abuse, even if any of the above criteria are met, where the services provided are in an emergency situation.
Mandatory Reporting of Charges, Release Restrictions and Reporting
All members are required to report to the College, their registration with other regulatory bodies and any disciplinary referrals or proceedings. A member is also required to report any criminal offence charges or release restrictions including bail conditions or other restrictions imposed on the member.
Under the new regulations, the College's public registry will include the following information:
- criminal or drug offence findings,
- release restrictions for criminal or drug offence charges or findings,
- outstanding criminal or drug offence charges,
- disciplinary findings (but not incapacity findings) by another regulator, and
- registration status with another regulator.
Many of the reporting requirements specified in the new regulations, are already in effect as per section 13 of the College By-laws.
For further information on reporting requirements, members are encouraged to review section 5 of the College’s Registration Regulation which sets out the terms, conditions and limitations of every certificate of registration.
Expansion of Mandatory Revocation Provisions
A new regulation has been proclaimed to expand the mandatory revocation provisions where a member has been found guilty in any one of the following offences:
- 151 - Sexual interference
- 152 - Invitation to sexual touching
- 153 - Sexual exploitation
- 153.1 - Sexual exploitation of a person with disability
- 160 (3) - Bestiality in the presence of or by a child
- 162 - Voyeurism
- 162.1 - Publication, etc., of an intimate image without consent
- 163.1 - Child pornography
- 170 - Parent or guardian procuring sexual activity
- 171.1 - Making sexually explicit material available to a child
- 172.1 - Luring a child
- 172.2 - Agreement or arrangement - sexual offence against a child
- 271 - Sexual assault
- 272 - Sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm, and
- 273 - Aggravated sexual assault.
A member that has been found guilty of any of the above-noted criminal offences, will be revoked by a panel of the Discipline Committee. The Member is also prohibited from applying for reinstatement for one year.
Legislation
Protecting Patients Act, 2017. Schedule 1, s 3, 4(3), 5 and Schedule 5, s. 5(1), (7), 6, 7, 18, 26, 27, 28, 31
Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. Schedule 2, Health Professions Procedural Code. Subsection 1 (6), 23(2) 51 (5.2) (a)
