Mandatory Reporting

Members of the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of Ontario (the College) are regulated healthcare practitioners. That means you have a legal duty to report certain information about yourself and your practice to the College.

In some situations, you have a duty to report other regulated health practitioners to their professional colleges. There are also situations where you have a duty to report colleagues or others to an appropriate authority. 

This is called mandatory reporting. By doing your duty to report, you help the College to meet its mandate to protect the public. You also help to maintain the integrity of the profession.

If you fail to make a mandatory report, it can result in findings of professional misconduct. The College’s Discipline Committee deals with such issues.

When you make a report in good faith, the law protects you from libel actions. However, mandatory reports are not confidential. Your identity may be disclosed to the person you reported.

The following are some examples of what you must report. Review the Jurisprudence Handbook for more examples. If you have questions, please contact the College.

Members’ self-reports to the College

Changes to contact information

• Report any change to your name, home address and phone number, business address and phone number, practice location, or email address, within 30 days of the change.
• If you hold shares in a professional corporation, report any change to the name of the corporation, business name, practice locations, professional activities, and names of the shareholders, officers, and directors, within 30 days of the change.

Charges for an offence

• Report charges under the Criminal Code (such as assault), and charges under other federal laws (such as tax evasion under the Income Tax Act) within 30 days of the charge.
• Report charges for provincial or municipal offences (such as operating a business without a license under the Business Names Act or speeding under the Highway Traffic Act) within 30 days of the charge.
• If you have bail conditions or other restrictions imposed on you, you must report these. Report this information as soon as you can, and no later than 30 days after the event.
• Report findings of guilt for any offence and changes to any charge after an appeal. Report as soon as you can and no later than 30 days after the finding or decision.
• Report findings from any civil proceeding about professional negligence or malpractice. Report as soon as you can and no later than 30 days after the event.

Registration in another regulatory body

• You must report to the College when you register with another regulatory or licensing body. You must also report any unsuccessful attempt to pass an examination required for registration, and any refusal to register or license you. Report within 30 days of receiving the information.
• Report failure to pay fees or provide information to another regulatory body, within 30 days.
• You must report to the College if another regulatory body starts an investigation or proceeding against you. Report any findings of professional misconduct and any sanctions imposed on you. You must also report changes to any findings after an appeal. Report as soon as you can and no later than 30 days after the event.

Reporting on the conduct of other regulated health practitioners

Sexual abuse of patients

If you have reason to believe that another regulated health practitioner has sexually abused a patient, you must file a written report to the Registrar of the college that regulates them.

If there is any danger that the abuse could continue, make your report right away. In all cases, report within 30 days of becoming aware of the abuse. The report must include:

• your name
• the name of the practitioner you are reporting
• a brief explanation of the alleged sexual abuse.

Do not report the patient’s name unless the patient agrees in writing that their name can be included. You must make a reasonable effort to tell the patient that it is your duty to make the report as a regulated health practitioner. 

Professional misconduct (incompetence and incapacity)

Incompetence means that a person lacks the skills and knowledge to do their job and may be unfit to practise. It is defined in s.52 of the Health Profession Procedural Code.

Incapacity means that a person has a physical or mental condition that may cause them to be unfit to practise. It is defined in s.1(1) of the Health Profession Procedural Code.

You have a duty to report if you have reason to believe that another health care practitioner may have engaged in professional misconduct because of incompetence or incapacity. You must report them to the college that regulates them when:

• You are in a business relationship with the practitioner, even if you end the relationship
• You employ the practitioner, even if you terminate their employment
• You operate a facility where the practitioner works on contract, even if you end the contract.

In all of these situations, you must also report if the practitioner quits or restricts their practice, either voluntarily or as a result of a workplace investigation into incompetence or incapacity.

In all cases, your report to the Registrar of the College that regulates the practitioner must be in writing. The report must include:

• your name
• the name of the health care practitioner
• the reasons why you are making the report.

If you have any reason to believe that the health care practitioner could cause harm to patients, report right away. In all cases, report within 30 days of becoming aware of the problem.

Other types of reports

Duty to warn

In the course of your practice, if you have reason to believe that any person is likely to cause severe bodily harm to themselves or someone else, you must warn the appropriate authorities, such as the police. The law permits you to disclose personal health information to prevent serious harm.

Child abuse

You must report any real or potential child abuse you encounter in the course of your practice. Report to a Children’s Aid Society (CAS) if you have reason to believe that:

• a child is being abused or neglected
• a child is at risk of abuse or neglect.

Elder abuse

You must report any harm or risk of harm (this could take on the form of abuse and/or neglect, etc.) to an elder. This rule applies when your practice involves residents of a long-term care, nursing, or retirement home. Report the information right away to the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority.