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 also have a duty to report information about other regulated health practitioners to their regulators. There are also situations where you have a duty to report colleagues or others to an appropriate authority. 

This is called mandatory reporting. Generally, mandatory reports must be filed within 30 days or sooner after the occurrence of the incident giving rise to the report. A report must be filed in writing. Please use the College’s mandatory report form available in the download section of this webpage. You may also write to the College directly through fax, mail or email. The report must include your contact information (i.e., the person filing the report), the name of the subject of the report (i.e., the regulated healthcare practitioner you are reporting), and all relevant details giving rise to the report. It is helpful to provide as much information as possible so the Registrar can determine whether an investigation is warranted. If you are making a report regarding sexual abuse of a patient, please see below for more information regarding the required reporting criteria.  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. Failing to make a mandatory report can amount to professional misconduct.

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

Below are some examples of the various mandatory reporting obligations for regulated healthcare practitioners.  Members are encouraged to 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, but no later than 30 days after the event.
• Report findings from any civil proceeding about professional negligence or malpractice. Report as soon as you can, but 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, but no later than 30 days after the finding or decision.
• Being “found guilty” means that a court has found that you committed the offence even if you were given a conditional or absolute discharge. You can be found guilty of an offence, but not be convicted if you are given a discharge. Even if you were not convicted, you must report any finding of guilt.
• You must report any criminal offence even if it does not relate to the practice of the profession.
• If in doubt, it is prudent to report a charge or finding of guilt rather than to risk failing to make a required report.

Mandatory Reporting of Communicable Diseases under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, 1990

• You have an obligation under section 38 (3) under the Health Protection and Promotion Act, 1990 (“HPPA”) to report adverse vaccine reactions.
• You must also report to the College any orders issued under HPPA by the medical officer of health or the public health inspector as it is relevant to your practise of TCM and/or acupuncture.

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. You must also 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, but 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. If the patient refuses to provide their consent, you must still file a report without their name. You should advise the patient of your professional obligation to file the report and suggest that they contact the College’s Conduct Department for additional information.

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. Members are permitted to disclose personal health information in such circumstances where disclosure is necessary to eliminate or reduce significant risk of serious bodily harm to a person or group of persons. The Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 (“PHIPA”) sets out your obligations with respect to maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of personal health information. PHIPA provides an exception to the duty of confidentiality where a member finds it necessary to notify someone of a serious risk to a person’s safety. This is set out in s. 40 of PHIPA. Members should be mindful to use their knowledge of their patient and/or individual and their professional judgement (together with the statutory requirements) to determine the best, most appropriate, action to take. You may wish to consult with your lawyer as the College will not be able to provide you with legal advice on this issue. However, the College can alert you to this permissible disclosure.

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.

You must make the report yourself and not rely on any other person to make the report. The duty to report is ongoing and a new report may be required if additional information comes to the attention of the member. Please see section 72 of the Child and Family Services Act, 1990 (“CFSA”) for further information regarding this reporting obligation.

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.