Adapting to legislative changes
Watch time: 7 minutes
Check out our video series to learn how CPSA is evolving and adapting to legislative changes.
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In Alberta, health professions such as medicine, nursing and dentistry have the privilege of profession-led regulation under the Health Professions Act (HPA). Regulatory colleges, like CPSA, must comply with current legislation, carrying out governance and regulatory responsibilities in a way that protects and serves the public interest.
Legislative change:
Effective Jan. 16, 2023, Alberta’s government enacted new requirements for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy through an amendment to the Mental Health Services Protection Regulation. Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy is the professionally supervised use of psychedelic substances, such as ketamine, and is used to treat some patients with certain psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder and treatment-resistant depression.
CPSA’s process:
As a result of these changes, psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy was added to CPSA’s bylaws as a prescribed health service and may only be provided in a CPSA-accredited medical facility. Providers of psychedelic assisted psychotherapy must either be psychiatrists, clinical psychologists or regulated health professionals authorized to perform the treatment based on guidelines outlined in the HPA.
Over the course of 2023, CPSA developed an accreditation program specifically for psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, including accreditation standards that facilitate its safe use in community settings. Before providing psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, facilities must be assessed and accredited by CPSA using these standards. CPSA accreditation standards are based on input from field experts, best practices and research by other regulators, standard-setting bodies and industry associations. Standards are reviewed and approved by CPSA’s Medical Facility Accreditation Committee, with final approval from CPSA Council.
Impacts:
Compliance with quality and safety standards is especially important due to the heightened vulnerability of patients undergoing psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. CPSA’s accreditation programs and standards exist to ensure safety and quality are top priorities in not only these facilities, but all of Alberta’s medical and diagnostic facilities.
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In Alberta, health professions such as medicine, nursing and dentistry have the privilege of profession-led regulation under the Health Professions Act (HPA). Regulatory colleges, like CPSA, must comply with current legislation, carrying out governance and regulatory responsibilities in a way that protects and serves the public interest.
Legislative change
Recently, the HPA was updated to ensure the work of regulatory colleges doesn’t overlap with the work of professional associations and unions. This distinction is important to make sure regulatory colleges always put patients and the public interest first. As a result of this legislative change, CPSA shifted its approach to physician health monitoring and how we work with regulated members experiencing a health condition, to ensure they are fit to practise and able to provide safe, high-quality care.
CPSA’s process
In 2023, CPSA began transitioning health assessments, fitness-to-practise assessments and biological monitoring functions to external service providers. Diagnosis, treatment and whether a regulated member’s health condition adversely impacts their ability to practise is now objectively determined by independent, experienced and trusted external service providers. The service providers supply CPSA with reports on the regulated member’s fitness to practise, along with recommendations for practice accommodations and conditions, as required.
Regulated members are still responsible for notifying CPSA of health concerns that may impact their ability to provide safe patient care, as outlined in the Duty to Report Self standard of practice.
Impacts
CPSA’s approach to health monitoring helps regulated members continue providing safe and high-quality health care to patients across the province. On top of maintaining access to care, these adjustments align CPSA’s health monitoring program with other successful programs across North America. We hope that moving health monitoring functions to external service providers will help regulated members feel more comfortable self-reporting and more inclined to seek support when they need it. CPSA will continue to mitigate and monitor the impact a regulated member’s health condition may have on their work to ensure we fulfill our mandate of protecting the public.
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In Alberta, health professions such as medicine, nursing and dentistry have the privilege of profession-led regulation under the Health Professions Act (HPA). Regulatory colleges, like CPSA, must comply with current legislation, carrying out governance and regulatory responsibilities in a way that protects and serves the public interest.
Legislative change:
Under legislation, CPSA is required to establish a Continuing Competence program, which includes continuous professional development, general assessments and competence assessments. Participating in continuing competence ensures regulated members maintain their knowledge and improve their provision of patient care throughout their careers. In spring 2023, Bill 46—otherwise known as the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2020 (No. 2)—came into effect, which required healthcare regulators to move the specifics of their existing Continuing Competence programs into a standard of practice.
CPSA’s process:
To align with Bill 46, CPSA began developing a standard of practice for our existing Continuing Competence program. The standard did not change any of the competence requirements themselves, it just formalized them in a new location. As per the revised legislation, CPSA also developed a Continuing Competence Program Manual to better support regulated members in understanding the requirements of the standard. The program manual contains detailed information on programs such as the Physician Practice Improvement Program and Individual Practice Review, to name a few.
Impacts:
Just as CPSA expects regulated members to engage in continuous learning and development, CPSA also continuously evaluates our programs and standards to ensure we are meeting our mandate of protecting the public. Transitioning continuing competence requirements into a standard of practice gives regulatory colleges, like CPSA, greater flexibility to make adjustments to the standards as needed. Adapting to legislative changes also gives CPSA an opportunity to collaborate with our partners in health care and demonstrate our joint commitment to patient safety.
