The Complaints Centre: CPSA’s complaints process goes digital
Estimated read time: 3 minutes.
People are often at their most vulnerable when accessing health care, so it’s important that patients feel safe and have trust in their care providers. Most physicians in Alberta are dedicated to providing high-quality health care, but mistakes can happen, and when they do, we need to know.
As Alberta’s medical regulator, CPSA has a responsibility to ensure physicians provide ethical, competent care. A fair, transparent and accessible complaints process is an essential part of upholding high standards in physician-led regulation.
A journey away from pen and paper
In 2024, almost 80 per cent of complaints received were submitted online through the Complaints Centre (the paper version of the form is still available for those who need it).
For years, CPSA’s complaints process was entirely paper-based, which limited access for some users and created administrative barriers for CPSA’s team. To streamline the process and improve the experience of complainants and regulated members, CPSA’s Professional Conduct team launched the online Complaints Centre in January 2024.
Through the Complaints Centre, complainants provide CPSA with the details of their complaint electronically through an online form. When submitted, the form automatically transmits the information into CPSA’s internal system. This means CPSA’s Intake team in Professional Conduct can review and action complaints sooner, without having to manually input the provided information into our systems. The Complaints Centre also allows complainants to log in and track the progress of their complaints in real time.
Since the launch of the Complaints Centre, the amount of time it takes CPSA’s team to manage and resolve complaints has decreased, making the process more efficient and hopefully, less stressful for all involved.
“The launch of the Complaints Centre has had a significant, positive impact on our process timelines. Now that most complaints are submitted online and transferred automatically into our system, our team can review and action them much faster. It used to take three to four weeks from when a complaint was submitted to our first contact with the complainant. Now, we’re able to send our first response to a complaint within an average of two to three days.”
Dean Blue, Director, Professional Conduct
The journey continues online
Since the launch of the Complaints Centre, CPSA’s web content about complaints has been overhauled to support its use, and updates to the online form have been made to improve user experience and the quality of information received by Professional Conduct. A comprehensive video detailing the when and how to file a complaint has also been created and made available to the public—this video is required viewing for anyone who wishes to file a complaint, so they have a full understanding of what the process entails.
“Moving such an important process online has not been without its challenges,” says Dean Blue, Director, Professional Conduct. “But we continue to make improvements to the functionality of the form, based on feedback from complainants and CPSA’s team.”
The creation of the Complaints Centre
Transitioning from a paper-based system to an online complaints process took time, planning and collaboration. Here’s a snapshot of some key milestone leading to the Complaints Centre’s launch in 2024:
A complaint is filed: what happens next?
When CPSA receives a complaint about a physician or physician assistant, it moves through a comprehensive process to ensure we have the information we need, and a good understanding of the issues that led to the complaint. This allows our team to make informed decisions about how to proceed.
CPSA is a learning organization and the goal—when appropriate and based on the facts of the case—is education and remediation so the care physicians provide their patients going forward is improved.
Find out more about CPSA’s complaints process by visiting our website.
