Demystifying physician competency
Estimated read time: 8 minutes
Medicine is an ever-changing profession, and the healthcare landscape is continually evolving as new research and processes emerge. Patients expect their experiences with health providers to be supported by current best practices in medicine and comprehensive health data, which is why a commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing skill improvement is so important for any physician. As part of our commitment to patient safety, CPSA works with regulated members throughout their careers to ensure they have the necessary skills and are making the improvements required to keep their practice strong.
How CPSA supports physicians in lifelong learning
Guided by evidence-based research, CPSA has created competence programs for regulated members, focusing on both quality improvement and quality assurance, to ensure patients receive high-quality, excellent care.
Quality improvement vs. quality assurance: what’s the difference?
Quality improvement programs are developed to ensure physicians maintain their competence and continuously enhance and improve their practice throughout their careers.
Quality assurance programs are developed to prevent patient care risks and to support physicians whose competence may require further assessment and support through education, remediation and practice changes.
Quality improvement program highlight: Physician Practice Improvement Program (PPIP)
PPIP: enabling learning, fostering reflection, empowering change
CPSA’s cornerstone quality improvement program is the Physician Practice Improvement Program (PPIP). Physicians must commit to lifelong learning and through PPIP, we hope to empower physicians to choose improvement and development activities that are meaningful to them, their practice and their patients.
To meet the requirements of PPIP, physicians must complete one personal development and two quality improvement activities on a five-year, continuous cycle. Each PPIP activity requires the use of data and development of an action plan. While facilitation is recommended for all three activities, it is required for the personal development activity.
PPIP tips: activities and examples
In a practice-driven quality improvement activity, physicians use data and QI methodology to identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to enhance practice.
Use MD Snapshot-Prescribing as a source of data and focus on optimizing prescribing. Review sample action plans focused on prescribing here and here.
Review EMR data, HQCA panel reports or patient access data, then reflect on possible improvements in the applicable areas of practice. Review a sample action plan focused on improving colorectal cancer screening rates here.
In a CPSA’s Standards of Practice quality improvement activity, physicians reflect on whether they are meeting the requirements of a chosen CPSA standard in their practice.
Review electronic medical record (EMR) and patient data and ensure compliance with elements of CPSA’s Patient Record Content standard. Find a sample action plan here.
Review data to ensure compliance with elements of the Referral Consultant standard. Find a sample action plan here.
Participation in a Group Practice Review to strengthen a group practice also meets the requirements for this PPIP activity.
The personal development component of PPIP allows physicians to use personal reflection and feedback to focus on their wellness while gaining insight into the CanMEDS attributes of a communicator, professional, scholar, collaborator, health advocate, and leader. Facilitation is mandatory for this activity and can be done with a colleague, direct supervisor, formal facilitator, trained coach or through a dedicated self-reflection module.
Access multi-source feedback tools, coaching and training from resources like PULSE 360.
Gather feedback for self-reflection from peers, learners or patients through performance reviews, teaching evaluations or patient surveys.
Take implicit bias training and self-reflect on how it affects medical decisions and patient outcomes. Review a sample action plan focused on addressing implicit bias here.
Additional examples of PPIP activities, submitted to CPSA by the physicians who completed them, are available on our website.
“Quality improvement is essential to a physician’s success throughout their career. QI supports us as we gain our footing in early independent practice, and helps us navigate the demands of a busy established practice and adjust to changes as our personal and professional priorities evolve. Maintaining a QI mindset and applying QI methodologies is fundamental to advancing beyond entry-level knowledge and skills in medicine. It also strengthens the career-spanning competencies that are necessary for providing high-quality, safe patient care.”
Dr. Sam Lou, family physician and CPSA Senior Medical Advisor.
Common questions about PPIP
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PPIP fulfills CPSA’s legislated mandate of ensuring competence within the medical profession. Medicine is ever-evolving and requires a commitment to lifelong learning. Through PPIP, CPSA wants to encourage self-reflection and empower physicians to make proactive changes within their practice on a regular basis, increasing the quality of care their patients receive.
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A physician’s five-year PPIP cycle aligns with their five-year continuous professional development (CPD) cycle through their national college.
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Patients deserve the highest quality of care from their health providers and CPSA supports this by ensuring physicians are committed to maintaining and enhancing their competence. Personal improvements are an important part of ongoing competence—when we are our best selves, we are in a better position to help others.
The story behind the statistics
Since PPIP launched in 2021:
- 79% of physicians have self-reported completion of their first cycle of three required PPIP activities.
- 1,054 total physicians from 50 clinics per year have participated in a CPSA Group Practice Review since 2021, fulfilling their CPSA Standard of Practice QI activity requirement.
- 2,628 physicians have been selected to participate in an MCC360 review through the Medical Council of Canada since 2021, meeting the requirements of a personal development activity.
- EMRs, lab and diagnostic imaging reports, prescription data, quality dashboards and health registries are among the most-used sources of data for the practice-driven QI activity.
Quality assurance program highlight: Infection Prevention & Control (IPAC)
IPAC: guiding medical clinics in providing safe, quality care in clinic settings
Patients in Alberta expect assurance that the medical clinics they visit are safe spaces where they will receive high-quality care. CPSA is responsible for overseeing infection prevention & control (IPAC) measures in Alberta's medical clinics through the IPAC Program.
Why “prevention” comes first
As a QA program, the primary goal of the IPAC program is to prevent infection risk and outbreaks within medical clinics. IPAC’s prevention measures include:
Requirements and guidance to help physicians meet best practices: CPSA provides physicians at medical clinics with requirements, guidance and resources aimed at protecting both patients and clinic staff from infection. These guidelines, requirements and resources address important topics, including the correct handling and sterilization of reusable medical devices, the appropriate use of personal protective equipment, the safe management of medical sharps and effective hand hygiene practices.
Competency evaluation resources: Medical clinic staff responsible for medical device reprocessing (MDR) are required to undergo regular competency evaluations conducted by clinic management to ensure the ongoing delivery of safe patient care. CPSA has developed assessment templates to assist evaluators in verifying that staff have the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities to safely perform MDR.
Overseeing medical clinics
CPSA assessors perform regular on-site clinic reviews to make sure clinics meet CPSA requirements for IPAC and MDR. We also work closely with our partners at Alberta Health Services to investigate and resolve IPAC and MDR-related public concerns.
Supporting physician competency in medical clinics
Physicians are responsible for overseeing the direction and operations of their medical clinics. As part of our commitment to providing continuing competence programs for physicians, IPAC helps identify physicians who may require assessments, practice changes or improvements through further education.
Why quality assurance and assessments are important in medical clinics
CPSA’s IPAC and MDR quality assurance and assessments play an essential role in ensuring safe and effective care in medical clinics. They help prevent infections by verifying proper cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of reusable medical devices. These assessments promote standardization and regulatory compliance, ensuring clinics meet provincial and national standards. Additionally, these assessments identify risks and drive improvements in reprocessing practices and documentation.
By supporting staff education and continuous improvement, CPSA helps to build a strong culture of safety. Ultimately, this quality assurance process reduces healthcare risks while enhancing patient outcomes and clinic performance.
