Jul 4, 2016

June 23, 2016 Council Meeting Highlights

Learn the decisions and outcomes of the June 23 Council meeting.

Medical Assistance in Dying

On June 17, 2016, the federal government passed legislation on medical assistance in dying. The legislation provides safeguards for patients requesting assistance and protection for health care professionals providing medical assistance in dying. In response to the legislation, Council approved interim Guidelines for Medical Assistance in Dying to help OTs understand the expectations for practice in Ontario. The interim Guidelines will be available online later this summer.

Use of Title

As part of the first step in a process, Council approved general criteria that would permit OTs to display continuing education credentials in an approved format. This criteria will be supported by a process that provides monitoring and evaluation of OT use of credentials. Draft revisions to the Use of Tile document will be presented to Council in October for consideration and must be approved before OTs could be permitted to publicly display credentials.

Revised Guide to Controlled Acts and Delegation

Council approved the revised Guide to Controlled Acts and Delegation. The revisions to the Guide reflect changes to legislation and the evolution of occupational therapy practice since the date of original publication. The revised Guide contains a more comprehensive decision-making tool to assist OTs in determining when it is appropriate to accept delegation and the practice requirements following a decision to accept delegation. The revised Guide will be available online later this summer.

Third Party Referrals and Funding Sources

Working with clients who have been referred for occupational therapy services by a third party such as an insurance company can result in complex relationships and challenging situations for OTs who may find themselves in the middle of the interaction between the client and the person paying for the OT services. To address these types of issues, a new guideline has been proposed. Council approved the key messages for the Guideline for Third Party Referrals and Funding Sources. With this approval, the College will be moving forward on the development of the new guidelines.

Clinic Regulation

Since early 2015, the College has been part of a Working Group to jointly explore the regulation of clinics in Ontario. A preliminary model was developed by the Working Group and formed the basis of stakeholder consultation that took place throughout much of 2015. At its June 2016 meeting, Council supported the Clinic Regulation Working Group’s submission of its report ‘Increasing Patient Protection through Clinic Oversight’ to the Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care.

Election Bylaws

In light of the shift to online nominations and elections, Council approved bylaw amendments to shorten the election timelines. These changes will be in effect for the 2017 District 2 and 4 Council elections. Further information will be provided this fall.

Professional Corporations

Based on the College's interpretation of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and the Business Corporations Act, 1990, Council passed a motion to prevent holding companies from holding shares in occupational therapy professional corporations. As a result, certificates of authorization will not be issued to corporations where shares are held by holding companies. Council's position will be incorporated into College Professional Corporation materials and all occupational therapy professional corporations will be notified.

March 31, 2016 Council meeting minutes are available online here.

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