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Executive Summary February 2 & 3, 2007 Council Meeting

The Council of the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Saskatchewan operates under an explicit set of governance policies. It strives to make its work as transparent as possible to the medical profession and the general public.

Those portions of the Council's deliberations that are not confidential are open to observation by any person subject to space availability in the College boardroom.

At the conclusion of each Council meeting an Executive Summary of the meeting is widely distributed to the District Medical Associations, related organizations and the public media. This Executive Summary provides a brief overview of issues discussed, decisions made, and/or actions taken by the Council. If any person wishes more detailed information about any of the issues which are not subject to confidentiality constraints, these can be obtained by contacting Ms. Virginia Marsh, the College's Regulatory Services Coordinator, at 211 - 4th Avenue South, Saskatoon S7K 1N1; Phone: (306) 244-7355; Fax: (306) 244-0090; e-mail: marshv@shin.sk.ca

The Council President, Dr. E. Tsoi, welcomed Dr. M. Salib from Yorkton, Dr. G. Stoneham from Saskatoon and Dr. S. Ukabam from Regina as newly elected medical members of the Council.

He also welcomed Mr. Graeme Mitchell from Regina and Ms. Karen Prisciak from Saskatoon as observers at that meeting, anticipating their Order in Council appointments as public members of the Council. He thanked Mrs. Jean MacKay and Mr. Evert Van Olst for their six years of service as public members of the Council.

The President also welcomed Ms. Barb Porter as a new member of the College's management staff in the capacity as Manager of Physician Registration.

The Council met with a ten-member delegation from the College of Pharmacists to discuss a position paper from the College of Pharmacists on pharmacists' prescriptive authority and opportunities for more collaborative practice between physicians and pharmacists.

The Council met with Dr. Rob Weiler, the Acting Head of Anesthesiology for the Saskatoon Health Region, to discuss options for licensure of suitably qualified IMGs with training and experience in anesthesia to serve as anesthesia assistants.

Over dinner on the evening of February 2, 2007 the Council met with the Executive Committee and senior staff of the SMA to discuss IMG evaluation and registration policies and practices.

In response to a guilty plea by Dr. C.R. Smith to a charge of unprofessional conduct, the Council convened a penalty hearing for the purpose of setting penalty. Dr. Smith pleaded guilty to a charge of providing inaccurate and/or misleading information in the course of his application for registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan. The penalty imposed by the Council included a formal reprimand and the payment of costs in the amount of $2,407.82.

In response to the recommendation from a Competency Hearing Committee and a joint submission by legal counsel for the College of Physicians and Surgeons and legal counsel for Dr. M.N. Haque, the Council issued an order requiring Dr. M.N. Haque to undertake remedial education in the performance, interpretation, and documentation of diagnostic ultrasound studies in the second and third trimester of pregnancy.

The Council also:

  1. Appointed members to a Strategic Planning Committee and identified an inventory of issues it wishes the Strategic planning Committee to consider and bring back to the Council an analysis of prioritization options.

  2. Discussed the implications of the more widespread use of teleradiology both within Saskatchewan and beyond Saskatchewan's borders.

  3. Reviewed the submission to be made by the Registrar to the Standing Committee on Intergovernmental Affairs and Infrastructure regarding Bill 20, The Gunshot and Stab Wound Mandatory Reporting Act.

  4. Adopted an amendment of College bylaws that extends the use of CAPE as an evaluation tool for foreign trained family physicians.

  5. Discussed a report from a working group the Council established to consider the implications and appropriateness of policies instituted by some family physicians suggesting that they will only deal with one "problem" per patient visit. The Council endorsed the document in principle produced by this working group and recommended that it be disseminated as guidance to family physicians.

  6. Received and discussed a number of reports from the Registrar's office in respect to environmental scanning activity.

  7. Conducted elections to select the President and Vice-President of the Council for 2007, as well as the members of the Council's Executive Committee. Dr. Suresh Kassett, a family physician from Herbert, Saskatchewan, was elected as President of the College for 2007. Dr. Gerry Fernandes, an otolaryngologist from North Battleford, was elected as Vice-President of the College for 2007. The members of Council elected to the Executive Committee were Dr. S. Kassett, Dr. G. Fernandes, Dr. E. Tsoi, Dr. P. Hanekom and Mrs. Jean MacKay.

  8. The Council expressed its thanks to Dr. Edward Tsoi for his very able leadership as President of the College of Physicians and Surgeons over the previous two years.

The Council is next scheduled to meet on April 20 & 21, 2007.