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Executive Summary January 29 & 30, 2010 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 meeting room.

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. Tracy Hastings, the College's Regulatory Services Coordinator, at 500 - 321A 21 st Street East, Saskatoon SK S7K 0C1; Phone (306) 244-7355; Fax (306) 244-0090; Email tracy.hastings@cps.sk.ca.

The Council President welcomed Dr. Mark Chapelski from Lloydminster as a newly elected Councillor. The other two newly elected councillors who are Dr. James Carter from Regina and Dr. Mukesh Mirchandani from Yorkton were unable to attend the January Council meeting.

The Council convened a hearing in response to a report it received from a competency hearing committee which determined that Dr. D. Tsatsi lacks adequate knowledge and skill to practice radiology.

Dr. D. Tsatsi was represented at the hearing by Ms. Michelle Ouellette and Mr. Bryan Salte represented the Registrar's office.

Since Dr. Tsatsi had allowed his registration with the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons to lapse on December 31, 2009, the Council noted that it would have revoked his registration if it had not lapsed. The Council's final order in this matter stipulated that Dr. Tsatsi is prohibited from practicing radiology until permitted by the Council to do so. If Dr. Tsatsi does elect to apply for registration with the Saskatchewan College in the future, the Council will need to determine if his deficiencies in knowledge and skill have been adequately remedied.

The Council received a presentation from Dr. George Carson, one of the co-Chairs of the Practice Enhancement Program (PEP). Dr. Carson noted that the PEP has encountered difficulty in performing the volume of practice audits it would prefer to perform annually because of a shortage of physicians willing to serve as PEP assessors. He also reported that PEP has been unable to extend the scope of the program to all specialty disciplines because some specialty disciplines have failed to develop standards for office practice in those disciplines. Dr. Carson asked the College Council to do whatever it can to assist PEP in overcoming both of these constraints.

Council met with Mr. Dan Florizone, the Deputy Minister of Health, to discuss issues of mutual interest.

The Council met with Dr. Rob Weiler, an Anaesthesiologist from Saskatoon to discuss:

  1. Extension of a pilot project in the Saskatoon Health Region for selected IMGs to serve as Anaesthetic Clinical Assistants; and,

  2. The licensing policies of the Council for registration of physicians who serve as Critical Care Associates (CCAs) in the Saskatoon Health Region.

The Council also:

  1. Received Monitoring Reports from the Registrar in respect to the College's achievement of its mission and its effectiveness in meeting its public protection obligations.

  2. Received Monitoring Reports from the Registrar in respect to the Registrar's compliance with Council's Governance Policies pertaining to:

    1. General Constraints
    2. Treatment of Staff
    3. Interactions with the media

  3. Received a report from the Registrar in respect to process options for obtaining accurate information from all members of the College about the procedures performed by members in offices and clinics.

  4. Received a report that the SMA has agreed to co-branding of guidelines pertaining to the role of physicians in emergency situations such as pandemics.

  5. Received a report from the Registrar in reference to his analysis of all current College policies, made decisions to rescind a number of outdated policies, and established a work plan for updating all of the residual policies.

  6. Approved Terms of Reference for a process that will enable Councillors to offer Environmental Scanning information to their fellow Councillors at each Council meeting.

  7. Reappointed members to College Standing Committees.

  8. Confirmed the membership of a Council Committee that will explore future accommodation options for the College and approved the Terms of Reference for this committee.

  9. Appointed three members of Council to serve on a joint College/SMA working group that will strive to define optimal strategies for organization and delivery of medical services in rural Saskatchewan.

  10. Appointed three members of Council to serve on a joint College/SMA working group that will review the functionality of the JMPRC and potentially offer recommendations for future enhancement of its functionality.

  11. Discussed format and content of options for future College Annual General Meetings and gave the Registrar direction with respect to the Council's preferences for the 2010 AGM.

  12. Discussed options for reviewing and revising its current governance policies at a Council Retreat to be convened on Friday April 16, 2010. The Council determined that the Registrar's office will apportion the policies to four sub-groups of Councillors that will be supported by a member of the College's Senior Management Team in preliminary review of policies. The recommendations from each sub-group will then be reported to the Council as a whole and acted upon by the Council at the Retreat on April 16.

  13. Received an update report from the Registrar in respect to the FMRAC Agreement which will result in all provincial/territorial College's of Physicians and Surgeons adopting common licensure standards in the future.

    In response to an explicit request from FMRAC, the Council adopted a policy relating to CFPC Certification as a prerequisite for initial full registration of Family Physicians.

    In response to another explicit request from FMRAC the Council discussed whether graduates of accredited American Osteopathic Medical Schools who also acquire the LMCC and certification from either the CFPC or the Royal College should be treated the same as graduates of Allopathic schools for the purposes of administering the "Canadian Standard" for Registration as described in the FMRAC Agreement.

    The Council directed the Registrar's office to obtain more information from other College's of Physicians and Surgeons about their policies on this issue and determined that it will make the final policy decision at its April meeting.

  14. Received an update report from the Registrar in respect to the work being done by a multi-stakeholder provincial committee developing new IMG assessment procedures for IMGs seeking licensure in Saskatchewan. The Registrar noted that this committee has studied IMG assessment procedures in both Nova Scotia and Alberta. He also noted that new IMG assessment procedures adopted by any provincial/territorial College of Physicians and Surgeons will need to comply with standards currently being defined by FMRAC.

  15. Discussed a decision made by the Governing Council of the College of Pharmacists to mandate the use of the Pharmacy Information Program (PIP) viewer by all pharmacists prior to dispensing medications effective mid-year 2011. The Council directed the Registrars office to arrange for Ministry of Health staff to do an educational presentation to the Council at its' next meeting about the current functionality of PIP and the practicalities of its use in medical offices.

  16. Adopted an amendment to the College's Regulatory Bylaws that will enable the College to obtain appropriate information from physicians who move from another Canadian jurisdiction and seek registration in Saskatchewan under the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT).

  17. Considered a consultation letter from the Ministry of Health about the composition of the transitional Midwifery Council and determined that it supports the current composition of that governing body.

  18. Approved two practice protocols for EMT/Paramedics that have been developed by the Provincial Emergency Services Planning Committee (PESPC).

  19. Considered a report from a Preliminary Inquiry Committee (PIC) and laid charges against the member who had been the subject of the PIC investigation.

  20. Reviewed outstanding charges of Unprofessional Conduct against two members and made a slight amendment to the charges pertaining to one of those members.

  21. Reviewed the "Discipline Tracker Report" which summarizes for Council the current status of all formal investigations underway as well as the status of cases awaiting hearing before a discipline hearing committee.

  22. Received reports from the October and November sessions of CAPE.

  23. Appointed Mr. Gordon Stewart of KPMG as the Auditor of 2010.

  24. Conducted an election for College Officers and the membership of the Council Executive Committee for 2010.

    Dr. Grant Stoneham, a Radiologist from Saskatoon, was elected as President of the College for 2010.

    Dr. James Fritz, an Otolaryngologist from Regina, was elected as Vice President of the College for 2010.

    The membership of the Executive Committee for 2010 will include:

    Dr. Grant Stoneham

    Dr. James Fritz

    Dr. Gerry Fernandes

    Mr. Graeme Mitchell

    Dr. Alanna Danilkewich

The Council next meets in Saskatoon on April 16 & 17, 2010.