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Executive Summary June 25 & 26, 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. Rebecca Constant, the College's Executive Assistant to the Registrar, at 500 - 321A 21st Street East, Saskatoon SK S7K 0C1; Phone (306) 244-7355; Fax (306) 244-0090; Email Rebecca.constant@cps.sk.ca.

The Council convened a penalty setting hearing to set penalty for Dr. R. Knaus of Lumsden. Dr. Knaus pleaded guilty to two charges of Unprofessional Conduct, one for failure to maintain the standards of the profession and one for prescribing to immediate members of his family. The penalty order imposed by the Council included a prohibition of prescribing thyroid replacement therapy, a requirement to practice under the supervision of a physician approved by the Registrar, completion of a pharmacotherapy course, and payment of costs totalling $3,515.38.

The Council met with Mr. Scott Livingstone and Dr. David Popkin from the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency (SCA) to consider a request from the SCA for extension of a bylaw which permits the special licensure of specialists to practice exclusively for the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency on the request of the Minister. The Council extended this special licensure option for the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency until 2013.

The Council met with Mr. Ray Joubert, the Registrar of the Saskatchewan College of Pharmacists, to discuss a proposed College of Pharmacists bylaw that would establish prescriptive authority for pharmacists for Schedule 1 drugs which might be used by patients for self directed care. The Council concluded that it wishes to have further consultation with the College of Pharmacy and with the SMA before providing feedback to the Ministry of Health on this matter.

The Council met with Mr. Scott Borland, a consultant from Cygnus Management Consultants to review the 360 performance evaluation for the Registrar.

The Council also:

  1. Reviewed and discussed the Registrar's Monitoring Report pertaining to the Council's organizational END for Healthy Public Policy.

  2. Reviewed and discussed the Registrars Monitoring Reports pertaining to the Registrar's compliance with the Councils Executive Limitation policies pertaining to:

    1. The College's Public Image
    2. College Partnerships & Inter Organizational Relationships
    3. Information Management

  3. Affirmed the revisions it had make at its last meeting to most of the Council's Governance Policies.

  4. Received and discussed a report from a Council Sub Committee regarding Honoraria and Expense Reimbursement Allowances for members of Council and College Committee members. The Council asked the Sub Committee to reconsider some of its recommendations in the light of discussion that occurred at the Council meeting.

  5. Directed the Registrar's office to assign each Council member a number of Council policies pertaining to the practice of medicine with the expectation that individual Councillors will review these policies and bring to the next Council meeting recommendations for affirmation and/or revision of the assigned policies.

  6. Approved a recommendation from the Nominating Committee to appoint Ms. Veronica LaCroix as the Chair of the Complaints Resolution Advisory Committee.

  7. Appointed Dr. Pierre Hanekom as the Chair of a Council Sub Committee tasked with reviewing the Council's current policy pertaining to Unplanned Pregnancy.

  8. Directed the Registrar's office to canvas members of the College's Discipline Committee about their individual willingness to have their names forwarded to the Senior Medical Officers (SMO) of the province with an understanding that they might be contacted by an SMO for requested service on an RHA Discipline Hearing Committee convened under the medical staff bylaws of the region.

  9. Received feedback on the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC) from the Registrar and Ms. Margaret Kuzyk, a Public Member of Council who attended the meeting.

  10. Received an update report from the Registrar in respect to the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada working committees charged with the task of developing national licensure standards and national standards for the assessment and supervision of newly registered IMGs.

  11. Adopted a bylaw which will make successful completion of the Medical Council of Canada Evaluating Exam (MCCEE) a pre-requisite fo licensure eligibility for all IMGs licensed after April 1, 2011. This bylaw amendment is a first step in the process of aligning Saskatchewan's licensure policies with national standards.

  12. Decided to defer to its September meeting further dialogue about bylaw amendments and/or requested amendments to the Medical Profession Act with the goal of discussing these issues with the Deputy Minister at the next Council meeting.

  13. Received an update report from the Registrar on the Advisory Committee for a Saskatchewan based IMG Assessment process. This Committee is advisory to the Ministry of Health and it is the Ministry of Health that is ultimately responsible for action on the advice it receives from the committee.

  14. Discussed a national environmental scan pertaining to the licensure and regulation of Physician Assistants (PAs) and directed the Registrar to initiate a dialogue with the Ministry of Health about the possible future licensure and regulation of PAs in Saskatchewan.

  15. Discussed a national environmental scan pertaining to opportunities for medical students and residents to sit as observers on College Governing Councils. The Council directed the Registrar to initiate a dialogue with the Dean's office ant he College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, to explore possible arrangements for a medical student and resident to sit as observers at our Council.

  16. Received an update report on the issue of Abandoned Medical Record Management. The Ministry of Health has declared its intention to convene stakeholder consultations in July with the foal of identifying an approved agency for storage and management of abandoned medical records.

  17. Received a report from the Director of Registration Services on the College's first year of experience with the Council policy which requires all newly arriving IMG Family Physicians to receive mentorship from a group of three physicians prior to successful completion of the CAPE Assessment.

  18. Discussed a request from the Chairman of a rural RHA Board to modify the Group Practice Policy pertaining to newly arriving IMG Family Physicians so that only two rather than three physicians would be involved in the mentorship arrangement. Based upon its experience with the policy over the past year, the Council decided it will maintain the policy as it now stands.

  19. Received a report from a Council Sub Committee charged with the task of exploring future accommodation options for the College. After its discussion of this report the Council directed the Registrar to initiate dialogue with the SMA about potential partnership in future accommodation arrangements.

  20. Set the time and date for the 2010 College AGM at 11 a.m. Saturday September 18. A notice of the AGM will be sent out to all members of the College and members are invited to attend the meeting to hear reports from the President and Registrar, ask questions, and provide feedback to the Council.

  21. The Council set its 2011 meeting dates as February 4 & 5, April 15 & 16, June 24 & 25, September 16 & 17, November 25 & 26, 2011.

  22. Determined that decisions made by the Council or by its Executive Committee to lay charges of Unprofessional Conduct against a physician should be publicly accessible on the College website in the future.

  23. Reviewed a request from Dr. C. Moolman of North Battleford for modification of the practice restrictions attached to his medical licence. The Council granted Dr. Moolman's request and will require him to sign an undertaking which obligates him to adhere to these revised practice restrictions.

  24. Received a report from the CEO Search Committee that the Search Committee is now prepared to issue a Request For Proposals to execute search firms.

  25. Received an educational presentation from Dr. Gerrit Van Wyk and Dr Karen Shaw in respect to "The Balanced Scorecard" and determined that it will allocate a half hour at its September meeting to hear more detailed suggestions from Dr Van Wyk and Dr Shaw as to how this tool might be applied to the College of Physicians and Surgeons.

  26. Discussed an environmental scanning request from Dr. Van Wyk regarding the College's communication practices.

  27. Received an update report from Mr. Salte regarding all formal investigations and/or disciplinary proceedings in progress.

  28. Reviewed and adopted draft written reasons for the penalty order it issues at its last meeting in respect to Dr. S. Saha formerly of North Battleford.

The Council is next scheduled to meet in Saskatoon on September 17 & 18, 2010.