Committees

The Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee, after conducting an investigation, refer allegations to the Discipline Committee. A discipline panel is comprised of at least three members – two must be public members and one must be a physician member of Council. Panels are usually made up of four or five members.

If the panel finds that the physician has committed an act of professional misconduct or is incompetent, it can make an Order directing the Registrar to:

• revoke the physician’s certificate of registration
• suspend the physician’s certificate, and/or
• impose specified terms, conditions or limitations on the physician’s certificate.

If the panel finds the physician has committed an act of professional misconduct, it can also make an Order:

• requiring the physician to appear before the panel to be reprimanded
• requiring the physician to pay a fine of not more than $35,000 to the Minister of Finance, and
• if the act of professional misconduct was the sexual abuse of a patient, requiring the physician to reimburse the College for funding provided for the patient for counselling and therapy, and requiring the physician to post security to guarantee payment.

If the panel finds the physician has committed an act of professional misconduct by sexually abusing a patient, the panel must:

• reprimand the physician, and
• revoke the physician’s certificate if the sexual abuse consisted of or included certain acts.

In an appropriate case, the panel may also require the physician to pay all or part of the legal, investigation and hearing costs and expenses.

• Rules of Procedure of the Discipline Committee  

The Committee is responsible for:

• reviewing the undergraduate studies at faculties of medicine in Ontario and encouraging curriculum enhancement
• monitoring and sustaining the level and quality of Ontario postgraduate programs of medical education, and
• reviewing the Ontario continuing medical education programs.

Policy

In acting on Council’s behalf in between Council meetings, the Executive monitors and reviews policy issues under development.

The Executive Committee, following its review of a Board of Inquiry Report, may refer a matter to a panel of the Committee. A panel is comprised of at least three members, and one member must be a public member of Council.

If the panel finds that the physician is incapacitated it can make an Order directing the Registrar to:

• revoke the physician’s certificate of registration
• suspend the physician’s certificate, and/or
• impose specified terms, conditions or limitations on the physician’s certificate.

The College makes every effort to carefully balance the physician’s rights with the protection of the public.

Rules of Procedure of the Fitness to Practise Committee 

The Committee’s responsibilities include monitoring the governance process adopted by Council, and reporting annually to Council on the extent to which the governance process is being followed.

The Governance Committee also recommends to Council potential changes to the governance process, and oversees the nominations process.

After completing this review, a panel of the Committee may determine that no action is warranted or, when it is determined that an action is warranted, possible actions may include:

• cautioning the physician in writing or in person;
• referring allegations of professional misconduct or incompetence to the Discipline Committee;
• referring potential incapacity concerns to the Executive Committee; or
• taking any other action the Committee feels is appropriate and which is consistent with the relevant legislation.

The Committee considers the following when assessing a complaint:

• the facts of the case
• whether there is a single concern or a number of concerns about the care at issue
• the seriousness of the concern(s)
• the standard of care expected of practitioners with similar experiences in similar circumstances
• whether the physician is practising within his or her area of expertise
• the nature and content of the physician’s response
• the physician’s own insight as to areas for improvement
• the physician’s capacity for remediation
• the physician’s complaints or discipline history
• any expert opinion obtained in the course of the investigation, and
• past Committee practices in similar cases.  

The Outreach Committee’s mandate is to work collaboratively with the Policy and Communications
and department to:

• help develop major communications and outreach initiatives to the profession and the public
• assist in the development of major communications and government relations activities, and
• develop plans to deliver on the communications and outreach-related components of the College’s strategic plan.

These measures, set out in the legislation, include:

• educational requirements for physicians
• guidelines for the conduct of physicians with their patients
• training for the College’s staff, and
• the provision of information to the public.

The Committee is also responsible for administering a program of funding for therapy and counselling for persons who, while patients, were sexually abused by physicians.

After considering an application, the Registration Committee may make an Order directing the Registrar to issue a certificate of registration; to issue a certificate of registration with terms, conditions and limitations; or to refuse to issue a certificate of registration.

Orders of the Registration Committee may be appealed to the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board, and an Order of the Board may be appealed further to the Divisional Court of Ontario.