Mailing Address
Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council
56 Wellesley St W.,
12th Floor
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5S 2S3

Telephone and Facsimile
Toll-Free: 1-888-377-7746
Telephone: 416-326-1550.
Fax: 416-326-1549

Regulation of Physician Assistants under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA)

 

The Minister's Question

The Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Hon. Deb. Matthews, has asked HPRAC to advise whether the practice of Physician Assistants ought to be regulated. The Minister stated that "Physician Assistants (PAs) are not regulated in Ontario but practise under the supervision of physicians and are only able to perform controlled acts under delegation. In keeping with this government's health quality agenda, I would like you to consider whether this profession ought to be regulated, whether independently or in conjunction with an existing profession, under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) and if so, what would be the appropriate scope of practice, controlled acts and titles authorized to the profession, I would also like you to consider in the formation of your advice, what model of regulation, if any, is most conducive to interprofessional collaboration, In evaluating potential models of regulation, consider what factors would support effective future collaboration between PAs and other health professions in Ontario."

The Minister has stated that she requires HPRAC's advice on the issue of regulating Physician Assistants under the RHPA by August 31, 2012. 

HPRAC's Approach

When a referral is received from the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, HPRAC determines relevant public interest concerns and questions. HPRAC attempts to understand all perspectives on an issue including those of key health care practitioners, other affected health care professionals, clients and patients, advocates and regulators.  Each issue proceeds through a multi-stage process where information and responses are requested from and shared with stakeholders. HPRAC will conduct literature, jurisdictional and jurisprudence reviews, and engage in key informant interviews.  Its analysis of the issues will lead to a determination of additional information required, and the appropriate process to be used. 

HPRAC also wishes to remind interested parties that the purpose of regulation under the RHPA is to protect the public. The onus is on the applicant to provide sufficient evidence to HPRAC so the Advisory Council can effectively assess the application against the criteria for regulation of a new profession under the RHPA. For further details about the HPRAC criteria and the process for regulating a new health profession under the RHPA, please click here. 

 

Timelines

The following table includes the currently anticipated timeline for this referral:

Activity	Timeline	Status
Preliminary Research and Analysis by HPRAC	July 2011 - September 2011	Completed
Completion of Proposal by Applicant	October 2011 - January 2011	Completed
Stakeholder Consultations	January 2012 - March 2012	In progress
Data Analysis/Validation, Recommendation Development & Submission of Report to the Minister	April 2012 - August 2012	Pending

 

Please note that these are tentative timelines and may be changed without prior notice.

 

Application to Regulate Physician Assistants under the RHPA

On October 05, 2011 HPRAC invited the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants (CAPA) to submit a proposal to regulate Physician Assistants under the RHPA. HPRAC provided CAPA with an application package consisting of:

• Letter
• Application Form
• Application Guide
• Literature Review
• Jurisdictional Review
• Jurisprudence Review
• Timelines 

 

HPRAC Invites Comments on Proposal to Regulate Physician Assistants under the RHPA

A proposal was submitted to HPRAC by CAPA seeking regulation of Physician Assistants under the RHPA. Many organisations and individuals have extensive experience and interest in health care delivery, public interest, and health professions regulation. HPRAC is keen to ensure that this experience and interest are fully reflected in our recommendation-making process. Therefore, we invite comments on the proposal submitted by CAPA to regulate Physician Assistants under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, (RHPA).

You may find it helpful to read the complete application, which is available here:

                CAPA proposal to regulate Physician Assistants under the RHPA 

 

How to Submit Your Feedback:

There are two (2) ways to provide your feedback to HPRAC. To be considered by HPRAC, information or comments from organizations and individuals must be submitted through one of the mechanisms outlined below.

Option 1: Online Feedback Module

You can provide your feedback online via the HPRAC web consultation portal. We encourage you to respond online.

                Physician Assistants Online Feedback Survey

OR

Option 2: Feedback Form

You can complete the feedback form:

                Physician Assistant Feedback Survey - English

This form is in fillable Portable Document Format (PDF). This means you can fill out the questionnaire on-line by typing your answers directly into the online form. To do so your computer must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you must first download the Adobe Acrobat software. You can do so by visiting http://get.adobe.com/reader/. Once completed, please make sure to save your input by clicking on File and then selecting Save As. Alternatively, you may also fill this form manually.

Once completed, you can send your feedback form by: 

Email: HPRACSubmissions@ontario.ca
Subject: Feedback on Proposal to Regulate Physician Assistants

OR

Mail:
Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council
56 Wellesley St. West, 12^th Floor
Toronto, Ontario  M5S 2S3
Attention: Feedback on Proposal to Regulate Physician Assistants

OR

Fax: 416-326-1549
Subject: Feedback on Proposal to Regulate Physician Assistants

The final date for responses is Friday, March 30, 2012, but earlier expressions of views would be greatly appreciated.

 

Stakeholder Feedback Received by HPRAC:

To ensure transparency, the feedback HPRAC receives from various stakeholders will be posted on this web page according to access to information guidelines (for guidelines, visit http://www.hprac.org/en/privacy.asp). To date HPRAC has not received any feedback on the regulation of Physician Assistants under the RHPA.

If you wish to comment on any of these submissions, please send them to HPRACSubmissions@ontario.ca. The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 13, 2012.

 

Next Steps

Upon conclusion of the consultation period, HPRAC will carefully consider all evidence gathered to develop recommendations. Your feedback helps HPRAC assess the proposal and determine the issues we should consider throughout the review process, and informs recommendation development.

HPRAC will submit its recommendations on the regulation of Physician Assistants under the RHPA in a report to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care for consideration. All HPRAC reports to the Minister remain confidential until released by the Minister. Please note that, as per the RHPA, HPRAC recommendations are advisory only. The minister is not bound to accept HPRAC's advice.  The release of an HPRAC report and any follow-up action are at the discretion of the Minister. Should the Minister choose to accept HPRAC's advice, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care is responsible for implementation of HPRAC recommendations. 

HPRAC expects to submit its recommendation on the regulation of Physician Assistants under the RHPA to the Minister by August 31, 2012. Please note that this timeline is tentative and can change without prior notice.

Watch this site for updates and announcements. You may also get latest updates and consultation announcements by following HPRAC on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/HPRACOntario.