Self-regulation

Should cautions issued to health professionals be publicly reported?

Should Ontario's Regulatory Colleges Publicly Report Cautions?

Last week, the governing council of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) voted unanimously in favor of changing its bylaws to allow for public reporting of the results of inspections of Out-of-Hospital Premises, such as private colonoscopy and plastic surgery clinics. This change was made following reporting by the Toronto Star, which

Should we be punishing medical errors?

An interesting story came across my desk recently. Apparently, some states in the U.S. have moved towards a punitive model in trying deal with medical errors and adverse outcomes – this particular story describes how Utah will no longer fund healthcare providers and hospitals for dealing with illnesses that resulted from avoidable errors and infections. On

Complementary & alternative medicine in practice and policy

Complementary and alternative medicine is a billion dollar business in Canada.  Complementary and alternative medicine is rooted in different philosophies and standards of evidence than mainstream medicine.  Many patients use both systems of medicine.  Complementary and alternative medicine is defined as any medical system, product or practice that is not thought of as a standard