The Notice to College Members is available here.

Notice to College Members

April 14, 2020

The College has received calls of concern from patients who are unable to reach their physicians to discuss current or previous health problems that may need follow-up.

The College expects family physicians and specialists to have their offices organized to facilitate contact with their patients.  This should include the ability to speak to physicians during regular office hours and/or leave a message which will be received, reviewed, and actioned in a timely manner appropriate to the nature of the problem.  Coordination with other team members or colleagues to manage the responsibility may facilitate organization of work.

Abruptly closing your practice and abandoning your patients is not appropriate or consistent with the College’s expectations of physicians.   

These are challenging times for all.  We need to continue to care for each other.

The Notice to College Members is available here.

The Notice to College Members is available here.

The Notice to College Members is available here.

The Q1 2020 edition of UPDATE is available here.

Notice to College Members

March 23, 2020

This is an incredibly challenging time for physicians and the healthcare system as a whole.  On behalf of the College, thank you to those who are striving to meet the challenges we see today while planning for the days ahead.

In this continuously evolving public health emergency, physicians are reminded to stay informed regarding appropriate practices from Public Health and the Regional Health Authorities.  As always, the College expects physicians to act ethically and in the best interests of all patients to support this emergency.

The College recognizes that physicians may need to depart from usual prescribing practices to provide continuity of care.  This could include virtual care, providing verbal prescriptions for controlled drugs, and extending prescription quantities.  In all cases, physicians are expected to have comprehensive clinical knowledge of the patient, apply due diligence in clinical decision making, and document decisions particularly if beyond normal prescribing practices.

College Staff Working Remotely

The College’s office at 120 Torbay Road has been physically closed to support social distancing. While work is continuing from the homes of our employees, the priority is work related to COVID‑19.  Response times for general inquiries, application processing times, and complaint processing times may take longer than usual.  We ask for your understanding.

Emergency Licences

At the request of a Regional Health Authority, the College may issue an Emergency Licence to a physician to provide medical services in relation to the current public health state of emergency.

The Notice to College Members is available here.

The Notice to College Members is available here.

The office of the College will close for the Christmas Season at the end of business on Monday, December 23, 2019 and will resume business at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 2, 2020.