On June 28, 2024, the regulation of health professionals in BC will change drastically.
Members of 11 professions who are currently regulated by their own colleges will be amalgamated into two new colleges.
Chiropractors, Massage Therapists, Naturopaths, and Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists will all form part of the new College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC.
Dietitians, Occupational Therapists, Optometrists, Opticians, Physical Therapists, Psychologists, and Speech and Hearing Health Professionals will all form part of the new College of Health and Care Professionals of BC.
The big question is – what does this mean for these professionals? The answer, in short, is we don’t completely know. Communication from the colleges to their respective professionals has varied, and in some cases has been quite limited. We expect that professionals are rightly wondering what will and won’t change for them after June 28, in respect of continuing education, professional fees, practice standards and advice, the investigation and discipline of complaints, and more.
Ultimately, our understanding of how the new amalgamated colleges will operate will need to develop alongside the colleges themselves, as they accredit and create new continuing education, publish practice guidelines and give advice, investigate allegations of misconduct, publish disciplinary decisions, and do all the other things they must to meet their mandate of public protection. The development and execution of these functions depends so much on internal structure and culture, so we will be keeping a close eye on how the new colleges are doing their work as they develop.
However, there are some places we can look to now for a more concrete understanding of how the new colleges will operate:
(1) Bylaws. The Bylaws of the new colleges must be in place on June 28, so they are nearing completion (though they will still be subject to amendments after June 28). If you want to understand how a regulator operates, start with the Bylaws.
(2) Prior amalgamations. There have been several college amalgamations over the past 6 years. We can look to the work of these new amalgamated colleges to better understand how amalgamation affects the professionals themselves.
(3) Government intent. These new amalgamations and the past amalgamations are the result of serious concerns within government and stakeholder groups about the operations of regulators and their ability to meet their mandate of serving the public interest. In charting their respective futures, the new colleges will be looking to the reasons why they were created and the expectations of government for how they operate going forward. By examining these things now, we can better understand how the new colleges will shape themselves as they develop.
GoodWin Law will be publishing articles on each of these subjects in the coming weeks, with the intent of helping the professionals who will be affected by these changes better understand how their professional lives may change over the coming weeks, months, and years. If you are concerned or simply have questions about what these changes mean for you, follow GoodWin Law on LinkedIn or get in touch with us at jeremym@goodwinatwork.ca.
Jeremy Miller is a lawyer at GoodWin Law. Jeremy has worked in-house at two professional regulators, as both an investigator and lawyer. Jeremy brings a wealth of specialized knowledge about the internal workings of professional regulators to his current practice, in which he helps professionals navigate issues with their regulators.