Practice conditions
Certain limits and conditions are sometimes placed on a College registrant’s practice because of an order from, or agreement with, the College.
What is a practice condition?
Practice conditions are certain limits and conditions under which that registrant has been allowed to continue practising medicine in BC. Practice conditions are the result of either an order from the College or an agreement with the College. These practice conditions are then monitored by the College’s legal department as part of its mandate to protect the public. This is known as compliance monitoring for practice conditions.
There are a few types of practice conditions, which can be monitored in a variety of ways. For example, some registrants are required without exceptions to use a chaperone when they see patients. These conditions will often include a requirement to post signage advising patients that they can expect a chaperone to be present during certain types of appointments or examinations.
Other conditions relate to the number of patients a registrant can see per day, or prescribing permissions for certain types of medications and procedures.
Why do practice conditions need to be monitored?
A registrants’ ability to practise medicine in British Columbia is a privilege and not a right. These conditions are applied in most cases as a result of misconduct or misjudgment on the part of the registrant. The College deems these conditions as circumstances under which the physician can continue to practise with a limited risk to the public.
The College is committed to the following:
- a collaborative approach
- setting registrants up to succeed
- assisting registrants in mitigating their future risk to the public
Practice conditions are not a punishment or continuation of discipline. They are a way to ensure registrants maintain boundaries and professionalism, and are able to continue to practise and serve their communities.
How do I know if my physician has practice conditions?
If the practice conditions resulted from a disciplinary action against a registrant, a list of the conditions will be posted on their public profile in the College’s registrant directory. If you have any questions about the conditions listed there, feel free to talk to your physician directly or contact the College.
Practice conditions related to a registrant’s health issue or prescription restrictions are not made public on their registrant directory profile.