Answering the health question

Balancing patient safety with licensee privacy

CPSBC has a legislated duty to ensure licensees have the capacity to practise safely and that their health status doesn’t affect patient outcomes. While it is necessary to collect personal health information to determine fitness to practise, CPSBC recognizes the importance of balancing that with a licensee’s right to privacy. CPSBC also seeks to destigmatize licensee health concerns and to follow best practices when dealing with disabilities in the workplace.

Answering the health question on the licence renewal form

Are you currently suffering from any health condition that adversely affects your ability to practise medicine in a competent, ethical, and professional manner?

Licensees must answer the health question on the licence renewal form truthfully. If a licensee answers in the affirmative, they will be asked if their health condition has already been reported and/or if it has worsened since last reported. They will then have the option to provide more information in confidential text field.

What happens with the responses

Once a health issue has been disclosed on the licence renewal form, the licensee’s response is reviewed by the Health Monitoring Program.

The program may reach out to the licensee to discuss the health condition and the impact on the licensee’s practice if the condition was not previously disclosed to the program, or if a previously reported condition worsened or began to impact a licensee’s practice.

The program is compassionate and sensitive when discussing confidential health issues. All health information collected will be kept in the strictest confidence. Only Health Monitoring Program staff access this information.

Working with a health condition

Many licensees with health conditions, even long-term or serious, can continue to practise safely without interruption. A licensee’s health condition only becomes a regulatory concern if it impacts their ability to provide safe care.

The Health Monitoring Program carefully considers whether the health condition has affected the licensee’s fitness to practise.

On the licence renewal form, licensees must disclose

• if they have been asked by their physician to stop working because of a health condition,
• if they have or will be taking more than three months off work for a planned major surgery,
• if they have not worked for the last year due to health reasons,
• if they have been given a diagnosis for a health condition that is chronic, progressive, or relapsing, or
• if treatment (medical surgical etc.) for their health condition is such that it impairs their ability to provide safe care.

Working with a disability

CPSBC believes licensees with a disability should be welcomed to the profession and valued for their contributions to the health-care system.

Licensees do not have to tell CPSBC about their disability unless their employer or medical school has raised concerns about how they manage their condition or how it will impact their ability to practise medicine.

Speak to someone in the Health Monitoring Program

If a licensee is unsure about their response to the annual licence renewal form, they may reach out to the Health Monitoring Program at 604-733-7758 extension 2630.

The Health Monitoring Program holds all health information confidentially and handles the information with sensitivity.