Assessment standards

The assessment standards provide practice recommendations and requirements on key areas that impact clinical practice in the community-based setting. They cover topics related to clinical practice and patient and staff safety and guide the office and physician assessments.

Purpose of the assessment standards

Physician assessments

Physician assessment standards were developed in collaboration with physician assessors, practising physicians, and educational stakeholders.

  • They provide guidance for physicians.
  • They provide guidance for peer physician assessors.
  • They are used within a quality improvement approach.

Our goal is for assessment standards to be implemented in community-based practices across BC.

Office assessments

Office assessment standards describe best practice requirements and recommendations. They are based on provincial and national standards.

How to use the assessment standards

We encourage physicians undergoing an office assessment or a physician assessment to review the relevant assessment standards as a self-reflective exercise. The proactive review of the community-based setting or clinical practice can help identify deficiencies and opportunities for practice improvement.

These assessment standards apply to all registrants practising in community-based clinical offices, including:

  • a registrant’s private office/solo practice
  • walk-in clinics
  • urgent-care clinics
  • multi-registrant clinics

The PPEP assessment standards were developed to:

  • promote best practices
  • promote consistency across community-based offices and clinical practices  
  • make information more accessible to physicians
  • provide support references where available

Assessment standards are available to help guide day-to-day community-based operations and clinical practice through medical record keeping.

The PPEP assessment standards are not College practice standards. College practice standards reflect the minimum standard of professional behaviour and ethical conduct expected of all physicians and surgeons in BC on a specific topic or issue.

The College and the PPEP endorses the Canadian Medical Association’s Code of Ethics and Professionalism as the common ethical framework to which all physicians and surgeons are bound in the province.

Physician assessment standards

Medical records

Office assessment standards

Administrative
Emergency preparedness
Infection prevention and control
Safety and Risk