MANDATORY REPORTING BY MEMBERS

Your reporting obligations come from a number of different legal sources including the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, the Child and Family Services Act, 1990, the Retirement Homes Act, 2010, and the CRTO’s Regulations, Standards of Practice, By-Laws and Commitment to Ethical Practice.

Mandatory Self-Reporting Obligations

Your reporting obligations fall into three categories:

1. Offences
2. Findings/proceedings of professional negligence or malpractice; or
3. Information regarding professional registration and conduct

1. Offences

You are required to report any offence for which you have been charged (including bail conditions, restrictions imposed, or restrictions agreed upon) and/or any findings of guilt, including those:

1. under the Criminal Code of Canada, 1985;
2. under the Health Insurance Act, 1990;
3. related to prescribing, compounding, dispensing, selling or administering drugs;
4. that occurred while you were practicing, or that was related to your practice;
5. in which you were impaired or intoxicated; or,
6. not listed but relevant to your suitability to practice the profession.

An example of an offence that might occur while you are practising would be a breach of the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004.

You are not required to report municipal by-law infractions such as parking and zoning violations, or offences under the Highway Traffic Act, 1990 such as speeding or rule of the road violations.

However, all offences involving the consumption of alcohol or drugs must be reported.

Any offence that involves dishonesty, breach of trust or disregard for the welfare of individuals are examples of offences relevant to your suitability to practice and must be reported (e.g., a failure to report a child in need of protection under the Child and Family Services Act, 1990).

When in doubt, you should err on the side of caution and report an offence to the CRTO. The CRTO staff and the relevant committee will review the report to determine if the offence is “relevant to a member’s suitability to practice”.

2. Findings/Proceedings of Professional Negligence or Malpractice

Professional negligence generally involves making a mistake that harms a patient. These findings occur in civil court proceedings or lawsuits. The CRTO must post court findings of professional negligence or malpractice on the public register.

3. Information regarding Professional Registration and Conduct

You must also notify the CRTO if:

1. you are a member of another body that governs a profession inside or outside of Ontario; and/or
2. you have a finding of professional misconduct, incompetence, incapacity, or similar proceedings made against you by another body that governs a profession inside or outside of Ontario; and/or
3. you have been disciplined, suspended, required to resign, terminated or subjected to similar action at our place of employment or in a relation to a contract of service; and/or
4. you have been the subject of any professional misconduct in relation to a contract of service.

4. Mandatory Reporting Obligations of other Health Care Professionals

Reporting Sexual Abuse of a Patient
Under section 85.1 you must file a report if you have reasonable grounds, obtained in the course of practising the profession, to believe that another member of the same or a different College has sexually abused a patient. You must make the report within 30 days, unless you have reasonable grounds to believe the member will continue to sexually abuse patients, in which case, you must report the information immediately.

Notes:

1. The name of a patient who may have been sexually abused must not be included in a report unless the patient, or if the patient is incapable, the patient’s representative, consents in writing to the inclusion of the patient’s name.
2. You are not required to file a report if you don’t know the name of the member who would be the subject of the report.
3. If a member is required to file a report because of reasonable grounds obtained from one of the member’s patients, the member shall use his or her best efforts to advise the patient of the requirement to file the report before doing so.

The report must be filed as soon as reasonably practicable after the member receives notice of the finding of guilt, charge, bail condition or restriction.

NOTE: for reporting of sexual abuse of a patient, you must make the report within 30 days, unless you have reasonable grounds to believe the member will continue to sexually abuse patients, in which case, you must report the information immediately.

The contents of the report must contain:

1. the name of the member filing the report;
2. the nature of, and a description of the finding/charge;
3. the date that the finding/charge was made/laid against the member;
4. the name and location of the court/body that made the finding against the member/the name and location of the court in which the charge was laid or in which the bail condition or restriction was imposed on or agreed to by the member;
5. every bail condition imposed on the member as a result of the charge;
6. any other restriction imposed on or agreed to by the member relating to the charge;
7. the status of any appeal initiated respecting the finding made against the member; and
8. the status of any proceedings with respect to the charge.

In general, the CRTO will only take action, if, after inquiring into the matter, it appears that the conduct impacts your ability to practice respiratory therapy ethically, safely or competently.

Failure to submit a mandatory report of sexual abuse may result in a fine of up to $50,000 for an individual.

In instances where a mandatory report is not submitted, the failure to make the mandatory report may result in a referral of professional misconduct allegations to the Discipline Committee.

There are additional requirements for reporting other health care professionals if you operate a facility.

For additional information please refer to:

1. Mandatory Reporting by Employers/Facilities Fact Sheet
2. Sections 85.1-85.6 of the Health Professions Procedural Code

• Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991
• Child and Family Services Act, 1990
• Retirement Homes Act, 2010
• Criminal Code of Canada, 1985
• Health Insurance Act, 1990
• Personal Health Information Act, 2004
• Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority
• Children’s Aid Societies
• Mandatory Reporting by Employers/Facilities Fact Sheet
• Health Professions Procedural Code

College of Respiratory Therapists of Ontario
180 Dundas Street West,
Suite 2103
Toronto, ON M5G 1Z8

Telephone: 416-591-7800
Toll-Free (in Ontario): 1-800-261-0528
General Email: questions@crto.on.ca