Standards of Practice Consultation 2024
Introduction
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer, on behalf of the Standards Committee of the College is initiating a consultation regarding proposed amendments to the College’s standards of practice. The rationale for these proposed amendments is detailed in the attached compendium document.
This matter is currently under active consideration, and no decisions have been made at this time. The College is seeking feedback from its registrants, system partners, and the general public.
This discussion paper is a part of the College’s augmented Consultation Program through which the College will actively engage stakeholders, system partners and registrants on topics where future changes are being contemplated or presently being proposed.
Proposal
The College is mandated under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (RHPA) to develop, establish and maintain standards of practice for naturopathic doctors (NDs), to assure the quality of the practice of the profession. These standards describe the expected level of performance for specific elements of practice, to which all NDs are required to adhere, to ensure quality and safety in the provision of these professional services to the public. The public should feel confident their ND is held to a high standard when they seek naturopathic care.
The standards of practice guide the professional knowledge, skills and judgement needed to practice naturopathy safely, and set the minimum expectations that must be met by any ND in any setting. These documents are consistently updated to incorporate current legislative and health care system requirements.
Several of the College’s standards of practice, developed between 2012 and 2015, require review and potential amendments to align with current legislation and evolving healthcare needs and practices.
The Standards Committee of the College has initiated a review of the standards of practice, considering the following factors and information:
- Does this represent the actual way the profession practises this procedure?
- Is anything confusing or outdated?
- Is anything missing?
- Is anything necessary or unnecessary?
- What information would help registrants meet the minimum expectations?
The review of the standards is being conducted in batches. This consultation focuses on 19 standards of practice that have been reviewed by the Standards Committee and are now ready for feedback.
Current Information
The current standards of practice are listed and linked below and accessible on the College website for reference. Additionally, clean copies of the newly proposed standards are linked in the table below for ease of comparison. The accompanying compendium document provides an overview of the amendments and highlights the specific sections of the standards where changes are being proposed.
Intent of this Change
The proposed amendments to the standards of practice are designed to support the profession by providing the most current information, reflecting up-to-date legislation and evolving healthcare needs and practices.
Impact on Registrants
Most of the changes will impact all registrants as they would be required to familiarize themselves with the amendments as approved to ensure that they can effectively incorporate the necessary updates into their practices. In doing so, registrants will be able to maintain compliance with the latest standards and continue to provide quality care that aligns with current legislative and healthcare requirements.
Financial Impact on the College
The proposed amendments to the standards of practice will not have a financial impact on registrants. The primary objective of these amendments is to ensure that registrants’ practices align with current legislation and healthcare needs. Additionally, these changes are not anticipated to have any financial implications for the College.
Feedback
The College is seeking feedback from all stakeholders, including registrants, the public, naturopathic organizations and other regulatory bodies. Feedback must be provided by way of written correspondence (letter or email) or through the College’s online submission form (see below for more details).
All feedback will be published by the College on the College’s website. Feedback from organizations will be published such that a reader can identify the organization; however, feedback from individuals within the profession or members of the public will be published anonymously.
Regardless, all feedback must include the name of the individual submitting for validity purposes. Anonymous submissions will not be considered and will not be retained by the College.
Feedback can be provided in the following ways:
| Written correspondence by mail: | College of Naturopaths of Ontario 10 King Street East, Suite 1001 Toronto, ON M5C 1C3 |
| Written correspondence by facsimile: | (416) 583-6011 |
| Written correspondence by e-mail: | general@collegeofnaturopaths.on.ca |
| On-line form: | Standards Consultation 2024 Submission Form |
Instructions for Using the Online Submission Form
The on-line submission form for the College’s proposed changes to the standards of practice is an interactive and intuitive form. Before using this form, it is highly recommended that you review the proposed changes and make note of the areas where you wish to provide feedback. This will make the online submission process easier to use. The key questions are as follows:
| Identification | You will be required to provide your full name and email address, as well as the name of any organization you may be representing. |
| Sections | You will be asked to identify all the sections on which you wish to provide feedback. This will alter the online form to allow feedback on those sections only. If you do not identify a specific section for feedback, the opportunity to speak to that section will not be included in the form. |
| Submission Copy | At the completion of the feedback form, you can request that the online system provides you with a copy of your submission by checking a box at the end. It is recommended that you check this box so you can recall the feedback that you have provided. |
| Published Summary | A summary of all feedback received will be published on the College’s website. All information provided will be published as submitted. The College does not edit submissions prior to publication. Names, emails, and other identifying information will be redacted from the materials prior to publication unless you have identified that your submission is provided on behalf of an organization. |
Timeframe
The College will be providing the opportunity for feedback that exceeds the mandatory 60-day timeframe set out in the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. Consultation will begin on or before August 9, 2024, and will conclude on or about November 1, 2024.
Information Sessions
The College will be conducting one or more information sessions on the proposed changes to the standards of practice. The session will enable attendees to hear about the key elements and the rationale for the proposed changes; however, it will not be a session to provide feedback. Feedback may only be provided in writing as noted above. To facilitate these sessions, an opportunity to submit questions ahead of time is being provided using this online form.
Watch the Events Listing on the College’s home page for the dates and times of upcoming information sessions.