Mandatory Reporting

Under the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 (sections 85.1 to 85.6.2) all employers, facility operators and regulated health professionals have a mandatory duty to report to the College for any of the reasons outlined below. All pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, registered pharmacy students and interns share these obligations.

If you are sending a report to the College in accordance with these obligations, you must send it within 30 days of the incident. If you miss the 30-day window, please still send this report as quickly as possible.

The College cannot assist employers, facility operators, or health professionals in determining their legal obligation to make a mandatory report. If you are in doubt whether a mandatory report is required, you may wish to submit one and allow the College to assess the information contained within the report to determine if further action is required.

No action can be taken against a person for filing a mandatory report in good faith. However, failure to submit a mandatory report when it is required could result in a fine of up to $25,000 for an individual or up to $50,000 for a corporation.

Download the Mandatory Reporting Form for employers, facility operators and regulated health professionals.

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Employers

Employers have a mandatory duty to report if they revoke privileges or terminate/suspend a regulated health professional for reasons of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity.

85.5 (1) A person who terminates the employment or revokes, suspends or imposes restrictions on the privileges of a member (registrant) or who dissolves a partnership, a health profession corporation or association with a member (registrant) for reasons of professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity shall file with the Registrar within thirty days after the termination, revocation, suspension, imposition or dissolution a written report setting out the reasons. 1993, c. 37, s. 23; 2000, c. 42, Sched., s. 36.

This obligation remains even if the regulated health professional resigned or relinquished any privileges prior to the employer having done so.

Reporting is not required for employment-related reasons (e.g. issues such as lateness or personal incompatibility) that don’t compromise patient safety or contravene standards of practice.

Facility Operators

Facility operators have a mandatory duty to report if they suspect sexual abuse of a patient by a health professional, or if they suspect a health professional to be incompetent or incapacitated.

85.2 (1) A person who operates a facility where one or more members (registrants) practise shall file a report in accordance with section 85.3 if the person has reasonable grounds to believe that a member (registrant) who practises at the facility is incompetent, incapacitated, or has sexually abused a patient. 1993, c. 37, s. 23; 2007, c. 10, Sched. M, s. 61.

Health Professionals

All regulated health professionals have a mandatory duty to report if they believe that another health professional has sexually abused a patient.

85.1 (1) A member (registrant) shall file a report in accordance with section 85.3 if the member (registrant) has reasonable grounds, obtained in the course of practising the profession, to believe that another member (registrant) of the same or a different College has sexually abused a patient.

In addition to mandatory reporting obligations under legislation, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians also have obligations under the Code of Ethics. Under 2.18 “Members (registrants) raise concerns to the appropriate authority if they reasonably believe human resources, policies, procedures, working conditions or the actions, professional performance or health of others may compromise patient care or public safety.”