Ontario has left the chat: After 58 years of membership, CPSO withdraws from national group of medical regulators

The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) withdrew from the national group of medical regulators, the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada, after a CPSO Board meeting on May 29. The college stresses the decision to step away from the national group will not affect its duties or communication with other regulators.FMRAC held their annual forum in Montreal from June 16 to18, just 12 business days after getting notice of CPSO’s withdrawal. The theme of the annual meeting was “Regulating Together: Regulating Physicians in the Era of Team-Based Care.” “CPSO’s notice to FMRAC indicated that CPSO’s focus is best placed on advancing priorities within Ontario’s healthcare landscape,” Stephanie Price, FMRAC’s executive director wrote in an email to the Medical Post. “We are grateful for CPSO’s contribution and participation since our founding in 1968, and regret that CPSO is leaving our national table.”CPSO did not provide an interview but gave the following reason for its withdrawal in a statement emailed to the Medical Post: “Having reviewed its external partnerships and affiliations to ensure alignment with CPSO’s mandate and strategic priorities, CPSO determined that its regulatory objectives are best supported through direct engagement with partners and participation in collaborative forums that support the College’s mandate.”CPSO said the withdrawal was after several months of careful consideration and was with the support of the Board of Directors. The break is not mentioned in CPSO’s pre-meeting package for the May 28 to May 29 nor does it appear in an infographic summary of the meeting. The decision was reached in a closed portion of the meeting, but the CPSO said in its statement to the Medical Post that it told “key system partners and stakeholders” about its withdrawal after the meeting.The CPSO statement stressed that the decision to withdraw would not affect its regulatory mandate or its work in improving physician mobility across jurisdictions. It also did not anticipate any added costs related to the change.“The decision to step away from FMRAC does not change CPSO’s commitment to collaboration, including direct engagement with regulators and participation in other forums where priorities align,” it wrote.All other provincial and territorial medical regulatory authorities in Canada are members of FMRAC. It serves to share expertise among medical regulators and allow members to collaborate and discuss policies, practices and challenges in Canada’s healthcare system, its website notes. FMRAC recently updated its mission statement, said Price. The new statement, “‘to advance medical regulation in the interest of Canadians,’ concisely expresses the core purpose that has guided our work for many years.” It is also trying to increase awareness about the groups’ activities. For example, it sent a submission to the federal government prior to the 2025 budget, which stressed the importance of effective professional regulation of Canadian physicians and physicians trained outside of Canada. FMRAC’s previous work has led to advances in streamlining physician registration and regulation across Canada. Medical regulators worked to standardize registration across provincial jurisdictions to make it easier for physicians to work in different parts of Canada. It has issued position statements on prescribing practices, continuous quality improvements, virtual care and AI and the practice of medicine. It recently established a framework medical regulatory authorities can choose to follow about assessing international medical graduates based on where they were trained and previously certified and registered.The CPSO said it has many other avenues to work with other medical regulators. “The College will continue to sit on numerous pan-national, collaborative groups composed of other medical regulatory bodies, certifying bodies, government stakeholders, and other organizations on important topics related to the regulation of medicine, including national labour mobility, registration pathways for internationally trained physicians, and information-sharing between medical regulators.”

Ontario has left the chat: After 58 years of membership, CPSO withdraws from national group of medical regulators

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