Duty to report guide
Per the Health Professions Act, RSBC 1996, c.183 (HPA), a registrant of a regulated health profession has a duty to report another registrant to their regulatory college in the circumstances described below.
These sections of the HPA specify that this report must be made to the subject registrant’s college; it does not refer to the registrant’s employer, supervisor, or health authority. While you may also choose or be obligated to report to these people and organizations, this legislation requires that you must make a separate report to the registrant’s regulatory college.
Patient involvement
If reporting under section 32.1, 32.2, or 32.3, patient consent is not required.
If reporting under section 32.4, the source of your information is significant.
- If your sole source of knowledge of the sexual misconduct is written or spoken communication from the patient, that patient’s consent must be obtained prior to the report being made. You should also inform the patient that their name will be provided to the registrant.
- If you have become aware of the sexual misconduct from the registrant in question, from colleagues, from social media, or another source, the patient’s consent is not required.
If a patient is involved as a witness in any report, you should inform the patient that you have engaged with College processes. Request their permission to provide their contact information to the College and let them know that this means that their name and the information they provide may be disclosed to the registrant being reported.
- In this case, please provide the patient’s name, date of birth, and personal health number if possible.