Health and Supportive Care Providers Oversight Authority Act, 2021

ONTARIO REGULATION 215/24

CODE OF ETHICS

Consolidation Period:  From December 1, 2024 to the e-Laws currency date.

No amendments.

This is the English version of a bilingual regulation.

CONTENTS

 

Interpretation

Definition

1. In this Regulation,

“recipient” means a person who receives health services or supportive care services from a registrant; (“bénéficiaire”)

“services” means health services or supportive care services. (“services”)

Requirement to Comply

Requirement to comply

2. In providing services to recipients, every registrant of every class shall comply with the requirements of this Regulation.

Honesty and Integrity

Communication

3. The registrant shall,

(a) communicate in a manner that is transparent and honest; and

(b) clearly communicate in advance the details of the services the registrant intends to provide.

Courtesy and compassion

4. The registrant shall be courteous and compassionate.

Integrity

5. The registrant shall,

(a) act in good faith and with integrity; and

(b) not commit acts of forgery or fraud.

No coercion, etc.

6. The registrant shall not use either their professional position of authority or information obtained during a professional relationship with a recipient to coerce, improperly influence, harass or exploit a current or former recipient, or their family or caregivers.

No misrepresentation

7. The registrant shall,

(a) make best efforts to ensure that any representations on the services to be provided are accurate and are not misleading; and

(b) not engage in, or be a party to, misrepresentation or any unethical practice.

Respect for property

8. The registrant shall respect the property of recipients and of the registrant’s employer, if any.

Conflicts of interest

9. If a conflict of interest arises, or has the potential to arise, during the course of providing services, the registrant shall provide disclosure immediately to their employer, where applicable, and to the recipient and shall connect the recipient to another registrant or health professional that does not have a conflict of interest.

Professionalism and Accountability

Competence, etc.

10. The registrant shall,

(a) provide services safely and ethically; and

(b) identify when a recipient’s therapeutic needs are outside of the registrant’s competence and provide support that leads to the recipient obtaining services from appropriate health professionals.

Respect

11. The registrant shall maintain a recipient’s privacy and dignity in the physical space where they are providing services.

Supervision

12. The registrant shall adequately supervise a person who is under the professional responsibility of the registrant and who is providing health services or supportive care services.

Advice and collaboration

13. The registrant shall seek advice from and collaborate with the recipient’s health care team to uphold safe care.

Accepting delegation

14. The registrant shall only accept the delegation of a controlled act from a health professional under section 27 of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 where the registrant has the necessary knowledge, skill and judgment to carry out the act safely and effectively.

Communication

15. The registrant shall clearly and accurately communicate qualifications, competencies, and registration status to recipients, to persons requesting that the registrant provide services, to employers and to any other persons involved in a recipient’s care.

Documentation

16. The registrant shall maintain complete, accurate and timely documentation related to services provided to a recipient.

Protection from abuse

17. The registrant shall take reasonable action,

(a) to mitigate or prevent potential or actual harm, neglect or abuse of recipients, including physical, verbal, emotional, financial, or sexual abuse, resulting from care or services provided by caregivers, health professionals or other persons; and

(b) to stop unsafe, incompetent, unethical or unlawful practice, including any type of abuse.

Capability

18. The registrant shall ensure that any services that they provide to a recipient are within what they are physically and mentally capable of providing and are of a quality and level of competence expected by the Authority.

Respect

19. The registrant shall treat other members of a recipient’s health care team with respect, including by,

(a) collaborating and communicating clearly, effectively, professionally and in a timely way; and

(b) working together with other members of the health care team to improve the recipient’s care.

Maintaining competence

20. The registrant shall maintain and continually improve their competence in accordance with a prescribed continuous quality improvement activities program set in regulations under the Act, where such a regulation is in place for the class of registrant.

No substance abuse

21. The registrant shall not provide services while under the influence of any substance that the registrant knows or ought reasonably to know may interfere with or impair the registrant’s ability to provide the expected quality of service.

Discontinuation

22. The registrant shall not discontinue providing services that are needed by a recipient unless,

(a) the recipient requests the discontinuation and alternative services are arranged by the registrant or the recipient is given a reasonable opportunity to arrange alternative services;

(b) the registrant has a reasonable belief that the registrant may be harmed by the recipient or be unsafe in the environment in which the services would be performed; or

(c) the registrant’s employer has directed the registrant to discontinue services to the recipient.

Diligent record-keeping

23. The registrant shall be diligent and timely in recording services they provide.

Improper requests

24. The registrant shall refrain from acting on a recipient’s request where acting on the request,

(a) is illegal; or

(b) would be harmful to or jeopardize the safety of the recipient or others.

Recognition of gaps

25. The registrant shall work with the recipient’s health care team to address deficiencies in a recipient’s care when the registrant recognizes that there are health care gaps in the recipient’s care.

Dishonourable behaviour

26. The registrant shall not engage in any act or omission that, having regard to all of the circumstances, would reasonably be regarded as,

(a) being disgraceful, dishonourable, unprofessional or unbecoming a registrant; or

(b) likely to bring the profession into disrepute or to undermine public confidence in the regulation of registrants under the Act.

Boundaries

27. The registrant shall maintain professional boundaries and refrain from engaging in interactions or any personal, financial or commercial situations that could give rise to an actual or perceived conflict of interest, including,

(a) acting under a power of attorney or as a substitute decision-maker for a recipient;

(b) accepting gifts from recipients, family members of recipients, or caregivers of recipients, unless declining the gift harms the professional relationship with a recipient or if the gift is of nominal value and given as an expression of courtesy or hospitality and accepting it is reasonable in the circumstances;

(c) selling products to a recipient for personal gain; and

(d) engaging in a personal or sexual relationship with a recipient unless at least one year has passed after the registrant has ceased providing services, or there is an existing personal or sexual relationship with the recipient that commenced before the registrant’s registration.

Social media

28. The registrant shall be respectful on social media to other registrants, members of recipients’ health care teams and any other persons involved in recipients’ care.

Child in need of protection

29. The registrant shall immediately make the report required under section 125 of the Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 where that section applies with respect to the registrant.

Recipient Autonomy

Provision of information

30. The registrant shall,

(a) provide all the necessary information that a recipient or their lawfully authorized substitute decision-maker may reasonably require in order to make an informed choice to consent or refuse to consent to a service from a registrant;

(b) ensure that they have the consent of the recipient, or their lawfully authorized substitute decision-maker before providing a service; and

(c) provide a truthful and appropriate explanation of the nature of a service following a recipient’s request for an explanation.

Respect

31. The registrant shall respect and recognize a recipient’s autonomy, or that of their substitute decision-maker, if any, to make decisions and choices related to the services provided by the registrant.

Timeliness

32. The registrant shall provide services in a timely manner, or when timely provision of services is not possible, explain the reasons for the delay and take steps to avoid or limit harm to a recipient.

Personal beliefs, biases, etc.

33. The registrant shall,

(a) not impose personal beliefs and biases on recipients, including political, religious and cultural beliefs;

(b) report to the Authority instances where any other registrants are imposing personal beliefs and biases on a recipient, including political, religious and cultural beliefs; and

(c) provide services in a safe, compassionate and timely manner despite conflicts in personal beliefs between the registrant and a recipient.

Language and communication

34. The registrant shall make best efforts to meet recipients’ language and communication needs.

Representations about Registrants and Their Qualifications

Representations about registrants and their qualifications

35. The registrant shall,

(a) appropriately use the visual mark or any other identifier established by the Authority for a class of registrants in the delivery of health services or supportive care services;

(b) identify themselves including first name and last name, their title, and their role and, if requested, the registrant’s visual mark or identifier;

(c) not use a name, other than the registrant’s name as set out in the register, in the course of providing health services or supportive care services; and

(d) advise the Authority promptly of a change in the name used by the registrant in providing or offering to provide services.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Privacy and confidentiality

36. The registrant shall,

(a) where they work for an employer, comply with the employer’s policies on records retention and privacy; and

(b) comply with applicable privacy legislation, including the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004.

Record Keeping and Reports

Accuracy

37. The registrant shall not sign or issue a record, report or other document that the registrant knows or ought to know contains a false or misleading statement in the course of meeting any documentation requirements applicable to the provision of services.

Business Practices

Service regardless of fee

38. The registrant shall perform a necessary service for the recipient regardless of whether all or part of the fee is paid before the service is performed.

No charge where no service

39. The registrant shall not charge a fee for services not performed, except that a registrant may charge for the cancellation of an appointment less than 24 hours before the appointment time or in accordance with any reasonable written agreement with the recipient.

Fees to be reasonable

40. The registrant shall not charge a fee that is excessive in relation to the services performed.

Restriction on fees to recipients

41. The registrant shall not charge a fee or accept payment from a recipient respecting services which have been, or will be, paid for directly or indirectly by any level of government or a third party.

No rebates

42. The registrant shall not receive or confer a rebate, fee or other benefit by reason of the referral of a recipient to or from another person.

Receipts

43. The registrant shall issue a statement or receipt when requested by a recipient, their authorized representative or the entity who is to pay, in whole or in part, for the services.

No Discrimination or Harassment

No discrimination

44. The registrant shall comply with the Human Rights Code.

Respect for beliefs

45. The registrant shall respect the cultural, religious, and other beliefs of the recipient.

No abuse

46. The registrant shall not physically, verbally, emotionally, financially or sexually abuse a recipient or their substitute decision-maker.

Miscellaneous

Wills and other documents

47. The registrant shall not influence a recipient to make or change a will or other testamentary instrument in favour of the registrant, or act as a witness when the recipient is signing any legal documents.

Compliance with law

48. The registrant,

(a) shall comply with the Act, regulations under the Act, and by-laws approved by the Authority’s board of directors that are applicable to all classes of registrants or that are specific to the registrant’s class of registration; and

(b) not contravene a federal, provincial or territorial law, a municipal by-law if the contravention is relevant to the registrant’s provision of services.

Compliance with Authority

49. The registrant shall,

(a) comply with an order of a panel of the Authority’s discipline committee;

(b) comply with an order of a panel of the Authority’s appeals committee;

(c) comply with a written undertaking given to the Authority; and

(d) carry out an agreement entered into with the Authority.

Prompt response

50. The registrant shall reply appropriately in writing within 30 days to any written communication from the Authority where the Authority requests a response.

51. Omitted (provides for coming into force of provisions of this Regulation).