Patient Safety Enhanced As More B.C. Health Colleges Amalgamate

Eleven health-profession regulatory colleges have been amalgamated into two, setting the foundation for more robust regulation of health professionals.

“Our government committed to make sure people feel safe when visiting a health professional by creating larger and better-resourced colleges capable of providing stronger oversight,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.

“This new amalgamation of health-profession colleges is part of our plan to modernize the regulatory framework that started in 2018 to help ensure health professions are regulated more consistently and robustly, which is good news for patients as well as the people that provide the services.”

The number of health-profession regulatory colleges in B.C. has been reduced from 15 to six.

The new College of Health and Care Professionals of BC will regulate dietitians, occupational therapists, physical therapists, opticians, optometrists, psychologists, and speech and hearing health professionals.

The new College of Complementary Health Professionals of BC will regulate chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopathic physicians, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists.

These were the final amalgamations planned as part of the ministry of health’s multi-year initiative to modernize the health-profession regulatory framework in B.C.

The office will oversee the health-profession regulatory colleges in B.C. that govern more than 120,000 regulated health professionals, which the province says ensures colleges continue to be transparent, accountable and operate in the public interest.

To see the full release, visit Government of British Columbia.