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As part of the CHCPBC’s Quality Practice Program, the College’s Professional Practice Advisors provide an important service for registrants, members of the public, other health professionals, and stakeholder organizations. Professional practice advisors are available to answer your questions – by phone at 1-877-742-6715 (press #3 for practice support) or via the Contact Us form.

Professional Practice Advisors provide professional practice information that supports adherence to regulatory requirements, including guidance on how standards of practice, clinical policies, clinical practice guidelines and protocols, and related documents can be implemented in practice.

Professional Practice Advisors respond to both general requests for assistance and enquiries related to specific professional practice issues.

From a public protection perspective, the benefits of the service include:

• Reducing preventable practice errors and patient/client risk;
• Providing clarity on standards of practice and other decision support tools;
• Ensuring registrants comply with mandatory professional and clinical standards of practice;
• Supporting registrants in meeting their annual quality assurance requirements;
• Ensuring CHCPBC remains current in awareness of practice trends that may necessitate change in College standards of practice, policies, and other documents.

Note: Professional Practice Advisors generally work on for the College on a part-time basis while maintaining their own practice. Please allow five business days for a response.

A “standard” is the minimum level of performance and professional practice required of a health and care professional to ensure service that is ethical and safe for the public. Standards exist to promote, guide, and direct professional practice. Health and care professionals are required to know and adhere to the Standards of Practice of their profession. The standards are enforceable under governing legislation as well as the core competencies for each profession regulated by the College.��

Each profession currently retains specific standards of practice. These can be found the the Registrant Practice Resources section for each profession:

• Audiologists
• Dietitians
• Hearing Instrument Practitioners
• Occupational Therapists
• Opticians
• Optometrists
• Physical Therapists
• Psychologists
• Speech-Language Pathologists

The members of each profession regulated by the College of Health and Care Professionals of BC are guided by their Code of Ethics or Code of Conduct. Each code does the following:

• helps these professionals keep the client’s welfare as the primary concern in all decision making
• provides you with information about the basic ethical care and services the public can expect from these health and care professionals
• guides the establishment of standards and guidelines for the professions’ regulatory responsibilities and activities

Each regulated health professional is expected to be familiar with their profession’s code and to integrate it into their day-to-day practice.

The College’s policies are guidelines established to regulate the conduct and practices of registrants of the college. These policies are designed to ensure that registrants adhere to professional standards, ethical practices, and legal requirements in their education and training. By upholding these policies, colleges protect the public by ensuring that healthcare providers are competent, ethical, and accountable in their practice. These policies often cover areas such as academic integrity, clinical practice standards, patient confidentiality, and professional behavior, among others.

�ճ������requires all regulated health professionals to undergo a criminal record check (CRC). The College facilitates the CRC on behalf of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General’s Criminal Records Review Program.��

The CRC requirement is intended to help protect children and vulnerable adults from physical, sexual and financial abuse. The College may also use the information obtained via a CRC to determine if applicants and registrants meet the registration requirements for “good character” and “fitness to practise.”

A health profession corporation (HPC) is a business model that is unique to the Health Professions Act (HPA), and specific regulations apply to it. For some professions, HPCs are regulated by the College and registrants who want to incorporate are required to apply for and maintain an annual health profession corporation permit. For others, the College does not regulate corporations but does specify requirements for naming companies when the company name contains a title restricted under the profession-specific regulation.

Please select the relevant profession above to find out more.

Please note: Staff at the College do not have the expertise and ability to provide business, legal, financial, or tax advice.

• : Umbrella legislation that provides a common regulatory framework for health professions in British Columbia.