BC-PAN Archives - College of Occupational Therapists of British Columbia

The BC Public Advisory Network (BC-PAN) recently held a workshop on the Modernization of Health Regulation. BC-PAN was formed in 2019 to promote meaningful engagement in healthcare regulation across the province. The BC-PAN intends to encourage comprehensive engagement on important issues related to healthcare regulation in BC.

At the recent BC-PAN workshop, the group identified that the public might be unaware of changes coming to healthcare regulation involving amalgamation. COTBC is interested to hear from the public about their questions and concerns. A summary from the BC-PAN workshop includes highlights from other colleges (PDF) about their experiences joining other health regulators.

COTBC continues to engage with the Ministry of Health and the other regulatory colleges that form the amalgamation. We do not have an amalgamation timeline to share. Please continue to check the COTBC website for new information.

New Staff

On another note, I would like to welcome two new staff members to the COTBC team. I am pleased to announce Brenda Carroll has taken on the role of Executive Director of Inquiry, Discipline, Monitoring and Privacy, and Apurva Bhardwaj is Manager of Projects. Brenda and Apruva bring a combination of unique education, work history and skills that are an exciting addition to our organization. Welcome, Brenda and Apruva!

The College of Occupational Therapists of BC is a proud founding partner of the BC Public Advisory Network (BC-PAN). The BC-PAN was established in 2019 as a joint initiative between a number of BC health profession regulators to encourage more comprehensive and meaningful public engagement on important issues related to health profession regulation.

The public members involved in the BC-PAN are asked to provide their feedback on a variety of topics to help guide practice standards and professional guidelines, strategic priorities, and communications directed at the public. BC-PAN members include both patients and caregivers with varying levels of experience with the health-care system, and representing different demographics in the population (gender, age, ethnicity, geographic location, health conditions, and practice setting experience).

Following a successful pilot phase in 2019, the College partners continued the BC PAN initiative and hosted three virtual meetings between September 2020 and February 2021. BC PAN members provided their perspectives on topics such as:

-virtual care
-appropriate use of social media by registrants
-their expectations about colleges’ codes of ethics
-what information should be available on a public register
-actions colleges can take on anti-racism, cultural safety and health equity

It can be challenging for any individual college to gather input from the public in a meaningful way. Partnering with other Colleges on the BC Public Advisory Network has made this possible and will influence how COTBC includes a public perspective in our work. We are excited to continue this important collaboration.

To learn more about the BC-PAN and the feedback provided so far, read the summary reports.

Tag: BC-PAN

Registrar’s March Monthly: BC-PAN, Amalgamation, New Staff

BC Public Advisory Network (BC-PAN) Shares Summary Reports