Thank you, Madam Chair. I am here to present Bill 40, An Act to Amend the Medical Profession Act. The purpose of this bill is to allow for regulation of physicians providing virtual care to NWT residents. The use of virtual care has greatly increased, in large part due to the limit of in-person contact and medical travel during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We engaged with physicians throughout the development of this bill and have committed to undertake a collaborative approach to physician regulation. We know that this work needs to be informed and supported by these professionals.
I appreciate the Standing Committee on Social Development's willingness to work with us to further amend the bill based on the feedback we received from the committee and medical professionals.
The major amendment in this bill exempts physicians in other provinces and territories from having to register to provide virtual care to NWT residents if they have a referral from an NWT doctor or nurse practitioner. Physicians in other provinces and territories within the NWT referral pathways do not have to be licensed in the NWT in addition to their home jurisdiction.
This exemption allows greater access to services for residents while reducing administrative burden for physicians. We've heard that too much paperwork to be licensed means physicians will withdraw their services from the NWT.
Second, the amendments also clarify that physicians must abide by professional standards of practice. The standards of practice set out the minimum expectations of care provided by physicians. Currently, this is an oversight not included in the Medical Profession Act.
An amendment to the bill adds a new regulation-making power that allows for the standards of practice to be created or adopted.
We have a well-established relationship with the College of Physicians and Surgeons for Alberta. For many years, the complaints officer under the Medical Profession Act has been contracted through the college which gives advantages of economies of scale, expertise, and resources that are not available in the Northwest Territories.
With the Alberta College's full knowledge and support, work has been ongoing since 2019 to adopt standards of practice for NWT physicians that are similar to standards set by the Alberta College. The Alberta College's standards are consistent with the standards of practice for physicians in all other provinces.
This work was initiated by the complaints officer under the Medical Profession Act. The territorial medical director at the Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority and the department have been working on adapting the Alberta standards of practice to align with the NWT legislation and is working collaboratively with the NWT physicians to finalize them. That concludes my opening remarks. Thank you.
