GROUP PRACTICE REVIEW

The Research & Evaluation Unit (REVU) is part of the College’s Continuing Competence Department. REVU focuses on evaluating existing competence programs, and the design of new ones. REVU liaises with CPSA staff as well as with external experts to conduct ethical, relevant, timely, and evidence-based medical research and regulation.

Learn more about REVU. 

The Health Professions Act (HPA) mandates the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) to regularly
review physician practice as part of the CPSA’s Continuing Competence Program. Previously, the main tool for the
task was the Physician Achievement Review (PAR) program. Recent feedback indicates that a different
process may be of more value and relevance to members.

In response, CPSA Council called for a pilot project to examine the tools and approach to improve the value of
feedback for all members with an element of group practice review and support.

Focusing on promoting excellence and adhering to the Competence Committee’s Design Principles, the primary
aim of this pilot project and subsequent program redesign is not to weed out those physicians who are not
meeting general competencies and the CPSA Standards of Practice; but rather to provide meaningful feedback that will
inspire physicians to reflect and embrace new ideas and resources to help meet the standards of practice and
provide excellent medical practice to their patients.

Data for GPR design was collected through surveys of physician members, focus groups of physician members and stakeholder consultations.

Read the report

Results:

• Phase I Results (May 2017) – Executive Summary  |  Full Report

Details:

A limited implementation in fall 2016 provided the opportunity to gather feedback to refine the GPR process, tools and resources:

• 8 Family Medicine/General Practitioner group practices were invited to take part
• Each group practice participated in an onsite Standard of Practice Implementation (SOPI) review and follow-up meeting with a CPSA Physician Facilitator to discuss the results of the review, group practice quality indicators, resources and group data.
• Group quality indicators identified through consultation, such as participation in quality improvement initiatives and patient surveys, were incorporated throughout the different elements of the group review. Samples of formal contract/agreements, team agreement and norms were developed to help support clinics.
• Challenges with certain aspects of the standards of practice were also identified, and support was provided to help clinics have Information Sharing Agreements and Privacy Impact Assessments in place.
• This limited implementation produced constructive research findings but the sample size of only eight group practices was limited.

Yes, regulated members are mandated by the Health Professions Act to complete a quality improvement initiative at least every five years (see Rules for Member Participation). This includes the Practice Checkup for all physicians and Individual Practice Review (IPR) or Group Practice Review (GPR) for selected or referred physicians.

You will be referred to the College’s Deputy Registrar to discuss alternatives.

• All general practitioner and family physician participants are eligible for 13.5 Mainpro+ credits through the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
• Specialists may be eligible for Maintenance of Certification credits through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.