We will enable health human resource planning by managing physician practice data in our registries
The Medical Council of Canada (MCC) is the trusted keeper of physician credentials, a role that continues to expand in the current health care environment. The increasing demand for source verification services and the recently launched National Registry of Physicians (NRP) has reinforced the need to manage physician data centrally and securely to inform licensing and health care decisions in Canada.
Action plans
- Integrate and onboard all medical regulatory authorities (MRAs) into the NRP to ensure comprehensive participation and information sharing value.
- Augment the NRP with strategic data to bolster planning capabilities, including initiatives like emergency/locum service readiness by enabling multi-jurisdictional recognition.
- Engage the NRP Data Governance and Advisory Committee to align data and reporting strategies across registries, to ensure generalizability, integrity, and accuracy.
What are we doing to work towards this objective?
To deliver on this objective, we are fostering nationwide integration and collaboration through the NRP and are working on enhancements to physiciansapply.ca that enable efficient physician licensure and mobility. We are working in close collaboration with our partners and interested parties to align our data management practices with the highest standards of operational excellence and allow for continuous improvement. This approach ensures that our data supports informed decision-making and meets the needs of the entire health care community.
The inaugural meeting of the NRP Data Governance and Advisory Committee was held on June 3, 2024, and set the foundation for ongoing collaboration, data integrity, and unified reporting strategies across the NRP.
Key performance indicators (KPIs)
- Number of provinces and territories onboarded onto the NRP. This measures the progress towards launching and operationalizing the NRP. It tracks the integration status of all provinces and territories, with current milestones including the onboarding of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC) and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan (CPSS).
- Number of Certificates of Professional Conduct (CPCs) holders integrated into the NRP. This KPI measures the added value of the NRP by tracking the number of CPCs, as defined by provincial and territorial regulators, that are successfully integrated into the registry. It also monitors the time to completion for each integration, ensuring efficiency and comprehensiveness.
What’s next?
Onboarding additional MRAs to the NRP
- The MCC will continue to work with MRAs on the NRP to onboard provincial and territorial physician data and increase information exchanges using the NRP.
- By creating a more integrated, efficient, and responsive system for physician licensure and mobility, we can ultimately support better health care delivery across the nation.
Develop future functionality of the NRP
- Working with the NRP Data Governance Committee, the MCC will plan and deliver future functionality and use cases for the NRP such that it can serve initiatives like emergency planning, locum service readiness, and multi-jurisdictional recognition.
