Thank you!!!
Ontario Patients for Integrative Medicine (ONPIM) is pleased to announce that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) has approved a revised version of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) policy that incorporates many of the concerns raised by patients. For the last few months, you have all made it clear that you believe in personal choice in healthcare modalities, and it is critical that our regulatory system protects this.
Thank you again for all your efforts. Our voices were heard!
Our provincial medical regulatory body, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), is performing a review of its policy on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
At a time when patients are seeking greater access to broader treatment options to complement their conventional care, the CPSO has proposed a new CAM policy that will make it significantly harder for physicians to practice complementary, alternative and integrative medicine. The new policy threatens our rights to access the healthcare options we want and need. The new policy will set Ontario healthcare back 50 years and stifle innovation in our healthcare system. It is only one step away from final approval.
Concerns with the Draft Policy
Increased evidentiary requirements for CAM treatments, such that physicians will be unable to continue to use CAM treatments that are ‘informed’ by evidence, which includes clinical observations and patient outcomes, leaving no room for patient preferences and values in the medical therapy decision-making process.
Use of derogatory language in the policy which suggests that physicians who offer CAM therapies are more likely to exploit patients.
Limiting physicians from offering modalities of treatment that they have the knowledge, skill, and judgement to use and which are within their clinical scope of competence. Patients have the right to access information on or recommendations for any relevant health treatments, not just those limited to a physician’s "conventional scope of practice".
Unreasonable, impractical and overly burdensome documentation requirements on physicians using CAM treatments.
Sensationalizing the risks of harm from CAM therapies. Patients demand the right to a clear and unbiased discussion with their physician about the benefits and risks of both CAM and conventional medical therapies.
Contact us.
advocates@onpim.ca