Physician Continuous Quality Improvement (2019)

1. Patients deserve and expect the best possible care from their physicians, and all licensed physicians in Canada must be able to demonstrate that they are sustaining and enhancing their competence throughout their careers.

2. The medical regulatory authority expects physicians to use the principles of continuous quality improvement (CQI) in a process that recognizes each physician’s unique learning needs that are largely determined by the nature of their individual practice.

3. Physicians will be expected to demonstrate how their continuing education choices align with their learning needs and measure whether what they learn leads to improved care.

4. The CQI process will cover:

a) all the roles described in the CanMEDS and CanMEDS-FM competency frameworks; and

b) the four dimensions of physicians’ practices, i.e., (i) clinical, (ii) administrative, (iii) educational or (iv) research oriented.

5. All activities physicians undertake should be assessed for their value and effectiveness, as all should benefit from quality improvement.

6. Physicians’ practices and performance require assessment to:

a) ensure good care and patient safety; and

b) promote best practices in response to changes in scientific knowledge and approaches to treatment.

7. Physicians will appreciate that constructive assessment of their practices, whether by themselves or by an external agency, is an important component of life‐long learning that helps them identify learning needs.