REGULATED HEALTH PROFESSIONS ACT

Nova Scotia’s new Regulated Health Professions Act: Impacts and future directions

Damian Ali

Understanding the recent developments in Nova Scotia's healthcare landscape is crucial, particularly following the introduction of the transformative Regulated Health Professions Act (the Act) on November 9, 2023.

This legislation introduces a unified regulatory framework aimed at standardizing healthcare across professions, simplifying adaptations to future changes for regulated professionals. Review the legislation

Background

The Act, initially presented as Bill 323 on Oct. 12,

2023, and later received royal assent on Nov. 9, 2023, seeks to harmonize regulatory standards and procedures. This consolidation is intended to:

• share resources

• improve oversight

• update mandates to proactively address misconduct

Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson emphasized in a press release, “This legislation will enhance patient protection and enable professions to swiftly adapt and resolve issues moving forward. We are committed to collaborating with healthcare providers to develop tailored regulations under this new act over the next two years.”

Each regulated health profession will continue to work under its own regulations to address the needs of their respective fields, such as scope of practice, entry-to-practice, and licensing and registration. Mark Lucas, Senior Program Lead, Health Profession Regulation from the Nova Scotia government says that, as a matter of supporting regulators in protecting the public interest, the new Act is forward-thinking in implementing consistency across the province.

“The roles and practices of the pro - fessions can grow with new technology, new education, and better care models,” Lucas says. “It eliminates barriers that exist in the 21 current pieces of legislation, improves the model that regulators are operating under and enhances patient and client engagement across the health system. For example, the Act will soon establish a new quality assurance program for regulator performance, which allows us to review regulator performance to indicate if they are meeting the standards of good governance, while also allowing the regulator to demonstrate

“This legislation will enhance patient protection and enable professions to swiftly adapt and resolve issues moving forward."

- Health and Wellness Minister Michelle Thompson

“The time ahead will be leveraged to determine next steps, what this means to the public, our combined registrants and to each of our regulatory bodies”

-Sue Smith, CEO and Registrar of the Nova Scotia College of Nursing that they are meeting those standards.”

“Like Ontario’s College Performance Measurement Framework (CPMF), regulators can identify areas of collaboration and help ensure public confidence in the health system,” he says.

Key modernization legislation

The Act is expected to provide a modernized system of regulation, which offers a more flexible structure and language of each regulator’s current Act. Sue Smith, CEO and Registrar of the Nova Scotia College of Nursing (NSCN), says that the College appreciates how flexible the Act is in relation to the current Nursing Act.

“The modernized legislation is in keeping with the flexible structure and language of the Nursing Act, which has allowed NSCN to be responsive to the changing health environment in ways that benefit the public,” Smith says. “We are pleased to see that this will be maintained in the Regulated Professions Health Act.”

What comes next

Eventually, all 21 existing health profession acts will be consolidated into a single regulatory framework by the end of 2026. This strategic move aims to streamline governance and enhance consistency of health service delivery across Nova Scotia.

Some regulators, like the NSCN and the Midwifery Regulatory Council of Nova Scotia (MRCNS), have already had brief discussions on the subject after receiving official direction by the provincial government to amalgamate as one regulatory body. Smith says that both Colleges are committed to bringing their collective 130 years of regulatory experience to the table and making their amalgamation successful.

“The time ahead will be leveraged to determine next steps, what this means to the public, our combined registrants and to each of our regulatory bodies,” Smith says. “This government has demonstrated they value consistency with respect to regulation and the Board and staff of NSCN and MRCNS look forward to delivering this to the public.”