COMMITTED
TO PATIENT
SAFETY
SHOULD I FILE A COMPLAINT
WITH CPSA?
What We Do/What We Don’t Do
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) is here to make sure doctors in Alberta provide safe, reliable care. Similar to a provincial registry giving drivers their license to be on the road, we give doctors their licenses, set guidelines for how they should practice, and look into concerns from the public to help keep healthcare from their doctor safe. While some might be unsure about our role, we’re focused on supporting doctors and protecting Albertans, so you can trust that your care is in good hands.
What does Patient Safety Mean?
Patient safety means ensuring that when you receive care from a doctor, it's done in a way that protects your health and well-being.
This includes making sure doctors are well-trained, following best practices, and providing the right treatment without causing harm. It’s about creating a healthcare system where mistakes are minimized, physician care is reliable, and you can trust that your safety is always a top priority.
FAQs
The short answer is that CPSA protects patients by regulating doctors, whereas the Alberta Medical Association advocates for Alberta’s doctors.
CPSA’s primary responsibility is ensuring that doctors meet specific standards of competency, ethics, and professionalism. The CPSA issues licenses to physicians, investigates complaints, and enforces standards to protect your safety. Essentially, we make sure that physicians in Alberta practice medicine in a safe, competent, and ethical manner.
We protect patient safety in Alberta in a number of ways. Ultimately, we safeguard patient safety by regulating who can practice, enforcing quality standards of care, and holding doctors accountable for their actions.
Licensing and Registration: We make sure that only qualified and competent doctors are licensed to practice in Alberta. Physicians must meet stringent educational, training, and ethical standards before being granted a license to practice in Alberta.
Practice Monitoring: We regularly monitor physicians through assessments, audits, and peer reviews. This ensures physicians maintain professional competence and continue to meet the required standards to keep Albertans safe.
Handling Complaints and Discipline: We investigate complaints about physicians’ conduct or care. If a doctor is found to have violated professional standards, we can take action, including suspensions, fines, or revoking their license.
Continuous Education: We require doctors in Alberta to engage in ongoing education to keep up with medical advancements and ensure that they use the latest, evidence-based practices for patient care — ensuring they are skilled and knowledgeable enough to care for you and your family.
Yes! All provinces and territories in Canada have an organization similar to CPSA that oversees patient safety by regulating the practice of medicine.
These organizations, commonly referred to as Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, are responsible for licensing physicians, setting practice standards, and enforcing disciplinary measures to ensure that doctors maintain a high standard of care.
CPSA operates as an independent regulatory body and does not directly report to any single organization or government entity. However, we are accountable to the public we serve, the Alberta government through legislation, and our internal governance structure.
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Public Accountability: Our primary accountability is to the public. Our role is to ensure patient safety by regulating physicians, managing complaints, enforcing medical standards, and ensuring professional conduct —acting in Albertans’ best interest.
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Government of Alberta: CPSA operates under the authority of the Health Professions Act (HPA), which is created and enforced by our provincial government. We must comply with this law and report activities to the Alberta government, ensuring we fulfill our mandate of protecting public safety.
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Internal Governance: We have an internal governance structure, including a council composed of elected physicians and public members appointed by the provincial government. This council oversees our operations, ensuring we are effective, transparent, and accountable to Albertans.
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No. As of October 2024, CPSA has not revoked any licenses for COVID-19 or off-label prescribing.
No, CPSA does not, and has not, mandated physicians be vaccinated for COVID-19. Employment-related mandates are not part of CPSA’s jurisdiction.
FAQs
How CPSA Helps Keep Albertans Safe
We help ensure that the health care you receive from your doctor is safe, reliable, and meets high standards. By making sure physicians are qualified and accountable, we protect your well-being. Our work in the background helps build trust in the healthcare system so you can feel confident in the care you get from your doctor.
Fast-Tracking International Doctors
We know that Albertans are facing challenges when it comes to finding a family doctor. That’s why CPSA has been working hard to support and guide qualified doctors so they can practice in the communities that need them most.
CPSA is working to support internationally trained doctors in Alberta. In January 2023, CPSA launched a five-year pilot project to speed up the process for international medical graduates (IMGs) who have training similar to that of Canadian doctors. The goal is to allow eligible doctors to start practising in Alberta sooner without compromising patient safety, which is the top priority.
Supporting Access to Care
To support the province in attracting more physicians to Alberta, CPSA recently expanded our physician sponsorship model so that individuals, organizations, corporations, and others interested can apply to sponsor a family medicine physician position in their desired community. Sponsorship is an important step toward getting qualified internationally trained doctors into Alberta’s healthcare system.
Submitting a Complaint to CPSA
The CPSA complaints process allows Albertans to file a formal complaint if they believe a physician's conduct or care was inappropriate. After submitting a complaint, CPSA investigates and reviews the details and may request records or statements. The physician and complainant are informed of outcomes, which may include informal resolution, a formal hearing, or other disciplinary action. This process ensures that concerns are addressed fairly, maintaining public trust in medical care.
Here’s a breakdown of the CPSA complaints process:
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Submit a complaint: Fill out the form on the CPSA website explaining your concern.
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Investigation: CPSA reviews the complaint and gathers relevant information.
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Communication: Both you and the doctor are informed of the investigation progress.
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Resolution: CPSA may resolve the issue informally or move to formal disciplinary actions if needed.
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Outcome: You’ll be informed of the final decision, which could include education, restrictions, or other actions for the doctor.
For more, visit the CPSA website here.
Hello, Alberta.
While the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) has been around for over 100 years, you might not see us every day, and that’s okay — our work happens mainly in the background, making sure that whenever you or your loved ones receive care from a doctor, it’s safe, trustworthy and meets quality standards that you deserve. We’re here to protect the public, guiding and supporting Alberta’s physicians and physician assistants to provide the care you need and deserve.
Our role, granted by the Health Professions Act, is all about ensuring quality and maintaining physician accountability. In fact, we aren’t alone; every province across Canada has one of us, working hard to: hold doctors to ethical and practice standards, support them in maintaining relevant skills, and help Albertans when concerns arise with the care they’ve received by investigating complaints and helping to resolve them with a focus on learning and improvement. We also issue practice permits to every doctor in Alberta who meets the necessary education and training requirements to keep you safe and work hard to ensure this process is timely and efficient.
At CPSA, we understand that trust in health care is precious. We don’t make decisions about your health — that’s between you and your doctor — but we make sure your doctor is ready, capable, and supported to make the best decisions with you. We’re like a steady hand in the background, always working to uphold quality care so you can feel confident when you visit your physician. We’re here to make sure that, for every Albertan, your physician is someone you can count on.
CPSA – Committed to Patient Safety
WHAT WE DO
Register physicians & physician assistants
Support internationally trained physicians wishing to come to Alberta through fair and efficient assessment processes and our new sponsorship expansion
Support safe, high-quality care by physicians through our competence programs
Accredit diagnostic & non-hospital surgical facilities
Intake and manage complaints about physician behaviour
Guide professional conduct & ethical behaviour through our Standards of Practice and Advice documents
Contribute to data-driven innovation & public policy on health care
WHAT WE DO NOT DO
Advocate for physicians and physician assistants
(This is the role of the Alberta Medical Association (AMA))
Oversee hiring and employment of physicians
(This is AHS, PCNs and private clinics)
Attract, recruit and retain physicians
(This is the responsibility of the Government of Alberta)