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Quality and standards in practice

The Royal College provides information, tools and resources to support Fellows as they deliver high quality healthcare.

Early Brain and Biological Development and Early Learning

Early Brain and Biological Development and Early Learning: Educational tools and resources provides key resources/tools across six major categories: Language and Concepts, Epigenetics, Adverse Childhood Experiences, Literacy, Resilience, and Tools for Practice.

Environmental scan

To find information on key trends affecting our health system, read Cutting through the health system information fog. It is a useful source of information to help disentangle the complex weave of information concerning our healthcare system. The information presented provides a brief, annual snapshot in time that will serve to help identify potential initiatives by the Royal College.

Dimensions of quality

The art and science of high-quality healthcare: Ten principles that fuel quality improvement, was developed by physicians for physicians. It defines core principles for high-quality, patient centred care. They are based on eight interrelated dimensions of quality: safety, accessibility, acceptability, appropriateness, provider competence, efficiency, effectiveness and outcomes.

Societal health needs

The Societal Health Needs definition provides common, cohesive and pertinent concepts, definitions and approaches to help ensure greater overall alignment of the Royal College’s, policies, positions, programs and standards. It also promotes transparency in decision making with various stakeholders and partners. The accompanying guide is designed to support the application of the definition by the various committees of the Royal College.

Intra-professionalism

The Royal College and the College of Family Physicians of Canada work together and with other partners to further enhance the relationship between family physicians and other specialists.

The report Family Physicians and Other Specialists: Working and Learning Together led to the creation of the Collaborative Action Committee on Intra-professionalism to address the recommendations in the report. Chief among the committee’s considerations is the recognition that collegiality is at the core of good relationships between all physicians, and that collegial relationships are affected by the referral and consultation processes.

The Guide to Enhancing Referrals and Consultations Between Physicians lays out fundamentals that can be built upon and fills in gaps where there are few or no tools in place to support good referrals and consultations. It can be used both in practice and educational settings. The forms below have been provided as templates that can be used as is or customized for your practice.

Patient safety

Without tackling the current problems in the culture of medicine we reinforce our own, often unfavourable, habits and pass them on to future generations of healthcare providers. To help break this cycle, A culture of patient safety: Foundation for a Royal College patient safety roadmap focuses on five areas offering five recommendations for each.

The Royal College, the Canadian Medical Protective Association, the Canadian Medical Association, and the College of Family Physicians of Canada collaborated to produce Improving patient safety through disclosure and quality improvement reviews to facilitate quality improvement in healthcare and promote a culture of safety.

Patient safety resources:

Mental health

Mental health core competencies for physicians, based on the 2005 CanMEDS framework was produced by the Royal College in collaboration with the Mental Health Commission of Canada, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Canadian Psychiatric Association and the Canadian Medical Association.

Learn more. Get involved.

healthpolicy@royalcollege.ca