Chiropractic Principles: Canadian Health Care System and Chiropractic, Provincial Legislation, Profe
Canada's health care system involves a group of insurance plans that provide Canadian citizen’s healthcare coverage. The system is publicly funded and regulated provincially or territorially with guideline measures implemented by the federal government (1). The Canada Health Act is a federal legislation that implements these guidelines by which individual provinces and territories in Canada receive funding for health care services (1). Therefore the administration and delivery of health care services in Canada is the responsibility of each province or territory, while federal guidance and assistance is provided (2). Health care services include primary health care (i.e. services of physicians and other health professionals) and hospital care. The provinces and territories also provide some groups with supplementary health benefits not covered by the Canadian Health Act, such as prescription drug coverage (2). Chiropractic care is considered a primary healthcare profession and is therefore licensed at the provincial and territorial level. Five main principles define the Canadian Health Act including public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability and accessibility (1). Each of these principles ensures the proper functioning of the health care system while defining strict criteria for both Canadian citizens and healthcare providers (2).
A number of chiropractic governing bodies exist today in order to regulate the chiropractic profession on a national level. In order to practice as a licenced chiropractor in Canada, one must complete a board examination in the province they wish to practice in. For example, the College of Chiropractors of Ontario (CCO) is a governing body established by the provincial government to regulate chiropractors in Ontario. Every chiropractor practising in Ontario must be a registered member of this College (3). The CCO functions on a number of criteria and regulations that aims to ensure the validity of the chiropractic profession in the province (3). For instance the CCO strives to ‘establish and maintain standards of qualification for persons to be issued certificates of registration’ (3).
In association to such governing bodies, provincial legislatures have developed various laws in order to address issue of public protection (4). For example,
The Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004 was developed in Ontario to keep personal health information confidential and secure, while allowing for the effective delivery of health care. On a more national level, The Canadian Chiropractic Protective Association (CCPA) was formed by in the early 1986 to protect both its members and the public in the event of a professional liability claim (5). The CCPA deals with liability claims on behalf of chiropractors throughout the county regularly (5).
Aside from healthcare licencing and regulatory bodies for chiropractic, a number of advocacy organisations have been installed to provide the profession leadership and protection nationally. The Canadian Chiropractic Association (CCA) is an organization that wishes to ‘promote innovation, excellence and integrity in the delivery of chiropractic care’ (6). They work to strengthen interprofessional relations among chiropractors and other healthcare providers while motivating Canadians citizens to view chiropractic as an integral part of their healthcare team (6). The CCA strives to have chiropractors integrated into the Canadian healthcare system while establishing a motivated and engaged national chiropractic community (6).
In the province of Ontario, the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) is a professional association whose desire is to serve Ontario’s chiropractors and the public by ‘advancing the understanding and use of chiropractic care’ (7). The OCA works to support its members through the advancement of research assistance and raising awareness through advertising and public education (7). The OCA also provides a significant amount of information and protection for the pubic (7). The OCA has a number of resources available that educates the people of Ontario about the scope of chiropractic and the various services provided by chiropractors, such as treatment of clinical conditions and the prevention of work related injuries (7). They also demonstrate the value of chiropractic insurance coverage in government (7).
The benefits of interprofessional healthcare teams are too great to ignore. It is important to understand the similarities and differences that exist in the Canadian healthcare system federally and provincially, for both citizens and its health care providers. The tools and resources available are extremely beneficially to all individuals and therefore should be understood and utilized.
References
1. Canada Health Act [Internet]. Canada: Canada Health Act; 2007. Available from: http://www.canadian-healthcare.org/.
2. Provincial/territorial ministries of health [Internet]. Government of Canada: Provincial/territorial ministries of health; 2015. Available from http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/health-system-systeme-sante/cards-cartes/health-role-sante-eng.php.
3. What is CCO [Internet]. Ontario: Collage of Chiropractors of Ontario; 2009. Available from http://www.cco.on.ca/english/About-CCO/What-is-CCO/.
4. Personal Health Information Protection [Internet]. Ontario: Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario; 2015. Available from https://www.ipc.on.ca/english/About-Us/.
5. About Us [Internet]. Canada: Canadian Chiropractic Protective Association; 2015. Available from http://ccpaonline.ca/about-us/.
6. Vision, Mission, Strategies & Values [Internet]. Ontario: Canadian Chiropractic Association; 2015. Avaliable from http://www.chiropractic.ca/about-cca/strategy-vision-mission/#.
7. Public Education [Internet]. Ontario: Ontario Chiropractic Association; 2015. Available from https://www.chiropractic.on.ca/public-education-2#.VmMmo66rRsM.
