pharmacy technician - Ontario College of Pharmacists

SOCIAL MEDIA
on social-networking sites. While
the focus was the responsibility to
keep health information confidential,
the issue of conduct outside
the work place was also raised.
REGULATING HEALTH
PROFESSIONALS
In Ontario, the authority of health
regulatory colleges to govern
the ethical behaviour of health
professionals is found within the
Health Professions Procedural Code.
The Code, which is automatically
deemed to be part of each health
profession Act, enables colleges
to set and enforce standards of
professional conduct and practice.
Standards of practice, guidelines,
codes, practice parameters and/
or position statements provide
informal assistance to members in
the areas of practice, ethics and
regulator expectations. Standards
of practice guide and reflect
generally accepted professional
behaviour; guidelines are suggested
protocols; advisory statements
alert members to new legislation
and may make suggestions for
compliance; and, position or policy
statements identify how a regulator
will address various situations.
These documents, while not
legally binding, are effectively used
to address complex and rapidly
changing issues.
REGULATING PROFESSIONAL OFF-
DUTY CONDUCT
Both the on and off-duty behaviour
of a regulated professional
may be subject to investigation.
Professional misconduct applies
to on-duty behaviour while
‘conduct unbecoming’ generally
refers to off-duty behaviour. If it
is accepted that off-duty conduct
can and should be regulated, then
where does one draw the line?
Where standards for off-duty
conduct are not well defined, a
framework for analyzing misconduct
must be defined instead. In
a relevant case, the BC Supreme
Court extrapolated an ‘ideal’
framework that a hearing panel
might use to make a decision on
‘conduct unbecoming’ including
establishing the principles that:
• Some, but not all, off-duty
conduct can give rise to discipline
for professional misconduct or
conduct unbecoming;
• A panel should consider whether
the conduct evidences direct
impairment of the ability to
function in the professional
capacity, or impairment in the
wider sense as described in the
case law (essentially that it would
damage the integrity or standing
of the profession); and
• In the absence of direct
evidence of impairment, a
Panel would need to consider
whether it is appropriate
to draw an inference
of impairment in the
circumstances.
Accordingly, in order to
apply this framework
a panel would
need to: a)
identify the
standard
of proof
to be
used and
determine
whether there
is enough evidence to
prove misconduct; b) consider what
the standard of conduct is (that of a
reasonable member of the profession)
and whether the conduct falls
below that standard; and c) if the
conduct falls below the standard of
what is expected, decide whether
the off-duty conduct directly or
indirectly impairs the professional’s
ability to do his or job and/or
impairs the standing of the profession
in the community at large.
In one reported case where a
professional’s off-duty behaviour
was determined by a regulatory
body to be linked to his professional
duties, the case was
successfully appealed on the basis
of charter rights. Even though
the professional association
had adopted a definition of
professional misconduct, which
specifically included off-duty
behaviour, a Court of Appeal
quashed the decision on the basis
of s.2(b) of the Canadian Charter
which grants the right to freedom
of thought, belief, opinion and
expression, including freedom
of the press and other media of
communication.
DISCUSSION
Health professionals have
a well-established tradition
of upholding standards of
professional conduct
and it is common for
regulatory bodies to
publish guidelines,
standards of practice,
policies and procedures
to signal the
behaviour
expected
from a
member
of the
profession.
These
tools provide
guidance about
how to behave in the
context of complex and changing
circumstances and are also utilized
to stimulate discussion within a
profession about the role of the
professional within society.
Professionals are clear about
meeting standards of conduct while
practicing their profession, but what
about off-duty conduct? Rules
governing ethical behaviour have,
for the most part, lagged behind
PAGE 24 ~ SPRING 2011 ~ PHARMACY CONNECTION