Balance

The Honourable Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, also reappointed our six hard-working public Board members for the terms specified below:

• Jocelyn Ann Stanton for the term December 31, 2019 to June 30, 2021

• Peter Stevenson-Moore for the term December 31, 2019 to June 30, 2020

• Oleh Wolodymyr Mykola Ilnyckyj for the term December 31, 2019 to June 30, 2021

• Joelle Susanne Berry for the term December 31, 2019 to June 30, 2020

• Edwin Lucien Liu for the term December 31, 2019 to June 30, 2020

• Guo Ding for a term December 31, 2019 to June 30, 2022.

The College’s full slate of Directors for the Year 2020 is:

• Dr. Peter Stevenson-Moore, Chair

• Dr. Kimberley Graham, Vice-Chair

• Ms. Joelle Berry

• Mr. Guo Ding

• Dr. Jennifer Gao

• Mr. Oleh Ilnyckyj

• Ms. Rachel Ling

• Mr. Edwin Liu

• Ms. Beverly Osachoff

• Mr. Shawn-Poppi Sabhaney

• Ms. Jocelyn Stanton

• Dr. Weidong Yu

We’d like to thank outgoing Board member Dr. Weijia Tan for her dedicated service. 

For the Bios of the current CTCMA Board members, click here. 

For board meeting dates in 2020, please click here.  Please remember you can also find the approved minutes for previous meetings there.

Please be advised that during the Renewal Period, other registration applications (such as initial application, status transfer, reinstatement) may take longer to process, potentially 8-12 weeks. Anyone requiring such registration is encouraged to ensure that submissions are received by our office before the Renewal Period begins.

We suggest that registrants check now to make sure that all requirements for registration renewal can be met and plan to complete your registration renewal online, early. If for any reason you are not able to renew your registration by the end of the Renewal Period, your practice could be affected negatively.

In order to receive your new wallet-sized card and seal, or your student badge, before your current one expires, we suggest that registrants renew online by the first Monday in March, that is, by March 2.

Please note that CTCMA Bylaws s56(6) states that “where a registrant fails to pay a registration renewal fee on or before March 31, he or she ceases to be registered.”

Detailed information can be found at the Registration Renewal page on the College website.

Full registrants: To renew your registration, complete your online renewal through the Registrant Portal.

Student registrants: To renew your registration and continue to undertake clinical training in a Traditional Chinese Medicine education program in BC, complete your online renewal through the Registrant Portal. Follow the instructions on the Student Registration Renewal webpage and submit the required documentation. We recommend that you submit your documentation early to allow for processing time.

Dual registrants: To renew both your Full and Student Registration, complete your online renewal through the Registrant Portal. Follow the instructions on the Dual Registration Renewal webpage and submit the required documentation. We recommend that you submit your documentation early to allow for processing time.

Please note: If you wish to renew only one of your registrations (e.g. R.Ac. and Student to R.Ac. only; R.TCM.H. and Student to Student only), you are not eligible to renew online. Please follow the instructions on the Dual Registration Renewal webpage. Allow sufficient time for processing by submitting your application and documentation early.

Renewal Assistance Sessions at CTCMA Office (New)

The College recognizes that some registrants may experience difficulty with renewals, whether for language or technical reasons, and may be unable to find help from friends or colleagues.  

For this reason we are planning 2 sessions during which we will assist registrants with their online registration in person. Please call our office 604-742-6563 and press “0” to book your appointment.

Session #1: February 19, 2020 Wednesday afternoon, 1:30pm – 3:30pm

Session #2: March 6, 2020 Friday morning, 10am – 12 noon.

We are here to help. Feel free to email any questions you have about registration renewal to [email protected] or you can call 604-742-6563 (toll free at 1-855-742-6563) and press “3” to reach the Registration Department. 

The information is now on the College website and it is very important that students and registrants who plan to take the examination to read it. Please become familiar with:

1. updated entry-level occupational competencies

2. improvements in exam delivery that will result from changing to Computer Based Testing (CBT)

3. changes to the structure and scoring of the PCE Examination

4. news regarding development of a practical assessment.

The dates of the first administration of the CBT examination are also announced.

Information regarding this first CBT examination and the updated competencies can be found here:

Pan-Canadian Entry-Level Examinations

Entry-Level Occupational Competencies for TCM

Registrants should be familiar with the Clinical Record Keeping Practice Standard.  It is the responsibility of each registrant to be familiar with the Bylaws, including Schedule A Code of Ethics and Schedule B Standards of Practice. Registrants are also expected to be familiar with the CTCMA Jurisprudence Handbook and Safety Program Handbook.

Highlights from the standard include:

• Registrants of the College must maintain accurate, legible and up-to-date records for each of their patients in order to provide proper care and treatment.

• Patients have the right to expect that their personal information will remain confidential. Records must be secure from loss, tampering, interference or unauthorized access.

• Patient Health Record should include: patient history, initial assessment (Diagnosis & Treatment), follow-up treatment, other treatment patient is receiving, tests/reports, patient’s consent to treatment, consent to collect or release information.

• Entry must be made to the patient record at the time of consultation or immediately after. All entries must be dated. The treating registrant cannot delegate responsibility for the accuracy of the patient’s health information to another person.

• Records, documents, reports and information in the patient file cannot be deleted or removed. To make change to a patient record, the treating registrant or the responsible staff must indicate clearly what the change is and who made the change.

• When a request is made to transmit patient information, written consent must be expressly given by the patient or an authorized representative of the patient.

• Under the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), patients have a right to access his or her own personal information records. If reproduction or translation fees will be charged, the registrants must notify the patients prior to commencement of treatment.

• Equipment and Supply Record should be kept showing that equipment is maintained according to the standards listed by their manufacturer or supplier.

• The College expects registrants to take great care in keeping inventory of herbs and controlling their purchases, supply and dispensing.

• According to s. 83(2) of the College bylaws, patient files must be kept at least for 10 years following the last interaction with the patient. If the patient is a minor, then the patient file must be kept for 10 years following the patient’s nineteenth birthday. Destruction of records must be done in a managed and confidential way.

• If the registrant intends to close his or her practice, he/she must take reasonable steps to give appropriate notice of the intended closure to each patient for whom the registrant has primary responsibility.

Registrants should also be familiar with the definition of an “Adequate Clinical Records  of a Benefit under the provincial Medicial Services Plan (MSP)” .  Please refer to Section C. 10 in the following document for detailed information.  For MSP Billing, clinical records must be created and maintained in English.

General Preamble To The Payment Schedule

We posted information regarding health insurance fraud in our Winter 2018 newsletter and we ask our registrants and the public to assist in reporting any suspicious activities.

Here are some tips to avoid being a victim of professional identity threat and insurance fraud for registrants:

• Make sure all your information in the Member’s Portal is kept current.

• Promptly notify all insurance companies, including MSP, any changes of practice location(s). Let them know the last day of service at that location.

• Make sure your official receipts are clear with all information. Numbered receipts are easier to track.

• Save copies of the receipts for your own record.

• Billing to insurers can only be done after service has been rendered.

• A cancellation or no-show fee can be charged to patients if patient has been notified in advance that such a fee may apply. This fee, however, cannot be billed to their medical benefits.

• When direct billing, ensure access to accounts is restricted to authorized staff. Update passwords frequently.

• Resources about billing can be found on pages 26-28 in the Jurisprudence Handbook.

Excerpts from page 27:

In the case of a practitioner providing receipts for treatment that has not been provided, or for dates when treatment was not provided, such dishonesty may result in the practitioner being disciplined or even charged for criminal offences. For example, it would be inaccurate for the document to do the following:

• indicate that the practitioner has provided the service when someone else did
• indicate the wrong date for the service. For example, it is unprofessional to put in a date when the patient had insurance coverage rather than the actual date of  service because the patient would not have insurance coverage
• indicate that one service was performed when, in fact, another service was provided. For example, it is unprofessional to indicate that acupuncture was performed when in fact an herbal remedy was provided
• bill for services at more than the practitioner’s usual rate because the service is being paid for by an insurance company
• bill for a product for more than its actual cost. The actual cost can include a reasonable amount for the staff time for storage and handling
• indicate that a service was performed when, in fact, no service was performed. For example, it is unprofessional to indicate that a patient visit occurred when, in fact, the patient missed the appointment and a late cancellation fee is being billed

Report suspicions regarding insurance fraud to the proper authorities involved:

• Extended Health Insurance Fraud: CLHIA Website
• Complaints regarding a practitioner or clinic committing MSP billing fraud can be made to the Billing Integrity Branch, Ministry of Health, BC.

CTCMA staff will begin with presenting some background information regarding the regulated traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) profession, and then provide an overview on the exam application procedures and registration requirements, which will be the focus of the session.

TENTATIVE DATE: Postponed until further notice

Students are encouraged to submit written questions before the session to [email protected] with the title “Submitting Question for Student Information Session”

The webinar tool will accommodate many students in all areas of BC in one session.  As this is the 1^st year the College is offering the session using this technology, please send us feedback to [email protected] after the session as we learn from trying something new together with students.