Role of Regulatory Health Colleges

The College of Medical Laboratory Technologists of Ontario is one of the 26 regulatory health Colleges, governing 28 professions in the province. The Colleges were established by a law called the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, which was created to protect the public's right to safe, competent and ethical health care.

Each College does this by holding its registered health care professionals accountable for their conduct and practice. The regulatory Colleges govern more than 300,000 health professionals in Ontario.

The Colleges have the responsibility and legal authority to protect you by:

• Setting and enforcing standards and guidelines for the practise and conduct of their members.
• Making sure that regulated health professionals meet their training and educational standards before they can practise or use a professional title.
• Developing programs to help members continually improve their skills and knowledge, upholding the quality of care.
• Acting when you have a concern about your health care.

The public has the confidence of knowing that only members of the Colleges – regulated, highly trained health professionals – can use protected titles such as pharmacist, nurse, physician, medical laboratory technologist, and dietitian.

Only these and other regulated health care professionals are accountable to a regulatory body for the quality of care they provide.

Unregulated care providers do not have the same mandatory mechanisms to ensure appropriate training, education, or standards. While members of the public can bring concerns about a regulated care provider directly to their College, complaints about unregulated care providers can only be dealt with by their employer or through the courts.

To ensure that you are consulting with a regulated health professional, check that they belong to one of the regulated health professions. Each College website provides access to a public register of members, where registration can be verified.

The Colleges are directed by Councils or boards of directors, consisting of professionals (elected by their peers), as well as members of the public (appointed by the government) who represent the public interest.

Adapted with permission from the Federation of Regulatory Health Colleges of Ontario.