Following public consultation on draft regulations, a new college of diagnostic and therapeutic health professions is established and will become fully functional in the next 12-18 months.

The four occupations that will initially form the college have been formally designated as self-regulating with the approval of amendments to the Health Professions Designation Regulation. The new college will initially include: respiratory therapists, radiation therapists, clinical perfusionists and medical laboratory technologists.

Next steps include the appointment of the first college board, which will be responsible for drafting the initial college bylaws and hiring a registrar. College specific regulations will be drafted that set out the general scope of practice, the protected titles of the professions and any restricted activities they can perform. Once these steps have been completed, the college will register individuals who are currently practicing in the province.

Once the new college has been substantially implemented, the ministry will continue its work on regulatory options for a number of other diagnostic and therapeutic health care occupations, including nuclear medicine technologists, medical radiography technologists, magnetic resonance imaging technologists, medical laboratory assistants, cardiology technologists, diagnostic medical sonographers and medical physicists.

A professional college serves and protects the public, and acts in the public interest at all times, making sure its registrants are qualified, competent and follow defined standards of practice and ethics. Professional colleges are responsible for responding to complaints from patients and the public. They can also take action if one of their registrants is practising in a manner that is incompetent, unethical, illegal or impaired by alcohol, drugs or illness.