Who We Are
The Health Professions Review Board is a neutral administrative tribunal that is established by and operating at arm’s length from the Government of British Columbia. The review board operates independently from health professions colleges, BC Government, and the judicial system. The review board is established under provincial legislation:
The Health Professions Review Board is established by Part Six of the Health Professions and Occupations Act. Its chair and members are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council (Cabinet). The small administrative office that supports the members throughout the review process, is referred to as the review board office.
The tribunal chair is a lawyer, as required by the Act. Board members are appointed on the basis of merit, and typically have a legal background. Located across British Columbia, members must not be practising health professions licensees or government employees. Members are independent and impartial reviewers of certain decisions made by the self-governing colleges of designated health professions – for example, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.
Our Values
- To protect the public from harm and discrimination,
- To support the rights of indigenous peoples and promote anti-discrimination in relation to health professions regulation,
- To act fairly and transparently while respecting the personal privacy of persons who participate in regulatory processes,
- To promote a holistic health care system that encourages collaboration between regulators and between regulated health practitioners,
- To identify and remove barriers to the practice of a designated profession or occupation, in British Columbia, by extra jurisdictional practitioners, and
- In applying the guiding principles of the Act, to reasonably weight any imbalance between the interests of the public or an individual and those of a regulated health practitioner in favour of the public or the individual.
Accountability
The Health Professions Review Board is committed to a transparent and accountable process. The Act requires that all review board decisions be provided to the Office of the Superintendent of Health Professions and Occupations Oversight. Review decisions are also published on the CanLII website. CanLII is a non-profit organization founded in 2001 by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada on behalf of its 14-member law societies. Its mandate is to provide efficient and open online access to judicial decisions and legislative documents. By doing so, CanLII supports members of the legal profession in the performance of their duties while providing the public with permanent open access to laws and legal decisions from all Canadian jurisdictions.
Decisions can be judicially reviewed, and the Chair produces annual reports that are available to the public.