AACLDS supports regulation of CLDSs

Regulation of Health Professions in Alberta is an invaluable standard of provincial health quality and patient safety. Regulated health professions include physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and laboratory technologists to name a few.

CLDSs are highly qualified healthcare specialists that work in diagnostic and laboratory medicine. The professional responsibilities and activities of CLDSs are comprehensive and directly impact patient care. Further, CLDSs oversee the daily activities of several regulated health professions, including medical residents and medical laboratory technologists. CLDSs may, in the role of Laboratory Director, be responsible for all staff and operations in a medical laboratory.

​Despite playing these important roles in Alberta’s healthcare system, CLDSs are neither governed by a provincial college nor regulated by the provincial government as a health profession. As such, there is no mechanism to hold CLDSs directly accountable to the government and Albertans, which presents a potentially significant risk to patient health and safety.

Therefore, CLDSs, as represented by AACLDS, seek regulation as health professions under the Health Professions Act (HPA) of Alberta.

Benefits to Albertans

.Regulating CLDSs will:

• Protect Albertans and increase confidence in Alberta’s healthcare system, because regulation ensures that only qualified individuals practice, that there is consistency in roles and practices and that a disciplinary mechanism exists.
• Modernize healthcare by aligning with other jurisdictions (e.g. United States, United Kingdom) who began regulating CLDSs many years ago  for the benefit of their populations.
• Reverse the ‘brain drain’ of valuable specialists to other jurisdictions where they are regulated (e.g., United States).
• Incentivize CLDS practice in Alberta as regulated professions are afforded greater responsibility, independence and recognition in healthcare systems compared to non-regulated professions.
• Not result in additional costs for taxpayers, as any costs associated with regulation will be shouldered by our members.

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Progress so far

.In 2015, AACLDS and the Association for Medical Physicists in Alberta (AMPA),  representing Medical Physicists (MPs), jointly submitted an application to the Alberta Ministry of Health for CLDSs and MPs to be included in the HPA and be governed by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA). Both AACLDS and AMPA await news on the outcome of this application.