District #3 (Central District, Radiography) is composed of the geographic area within the territorial boundaries of the Regional Municipalities of Durham, Peel and York, the Counties of Haliburton, Northumberland, Peterborough and Simcoe, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and the City of Toronto.

District #6 (Nuclear Medicine) includes all of the Province of Ontario.

As reported in the fall 2009 edition of Insights and in a more detailed webinar (both available on the website at www.cmrto.org), the government has recently passed new legislation which amends the MRT Act, specifically, the scope of practice statement and the controlled acts authorized to MRTs. These changes are not yet in force; however, in preparation for the changes, the College is undertaking a project to review and validate the CMRTO Standards of Practice.

In 1994, the College released its first Standards of Practice for MRTs. The Standards of Practice underwent a thorough review in 2001 resulting in the development of the Essential Competencies, Comprehensive Guidelines and Addendum to the Comprehensive Guidelines documents which became effective in January 2004.

In 2007, the College Council approved a project to revise the Comprehensive Guidelines to reflect the impact of a number of significant developments in our profession since 2004. In order to save costs, this project was deferred pending the outcome of the review of the scope of practice of medical radiation technologists performed by the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council in 2008. This review resulted in the legislative changes to the MRT Act.

All MRTs practising in Ontario must adhere to the CMRTO Standards of Practice. In addition, the Standards of Practice assist:

• MRTs in understanding the College’s expectations with respect to the professional practice of medical radiation technology
• Managers in making decisions regarding management of the practice of MRTs and in developing appropriate policies and procedures
• Educators in developing curriculum and in providing education
• The public in assessing the quality of care they receive from MRTs

The Standards of Practice are used by the College in establishing entry-level requirements for registration and for the evaluation of continuing competence through the College's Quality Assurance Program. They are also used by the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee, the Discipline Committee and the Fitness to Practise Committee in making their determinations regarding professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity.

The project to update the College’s Standards of Practice will run through the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011 and will involve extensive consultation with members and stakeholders such as managers, educators and the professional associations. The College will keep members updated as to the progress of this important initiative and provide opportunities for members to give their input into the content of the standards.

On October 1, 2010, the College’s Council enacted By-law No. 43 as circulated to members on July 5, 2010. The College’s Council enacted this by-law in response to an amendment made to the Health Professions Procedural Code of the RHPA by the Ontario government. The amendment requires all regulated health professionals, including MRTs, to be personally insured against professional liability and to comply with the requirements specified by a College in regulation or by-law.

However, please note that the College’s by-law will not come into force until the professional liability insurance provision of the Health Professions Procedural Code (section 13.1) comes into force. This is not yet the case, and it is not clear when the government will take the steps necessary to bring section 13.1 of the Code into force.

The College will be sure to inform members of the effective date of the requirement for professional liability insurance as soon as the College is advised that the government has set a date for section 13.1 to come into force.

Because the Internet is efficient and less expensive than paper-based methods of communication, the College would like once again to encourage members to sign up for e-delivery of Insights. Once you sign up, you will receive Insights electronically as soon as it is finalized, without the delay and cost to the College of mail distribution.

It’s quick and easy to sign up using the 'E-delivery Insights' button at the very top of the CMRTO website home page: www.cmrto.org.

Members of professions and the public at times confuse the role and mandate of the regulatory colleges and professional associations. Both play an important role in the lives of professionals, but their roles and governance structures are quite distinct.

Like 23 other health professions in Ontario, medical radiation technology is self-regulated, which means that the profession governs itself through a college. The Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 and Medical Radiation Technology Act, 1991 provide the legislative framework for MRT practice in Ontario.

Our College – the College of Medical Radiation Technologists of Ontario (CMRTO) – is the regulatory body for the province’s approximately 6,600 medical radiation technologists (MRTs). The College works to protect the public interest by supporting MRTs in their practice. Only individuals currently registered with the College are legally authorized to practise the profession in Ontario and use the protected title “medical radiation technologist”, a variation or abbreviation or an equivalent in another language. Only a member of the College who holds a specialty certificate can use the corresponding specialty title(s) and the abbreviation(s). Every member is responsible for practising in accordance with the standards of the profession, and for practising competently and keeping current.

As most members know, the role of the College is to protect the people of Ontario through self-regulation of the practice of medical radiation technology. In order to meet this statutory mandate, the College establishes and maintains standards of qualification and requirements for maintaining ongoing professional competency. The College also fulfills its mandate of protecting the public through the complaints and investigation process, through mandatory reporting requirements and through the discipline process.

The Ontario Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (OAMRT), on the other hand, is the provincial professional association which represents the interests of medical radiation technologists in Ontario. Although membership is voluntary, the OAMRT serves the interests of MRTs in the province through advocacy, member benefits, and continuing professional development. Similarly, the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) is the national association for medical radiation technologists.

One member benefit provided by the national professional association is the provision of professional liability insurance. As was explained in the Summer 2010 edition of the College’s publication Insights and in this edition, a new requirement set out in the Health Professions Procedural Code of the RHPA will shortly oblige MRTs to carry professional liability insurance. This provision is not yet in force and the College will keep all MRTs informed of the requirements for this new obligation when they come into force.

The CMRTO and both the Ontario and national professional associations often work together on common issues and maintain open lines of communication with each other. The interests of the profession and the public are best served when the regulatory body and the associations cooperate with one another.

In the late summer of 2008, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) requested the College to work collaboratively with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) and the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (RCDSO) to develop guidelines, policies and best practices for the use of CT and MRI where applicable to each profession.

The MOHTLC's goal is to improve safety in the use of diagnostic imaging related to computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The ministry’s strategy is based on recommendations and input from the Diagnostic Imaging Safety Committees, the Healing Arts Radiation Protection Commission’s 2007 report, and the 2006 Auditor General’s Report: Hospitals – Management and Use of Diagnostic Imaging Equipment.

To fulfill the ministry’s direction, the College created two committees – a CT and an MRI working committee, each made up of Council members and MRTs who are experts in these areas. The College worked with RCDSO to develop practice guidelines for cone-beam CT units for dental application. We also continued our work with CPSO to update CPSO’s IHF Clinical Practice Parameters and Facility Standards for MRI and CT. In addition, professional members of College’s Council worked with the MOHLTC and other professionals to develop the Ontario Best Practice Guidelines for managing the flow of patients requiring an MRI or CT examination.

As a result of this work, Council passed a resolution expressing its support for the use of the following three documents to meet the MOHLTC’s direction to develop in collaboration with CPSO inter-professional guidelines for the use of CT and MRI:

• CPSO Independent Health Facilities Clinical Practice Parameters and Facility Standards, Computed Tomography, 2nd edition 2009
• CPSO Independent Health Facilities Clinical Practice Parameters and Facility Standards Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2nd edition 2009
• Ontario Best Practice Guidelines For Managing the Flow of Patients Requiring an MRI or CT Examination, effective as of May 28, 2009 as published by the MOHLTC

Links to these three documents are available in the ‘What’s New’ section of the College website at www.cmrto.org.

On October 1, 2010, the College’s Council enacted By-law No. 42 as circulated to members on July 5, 2010. By-law No. 42 changes the fees MRTs pay to sustain the College’s work in meeting its mandate to protect the public through self-regulation of the profession.

Effective January 1, 2011, the annual fee for all MRTs will increase from $360.00 to $470.00 and the fee for registration as a member will increase from $360.00 to $470.00 (pro-rated on the basis of the person’s birthday). The late fee will continue to be 25% of the annual fee. There are no changes to any of the other fees payable to the College.

Below is a chart setting out the fees effective Jan. 1, 2011.

The following are the people whose certificates of registration were suspended between June 1, 2010 and September 30, 2010 for failure to pay their fees in accordance with section 24 of the Health Professions Procedural Code.

A person whose certificate of registration has been suspended is not a member of the College unless and until the suspension is removed.