The Alberta Government, through the Health Professions Act (the Act), sets the role of health profession regulators. The Act states that we must carry out our activities and govern our respective professions in a way that protects and serves the public interest. But what, exactly, is the public interest? The Act doesn’t define it and Internet search results often describe it as a “concept” or “ideal standard,” but fail to offer a tangible, measurable description.
As one of five colleges regulating the professionals who provide oral healthcare to Albertans, we decided to host a Symposium of Oral Health Regulators to connect, discuss and learn about public interest. We were pleased to have Council and staff members from the Alberta College of Dental Hygienists, College of Alberta Denturists, College of Dental Surgeons of Alberta and College of Dental Technologists of Alberta participate.
Our day started with a land acknowledgement and warm welcome from Jennifer Tewes, our College’s Registrar & CEO. Ms. Tewes introduced Shawn Knight, Executive Director of Regulatory Compliance & Data Stewardship for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction, who was our dynamic and engaging moderator. Leann Wagner, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Health, brought greetings on behalf of the Alberta Government.
Presenters Offer Perspective
To prime participants’ minds for the round table discussions in the afternoon, we heard from Dr. Rafael Figueiredo, Alberta’s Public Dental Officer. Dr. Figueiredo shared information and statistics about the public health programs that support access to oral care for Indigenous peoples, children, seniors, and other at-risk populations. Public oral health programs are limited as dental care is not included in our public healthcare system. Albertans who don’t qualify for those programs either use private insurance benefits toward the cost of dental services, pay out-of-pocket, or don’t receive care at all. Dr. Figueiredo’s presentation provided important perspectives to Symposium participants.
To further prime our minds, a robust panel discussion followed Dr. Figueiredo’s presentation. Mr. Knight posed several questions to Steve Armstrong, Jason Kully, Patricia Matusko and Sheila Steger to prompt discussion. Collectively, the panel members’ backgrounds included professional regulation, regulatory law, military, Government-appointed public member service, public policy, public health, nonprofit management and health regulation. Through their varied backgrounds, they often contributed different viewpoints to the conversation; however, some common themes emerged about public interest:
- it evolves, it isn’t static
- there are many “publics” for oral health regulators to consider
- each regulator needs to define their role to set clear expectations for the public
- regulators need to be current, accessible, and human
Regulators’ Round Table Discussions
After listening to our presenters, participants were excited to start the round table discussions. As several small groups considered questions about public interest related to our oral health colleges, there was more robust discussion around the room. Once again, there were common themes:
- public interest is dynamic – people and needs change and shift; what we can control is our reaction to it
- we serve the public interest by setting standards, providing service, governing our professions, ensuring a high standard of care
- we recognize that we work in the public interest, but we haven’t defined it
- public interest may be addressed through patient outcomes in standards of practice; outcomes identify what the public can expect and what registrants need to do to meet standards
- standards of practice are an expression of the values of the profession
- collaboration between oral health regulators and breaking down hierarchy between the professions is in the public interest
- consistent messaging between oral health regulators is important
- collaborate on public consultation and listening to the public
- learn from examples in other professions and jurisdictions
What’s next?
After a day of working together to develop a common understanding of who we serve and how we can protect the fluid and multi-faceted public interest, Symposium participants were interested in continued collaboration to explore the public interest further.
We will be sharing our learnings with our College’s Council and look forward to ongoing discussion to enhance our awareness and understanding of public interest.