Transparency simply means being clear, accessible and visible. The CRTO has made transparency an important initiative over the last few years in an effort to provide resources for Respiratory Therapy practice in Ontario to support safe, ethical and competent care. Along with the values of accountability, fairness, openness and effectiveness, transparency is fundamental to regulating the Respiratory Therapy profession in the public interest.
There have been a number of high-profile examples over the past several years in which individuals or organizations have failed to be forthcoming about their activities, resulting in the public being placed at risk. Those instances, along with the public’s growing desire to access information about those who they interact with, has created a need for health regulatory colleges to provide additional details about their members.
What we’re doing…
We believe that it is important for our stakeholders to be able to access information about the CRTO, our Members and the work we do, in an easy and timely manner. Some initiatives to improve accessibility to information include our re-designed website, participating in other social media platforms and developing online complaints forms, just to name a few. The CRTO also adopted Transparency Principles, and developed a Transparency Improvement Plan to guide initiatives.
Most recently, the CRTO undertook a review of its By-Laws, specifically the section that outlines the content of the Register, and information Members are required to report to us.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) also encourages Ontario health regulatory bodies to make transparency a priority in carrying out their mandates:
CRTO Letter to the Minister of Health & Long-Term Care
MOHLTC Letter – Office of the Minister, Oct. 2, 2014
MOHLTC Letter – Health Human Resources and Strategy Division, Oct. 28, 2014
If you have any questions or have suggestions to improve the CRTO’s transparency, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us at questions@crto.on.ca or (416) 591-7800.