Executive Director's Report

Pierre L. J. Ritchie, Executive Director

A bird's eye view of work to implement the current strategic priorities of the Canadian Register reveal action on multiple fronts.

Ongoing activities focused on core CRHSPP functions are concentrated in our central office. Of particular importance to CRHSPP Listees is the Annual Directory which is a flagship product. Beyond its immediate utility to Psychologists, it is a primary reference for hundreds of Third Party Payers and Referral sources as well as Revenue Canada/Revenue Québec for purposes of the GST exemption. Our small office staff also deal with the multitude of details that involve the maintenance of a current data-base of more than 3,000 psychologists. This includes the annual updates provided by each Listee through the Listee Information Questionnaire (LIQ) sent with the annual fee notice. Applications are collated and Council actions on admissions are also processed by the office but the actual study of applications is done by members of the Evaluation Committee. Viewed from the perspective of a single individual, it may not always seem much. However, taken on an aggregate basis it adds up to a considerable volume. At the governance level, the President, John MacDonald and the Treasurer, Philip Smith, maintain especially active contact with CRHSPP office personnel.

Achieving enhanced communications with CRHSPP Listees as well as our external markets and constituencies was adopted as a priority among the several goals retained or newly adopted by the 1998 Council at its annual meeting. Although the electronic age has brought certain efficiencies, it is also adding to workloads as communication options increase and become faster. Those if us who are actively on e-mail know how quickly this one area can consume time and resources. Making sense of what choices are right for each organization or type of activity within a multi-faceted body operating nationally such as CRHSPP requires some careful assessment and thought. This is the first step being taken toward achieving enhanced communications. Part of this objective also addresses providing marketing tools to Psychologists who are in the Canadian Register. These have been especially popular with health service Psychologists as well as external groups in the past.

Given limited financial and human resources, making the right choice is especially important. Preliminary work has been done in a number of areas. For example, the Past-President, George Hurley, and new At-Large Executive Committee member, Gordon Butler have been evaluating means to create an electronic version of the Directory with the Secretary, Craig Turner, assisting with special promotional materials for health service Psychologists. There are several aspects, especially related to the security of the data-base, which need to be resolved before the project could become fully operational.

Psychology has clearly emerged as a major health care profession. Like other health care providers, Psychologists and the profession as a whole are responding to pressures to adapt to new fiscal constraints, a changed policy environment and more articulate consumer expectations. The Canadian Register regularly maintains contact or responds to opportunities with dozens of other private and public sector organizations. To maximize effectiveness and/or because of the complexity of the issues, it can be desirable to work collaboratively on shared goals. Three current examples highlight CRHSPP's commitment to forge strong working partnerships.

Based on the pioneering efforts of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), the Canadian Register joined the Health Action Lobby (HEAL) several years ago. It remains perhaps the best forum for health care professions and facilities to join with consumers to vigorously advocate our respective needs to politicians and senior policy-makers.

The federal/provincial/territorial governments have made a commitment to easier mobility of persons, goods and services through the Agreement on Internal Trade (AIT). Psychology faces one its greatest challenges in responding to the AIT. The magnitude of the task plus wise leadership from all three organizations compelled CPA and CRHSPP to join with provincial/territorial bodies (through their national body, the Council of Provincial Associations of Psychologists) to form the Psychology Sectoral Work Group on AIT. We shall all surely be hearing about its crucial deliberations and the broader process of cnsultation and decision-making it will engender.

The Canadian Register has responded to specific requests to work bilaterally with provincial organizations in several provinces in recent years (e.g., Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec, Saskatchewan). The issues have ranged across education and training criteria, implementation of new regulatory legislation, marketing to Third Party Payers, and primary care reform.

These activities have all underscored CRHSPP's usefulness to the profession and to health service psychologists. To facilitate the presence of additional heath service psychologists in CRHSPP, former Vice-President, Allan Wilson, assisted by current Vice-President, Pierre Lefebvre, coordinated a large-scale effort to develop a new information brochure and revise application materials to make them more user-friendly.

Recently, all Psychologists listed in the Canadian Register were invited to respond to a survey. Coordinated by At-Large Executive member, Ken Doody, this project is now moving to the data compilation and analysis stage. Results will be reported in a future issue. The perspective and preferences of health service psychologists will play an important role in informing future actions. CRSHPP Council, Executive and staff are all committed to making the Canadian Register a valuable entity for the profession and individual psychologists as well as for consumers and private or public sector corporate clients.