Overview
LONG-TERM OUTCOMES
Canadian physicians care for their patients, confident the CMPA will assist them in reducing their medical liability risk and protect their professional integrity
In support of a high quality and effective healthcare system, the CMPA contributes to safe medical care to reduce harm resulting from the provision of care
The CMPA supports an effective and sustainable medical liability system that meets the needs of physicians and their patients
MISSION To protect the professional integrity of physicians and promote safe medical care in Canada
VISION The CMPA is valued as an essential component of the Canadian healthcare system
Building on success
The CMPA has been highly successful in fulfilling physicians’ medical liability protection needs by listening to our members and understanding their practices. We recognize that shifting economic, policy, social, and technological pressures necessitate the ongoing evolution of both our products and services and how they are delivered.
This Strategic Plan builds on our past success in meeting the requirements of a changing medical profession and Canadian healthcare system, and reflects a proactive and adaptive approach to meeting physicians’ future needs. Working collaboratively with stakeholders, the CMPA is enhancing our contribution to safe care by advancing evidence-based safe care strategies. As an essential element of the Canadian healthcare system, the CMPA will continue to exercise sound resource stewardship and advocate for system-level improvements to contain medical liability protection costs.
Our strategy
Continuity and change
The provision of effective and efficient medical liability protection requires a long-term perspective, one in which the ongoing confidence of physicians and their patients in the CMPA’s ability to deliver that protection is paramount. This Strategic Plan charts the Association’s way ahead through a changing environment and strengthens the essential role of the CMPA in Canadian healthcare. Reflecting on the CMPA’s long record of success and the dynamic nature of the environment in which our members now practise, this Plan achieves an appropriate balance between continuity and change.
2019–2022 Strategic Plan
Our strategy is guided by our vision and mission and seeks to achieve three long-term outcomes: Assist Physicians, Contribute to Safe Medical Care, and Support the Medical Liability System. The Plan reflects the Association’s unrelenting focus on member assistance, our emphasis on the importance of working with our stakeholders to effect positive improvements in the safety of care, and our commitment to effective and sustainable medical liability protection. Our core values define and guide all of the Association’s actions and decisions.
The medium-term objectives act together to direct the Association’s progress toward the long-term outcomes, while the strategic change initiatives form the foundation for annual operational and change management planning. The success indicators provide a basis for ongoing performance measurement, and the Association is committed to the transparent reporting of our progress in meeting our performance goals and executing our strategic change initiatives.
Long-term outcomes
1 Assist Physicians
Canadian physicians care for their patients, confident the CMPA will assist them in reducing their medical liability risk and protect their professional integrity
The CMPA provides medical liability protection for matters arising from the professional practice of medicine. Our continuum of support includes education to reduce harm and, in response to a medical-legal issue, advice, support and, if required, legal assistance. In the event a patient has been harmed by negligent medical care (fault in Québec), the CMPA provides appropriate compensation on the physician’s behalf.
2 Contribute to Safe Medical Care
In support of a high quality and effective healthcare system, the CMPA contributes to safe medical care to reduce harm resulting from the provision of care
The CMPA contributes, in collaboration with stakeholders, to safe medical care by leveraging our knowledge and expertise to identify risks, analyze their causes, and develop and deliver safe care strategies. The Association actively promotes policies, programs, and practices, and shares data, analyses, and strategies to contribute to the provision of safe healthcare.
3 Support the Medical Liability System
The CMPA supports an effective and sustainable medical liability system that meets the needs of physicians and their patients
By supporting the availability of physician care, an effective and sustainable medical liability system is an essential element of a well-functioning healthcare system. The CMPA works with members, medical and healthcare organizations, and governments to advance collaborative approaches to contain medical liability protection costs. With the goal of retaining a fully funded position, the Association maintains a transparent and predictable membership fee structure.
What success looks like
- Improved safety of care, including a reduction in frequency and severity of harm resulting from healthcare delivery
- Healthy and confident physicians delivering safe care
- An engaged and highly satisfied membership that supports the CMPA’s efforts to improve healthcare
- A CMPA reputation of being a strong advocate for physicians within a safe healthcare environment
- Healthcare regulations, policies, and guidelines that support physicians in delivering care
- Predictable medical-legal protection costs
- A sound CMPA financial position that provides physicians and their patients with confidence in the Association
Medium-term objectives
Members turn to the CMPA as a trusted source of evidence-based, reliable, and professional support when medical-legal matters arise from their medical professional work. They rely on the Association to identify medical liability risks and promote risk reduction through education, research, and safe care strategies. The CMPA will effectively and efficiently deliver high quality medical-legal education, advice, and assistance that, within our mutuality framework, meets members’ medical liability protection needs.
Strategic change initiatives
- A1.Align the CMPA’s extent of assistance to meet evolving member needs
In response to the changing medical liability protection requirements of our members, the CMPA will appropriately and responsibly adjust our assistance to ensure physicians can continue to practise with confidence their medical liability interests are protected. Guided by the principles of mutuality and proportionality, we will engage members to proactively identify and respond to emerging medical-legal risks.
- A2.Transform the member experience through innovative and integrated delivery mechanisms
Recognizing members’ time is valuable, the CMPA will continue to enhance access to our services, enriching the member experience through improved alignment of product and service delivery.
What medium-term success looks like
- Education, advice, and assistance fully satisfy physicians’ medical-legal protection needs
- CMPA protection enables members to practise with confidence
- Members have timely access to CMPA products and services across multiple channels
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Within a changing healthcare environment, members’ medical liability protection needs can also be expected to change. Guided by a deep, data-driven understanding, the CMPA will evolve our product and service offerings to reflect current and forecast changes in member and stakeholder needs.
Strategic change initiatives
- B1.Enhance product and service development through an enriched understanding of member needs and interests
By actively listening to our members and stakeholders and understanding the environment in which physicians practise, the CMPA will deepen our understanding of physician needs. We will develop relevant and valued products and services that both support physicians in their safe delivery of care and assist them in meeting their professional obligations.
- B2.Enhance products and services tailored to the needs of specific member segments
The CMPA will deliver, within the construct of mutuality, assistance to particular member segments that is consistent with their specific medical liability protection needs. This will include services tailored to members who are new to practice or in high-risk specialties or situations. We will also provide specific support to members whose medical liability experience is more extensive than that of their colleagues, thereby assisting them in meeting their professional and mutuality obligations.
What medium-term success looks like
- Members and key stakeholders value and are fully satisfied with the CMPA’s products and services
- Enhanced CMPA products and services have a meaningful impact on members’ practices
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The CMPA substantively contributes to the reduction in the likelihood and impact of harm from care provided by physicians and other health professionals. In collaboration with stakeholders, the CMPA will develop, deliver, and promote safe care strategies that improve patient safety. By contributing to safer care, the CMPA’s efforts benefit all Canadians.
Strategic change initiatives
- C1.Effect positive change in healthcare delivery through collaborative efforts to enhance the safety of care
Working collaboratively with stakeholders, the CMPA will contribute to measurable reduction in the likelihood and impact of harm from medical care. These efforts will involve the combined engagement of physicians, other healthcare professions, and institutions. Enhanced data-sharing, expanded research, and multi-party initiatives will be leveraged to deliver scalable and enduring safe care strategies.
- C2.Build member capacity to improve safety in medical care delivery
The CMPA will work collaboratively to provide members and other healthcare professionals with the tools and knowledge necessary to effect scalable improvements in the safety of care. This will include positioning physicians as change agents to promote a positive culture of healthcare delivery that values the contributions of physicians and other healthcare professionals.
What medium-term success looks like
- CMPA safe care strategies adopted and sustained by physicians, other health professionals, institutions, and stakeholders
- Key stakeholders seek out the CMPA to collaborate and to contribute to safer medical care
- Physicians positioned as change agents to promote a positive healthcare culture
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Members count on the CMPA to offer meaningful and valued input to influence legislation, regulations, and policies that impact their practice and the medical-legal environment. The CMPA will provide fact-based perspectives and advocate for sustainable changes in the best interests of members and their patients.
Strategic change initiatives
- D1.Advocate for broad-based change in the healthcare system to enhance outcomes
The CMPA will promote broad-based system changes that lead to tangible and positive impacts on members’ practice and on the performance and sustainability of the healthcare system. We will constructively influence key decision makers, both directly and through strategic collaborations.
- D2.Influence regulation and policy change at the physician and practice unit level that supports the delivery of safe and efficient care
The CMPA will influence regulations and policies to improve the health and wellness of members, protect their medical liability interests, and enhance the safety of care.
What medium-term success looks like
- Measurable influence over relevant healthcare system legislation, regulation and policy that affect members' practice environment
- Supportive practice environments that enable physicians to deliver care confidently
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Members, patients, and stakeholders trust the CMPA to deliver effective and efficient medical liability protection. By substantively contributing to the containment in the growth of medical liability protection costs, the CMPA will support a sustainable healthcare system.
Strategic change initiatives
- E1.Improve the delivery of high quality assistance and other medical-legal services to members
With the goal of ensuring the timely and fair resolution of medical-legal cases, the CMPA will optimize the manner in which we provide legal assistance to members by streamlining case management processes through the optimal allocation of human resources and technology.
- E2.Advocate for sensible reforms to sustain an effective and equitable medical liability system
Leveraging our experience and expertise, the CMPA will advocate for reasonable medical liability system reforms that reduce unnecessary costs, decrease the time required for the resolution of medical-legal matters, and respect the rights of physicians and their patients.
What medium-term success looks like
- Timely and equitable resolution of medical-legal matters, including appropriate compensation to patients
- Sustainable medical liability protection costs
- Predictability of membership fees
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In a dynamic and changing environment, the CMPA demonstrates organizational resilience and adaptability in mitigating threats and leveraging opportunities that could materially affect the achievement of our strategic objectives. The Association will employ cost-effective technologies, a skilled and enabled workforce, and sound governance and management to engender member and stakeholder confidence in our internal capacity and capabilities.
Strategic change initiatives
- F1.Align the capabilities of an adaptable and engaged workforce with future organizational needs
The CMPA will maintain an engaged workforce of talented employees who demonstrate innovation and resiliency in a dynamic environment. Our people strategy will promote investment in continuous learning, growth and engagement, guided by supportive leadership that fosters a healthy and productive work culture.
- F2.Leverage technology to cost-effectively enhance organizational capacity and capability
The CMPA will adopt innovative technologies and operating models to improve our responsiveness to current and forecast change. Enhancement to internal systems will facilitate increased synergy across core organizational functions, support improved data-driven decision-making, and strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of operations.
- F3.Optimize governance and management practices
The CMPA will strengthen governance and management practices to ensure strategy execution is aligned with member and key stakeholder expectations, from both an effectiveness and efficiency perspective. Focused investments in performance measurement, enterprise risk management, and increased integration of strategic foresight will position the Association for continued success. Recognizing inclusiveness as a strength, we will continue to champion diversity across the organization.
What medium-term success looks like
- The CMPA can adapt to major disruption within the medical liability protection and healthcare environments
- The CMPA is a learning organization that proactively adapts to change
- Governance and management are trusted by members and stakeholders to achieve the Association’s strategic objectives
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Core values
Mutuality
CMPA members are responsible to their colleagues and the Association to practise in a manner consistent with the values of the medical profession, and to act in accordance with the existing obligations of the CMPA By-law and other obligations determined by the Association’s member-elected Council.
Discretionary assistance
The CMPA extends assistance to members who experience medical-legal difficulties from their medical professional work, based on the facts and circumstances of a member’s particular situation. This allows for flexibility in the service provided rather than denying assistance based on defined policies.
Ethical defence
The CMPA provides members with an appropriate and ethical defence and, in keeping with its philosophy of "defending the defensible" does not settle unsubstantiated claims for expediency or economic reasons. The CMPA seeks to do this in as timely a manner as is feasible.
Safe medical care
Within the context of a quality healthcare system and in collaboration with stakeholders, the CMPA is committed to enhancing the safety of medical care.
Service excellence
Through a physician-to-physician assistance model, the CMPA provides members with a broad range of relevant and high quality services, in an empathetic and non-judgmental manner.
Responsible stewardship
The CMPA operates in accordance with sound governance and management practices that support prudent administration of the resources entrusted to it.
Our commitment to members
We are dedicated to providing members with high quality service. This is our commitment to members and it permeates every aspect of the Association’s work, from our assistance philosophy, to our products and services, to our people, and to our trusted relationship with members. The CMPA will:
- Deliver relevant and valued medical liability protection
We are committed to remaining relevant to and valued by our members. We listen to their needs, understand the evolving healthcare environment, and adapt our assistance.
- Offer caring and meaningful support
We are committed to supporting our members as they face the increasing pressures of delivering care to Canadians. The CMPA will support their wellbeing through the provision of informed and compassionate physician-to-physician education, advice, and assistance, and by advocating for programs that support physician wellness.
- Provide an outstanding member experience
We are committed to delivering a positive experience for members through transparent communication and enhanced and easy access to our services.
Our commitment to healthcare
As an essential component of the healthcare system, the CMPA is committed to advancing improvements that enhance the safety of care and support long-term system sustainability. The CMPA will:
- Advance improvements in the safety of medical care
We are committed to contributing to the safe delivery of medical care, including through forging innovative partnerships and alliances. We will leverage our expertise to advance evidence-based solutions and share our knowledge to improve safety and reduce patient harm.
- Support an effective and efficient healthcare system
We are committed to advocating for appropriate system reforms that sustain delivery of healthcare, including those improvements related to medical liability.
- Act as a responsible steward
We are committed to the responsible stewardship of resources and the effective and efficient delivery of medical liability protection.
How the CMPA provides value
At the CMPA, we believe in a healthcare system that provides quality care for patients, promotes physician and provider wellness, is efficient and effective in its delivery, and is sustainable for the future. To achieve this, we provide value to the Canadian healthcare system by:
- DELIVERING physician-to-physician medical-legal education, advice, and assistance
- SUPPORTING physicians in delivering safe care to Canadians through evidence-based products and services
- PROVIDING timely and appropriate compensation to patients harmed by negligent medical care (fault in Québec)
- COLLABORATING with stakeholders and leveraging our pan-Canadian experience and perspective to effect positive change in healthcare
- ADVANCING innovative solutions to meet evolving member and stakeholder needs
