Three professions accredited under Pilot Accredited Registers Scheme for Healthcare Professions
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The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (JCSPHPC) is the independent Accreditation Agent of the Pilot AR Scheme. According to the assessment of the JCSPHPC, the three aforementioned healthcare professional bodies have met the accreditation standards covering governance, operational effectiveness, risk management and quality improvement, standards for registrants, education and training requirements, and management of the register. The DH has accepted the recommendations of the JCSPHPC to grant them full accreditation status.
As the accredited healthcare professional bodies, the HKAAD, the HKAEP and HKICP are permitted to use the Accreditation Mark on their websites and Certificates of Registration issued to their members for easy identification by the public. Members of these three healthcare professional bodies can now use the title "Member of Register of Dietitians / Educational Psychologists / Clinical Psychologists accredited by Department of Health" on their name cards.
In addition to administering a register for their professions, the HKAAD, the HKAEP and HKICP are also responsible for improving the professional competency of their respective professions and handling complaints against their members.
To ensure continuous enhancement of operation, the three healthcare professional bodies will be reviewed by the Accreditation Agent at the end of the first year of accreditation on their implementation actions for recommendations to continue with full accreditation status for three years.
Healthcare professionals and members of the public may visit the websites of the HKAAD (www.hkaad.hk), the HKAEP (www.hkaep.org.hk), HKICP (www.icphk.org.hk) and the Pilot AR Scheme (www.ars.gov.hk) for information about the relevant accredited bodies and their respective registers of members.
Launched at end 2016, the Pilot AR Scheme aims to enhance the society-based registration arrangement of healthcare professions currently not subject to statutory registration based on the principle of professional autonomy, with a view to ensuring the professional competency of healthcare professionals and providing more information for the public to make informed decisions when choosing healthcare service providers. Along with the earlier promulgation of accreditation bodies for speech therapists and audiologists, the promulgation of accreditation bodies for dietitians, educational psychologists and clinical psychologists implies that altogether five healthcare professions have successfully completed accreditation under the Pilot AR Scheme. The Accreditation Agent will review the effectiveness of the Pilot AR Scheme and report to the Government with recommended measures for improvement. The Pilot AR Scheme will serve as a basis for the Government to study how to formulate a statutory registration regime for relevant accredited professions.
Ends/Thursday, October 31, 2019
Issued at HKT 17:45
Issued at HKT 17:45
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