Should Nurse Practitioners Be Allowed to Approve Behaviour Support Plans?
Official title: Proposed amendment of O. Reg. 299/10: Quality Assurance Measures (QAM) Regulation
Ontario wants to update rules for developmental services agencies. Right now, only doctors can approve certain behaviour support plans that include medication or intrusive interventions. This change would let nurse practitioners do it too—which could help people in rural and northern areas where doctors are hard to find.
Why This Matters
Have a family member with a developmental disability? Getting the right care plan approved can take months when doctors are scarce. This change could speed things up, especially in northern Ontario. It also updates who counts as a qualified behaviour analyst.
What Could Change
Nurse practitioners would be added to the list of clinicians who can approve behaviour support plans with intrusive interventions. Behaviour analysts would need to be registered with the College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario instead of just being certified by an American board.
Key Issues
- Should nurse practitioners be allowed to approve behaviour support plans that include intrusive interventions?
- Should behaviour analyst certification requirements be updated to require Ontario college membership?