Telepsychology Practice into PEI |

The Context

The psychology regulatory organizations in all Canadian jurisdictions agree that access to appropriately regulated telepsychology services, including across jurisdictional boundaries, is in the public interest.

Three jurisdictions (Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick) have determined that telepsychology services provided to their residents by psychologists outside their jurisdictions can be appropriately regulated by the psychologists’ home jurisdictions, which would be responsible for receiving and acting upon complaints.

Prince Edward Island is one of eight jurisdictions (also including British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories) which have determined that they must regulate provision of telepsychology services received by their residents from psychologists outside their jurisdiction, when the residents are located in their own jurisdiction, and that appropriate regulation requires some form of registration or, in Saskatchewan, license, in the jurisdiction of the client.

In each case, jurisdictions are making good faith efforts to interpret what is required and what is possible according to current legislation, regulations, and legal advice.

The eight jurisdictions requiring some form of registration or license by those providing services to their residents when the residents are located in their jurisdictions have agreed that:

There are circumstances in which an expedited and low-cost process for a limited or temporary form of registration or license to provide interjurisdictional telepsychology services are appropriate, and other circumstances in which full registration in the jurisdiction of the client is appropriate;

Both the public and providers of telepsychology services would benefit from clarity about the requirements for telepsychology practice into each jurisdiction;

The eight jurisdictions requiring some form of registration or license by those providing services to their residents when the residents are located in their jurisdictions have signed the ACPRO Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Interjurisdictional Telepsychology (MOU), in effect as of 1 April, 2024. The MOU recognizes there while there are circumstances in which full registration in the jurisdiction of the client is appropriate, there are other circumstances in which an expedited and low-cost process for a limited or temporary form of registration or license to provide interjurisdictional telepsychology services is appropriate. The MOU establishes a certificate for Limited Telepsychology Practice (which will carry a different name jurisdiction to jurisdiction) to enable efficient provision of interjurisdictional telepsychology services in circumstances deemed appropriate by the jurisdiction. This authorization will be issued to those who:

are registered for independent practice, and remain so, in their home jurisdiction;
are currently registered in good standing, with no disciplinary restrictions or conditions on practice, and this is confirmed by their home regulatory body using a common form which may be revised from time to time;
submit a brief application form, including the psychologist’s name, contact information, home jurisdiction and registration number, degree upon which registration is based, confirmation of which eligible category of Limited Telepsychology Practice applies, attestation that they carry professional liability insurance, attestation that they will restrict their Limited Telepsychology Practice to work with those populations and such activities as they are permitted to carry out in their home jurisdiction, attestation that they are in compliance with any continuing education and quality assurance requirements of their home jurisdiction, and attestation that they will abide by the Association of Canadian Psychology Regulatory Organization’s (ACPRO’s) Model Telepsychology Standards in place at the time of application, by the standards and jurisprudence of the jurisdiction into which telepsychology services will be provided, and by the restrictions of their certificates of registration.
pay the applicable fee, which may vary across jurisdictions and over time.

The duration of a Limited Telepsychology Practice certificate is determined by each jurisdiction, and may be temporary or time-limited.

Telepsychology practice not falling into one of the approved categories requires a regular (Canada Free Trade Agreement) application for full registration and payment of applicable application and registration fees.

Complaints regarding the telepsychology practice received by either the client’s jurisdiction or the psychologist’s home jurisdiction will be shared with the other jurisdiction. Both jurisdictions retain a right to investigate the complaint, and to further take action under their governing legislation, but will consult with each other about how to proceed, including the possibilities of proceeding collaboratively, sequentially, and independently.

Eligible Categories of Practice into Prince Edward Island (specified on application form)

continuity of care for a client who has moved to a different jurisdiction
continuity of care for a client who initially received service in person at an out-of-jurisdiction public setting (e.g., regional referral hospital) and is receiving follow-up services at home
Services, new or ongoing, from a regional public-service setting, e.g., regional referral hospital, Critical Stress Injury Clinic
New or ongoing family services where some family members live in a different jurisdiction
Expert witness testimony
College and university students receiving new and ongoing services from their educational institution that would have been freely available to them were they on campus
New or ongoing services to a College/Board registrant or to a psychology graduate student (for whom access to local services may be problematic given permeability of local professional boundaries)
Services to a single new client (in none of the above categories) in a year
For psychologists registered in and practicing from an Atlantic jurisdiction only, services to up to five clients in a year
Practice carried out as part of a research project approved by the Research Ethics Board of a University or other public agency, or in accordance with any governing legislation.
Supervising a student or candidate/provisional psychologist or other supervisee who will be engaged in the category of practice indicated above.

Fees

Fees are specified on the application form. In general, no fees are charged for provision of service from a public setting, and the fee for service delivered through private practice is $125. However, consistent with the spirit of the former Atlantic Telepsychology MOU, fees are waived for psychologists in private practice registered in and practicing from an Atlantic province with up to five clients a year.