The Broader Public Sector Accountability Act (BPSAA) establishes a number of new requirements designed to improve accountability and transparency in hospitals and across the Broader Public Sector (BPS). Having received Royal Assent on December 8, 2010, of particular interest to hospitals are the provisions in that act that:
- Ban the practice of hiring lobbyists using public funds;
- Establish new procurement rules;
- Establish new expense rules;
- Establish new perquisites rules;
- Create new reporting requirements; and
- Bring hospitals under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)
BPS Procurement Directive
Effective April 1, 2011, the BPS Procurement Directive replaces the BPS Supply Chain Guideline. The Procurement Directive applies to all Ontario hospitals and is intended to achieve the following purposes:
- To ensure that publicly funded goods and services, including construction, consulting services, and information technology are acquired by BPS organizations through a process that is open, fair, and transparent;
- To outline responsibilities of BPS organizations throughout each stage of the procurement process; and
- To ensure that procurement processes are managed consistently throughout the BPS.
Pertinent information on the Procurement Directive is available from the Ministry of Finance’s BPS Supply Chain Secretariat:
BPS Expense Directive and OHA’s Hospital Expense Policy Guideline
Also effective as of April 1, 2011, the BPS Expense Directive sets out the requirement for all Ontario hospitals to establish expense rules where expenses are reimbursed from public funds.
The expense rules apply to any person in the organization making an expense claim, including the following:
- Employees,
- Board members, and
- Consultants and contractors engaged by the organization, providing consulting or other services.
Hospitals should consider this directive in any review or development of their expense policies and practices.
Pertinent information on the Expense Directive is provided by the Ministry of Finance’s BPS Supply Chain Secretariat:
In March 2011, the OHA updated its Hospital Expense Policy Guidelines to reflect the Procurement and Expense Directives. The OHA’s guidelines highlight various issues for hospitals to consider when developing their policies and procedures, and can also be tailored to meet a hospital’s own specific needs and purposes.
For questions about the OHA’s Hospital Expense Policy Guidelines, please contact Sundeep Sodhi, OHA Consultant, Health System Governance, at 416-205-1307 or ssodhi@oha.com.
Perquisites Directive
Effective August 2, 2011, Management Board of Cabinet issued a Directive establishing rules on perquisites (perks) where they are provided through Public Funds. This Directive applies to all hospital employees and includes requirements to:
- Establish rules regarding perquisites;
- Terms and limitations on those rules;
- An accountability framework to ensure appropriate governance; and
- Provisions to make summary information on allowable perquisites publicly available.
The Perquisites Directive can be found on the Ministry of Finance website and can be accessed here.
Hospital Reporting Directive
The BPSAA also provides for the creation of reporting directives related to various aspects of the Act’s accountability provisions. On March 28, 2011 the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care released a draft version of its Directives to Hospitals in respect of Reporting Requirements under the Broader Public Sector Accountability Act (BPS Reporting Directives). This Reporting Directive requires hospitals to:
- Report annually to LHINs on consultant use;
- Make a semi-annually public posting of Executive and Board Member expenses; and
- Make an annual attestation to compliance with the BPSAA’s lobbyist rules, Expense and Procurement Directives and to the accuracy of consultant and expense reports.
MOHLTC has provided an additional information resource in a BPSAA Questions and Answers for Hospitals Expenses, Reporting and Attestation, found on the ministry’s website.
Freedom of Information
The BPSAA also contains amendments to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) that brings hospitals under the Freedom of Information regime beginning January 1, 2012. Corresponding amendments to the Quality of Care Information Protection Act providing that FIPPA does not apply to quality of care information also come into force on that date.
For more information, please visit www.oha.com/foi.