Federal and provincial legislation and regulations govern nursing practice. The College of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CRNA) and its registrants must be compliant with this legislation.
Key pieces of legislation:
The Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act (AGTA) provides safeguards to protect vulnerable adults. It provides a range of options from supported decision-making or co-decision-making to full guardianship and trusteeship. The Alberta Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee provide resources for health-care providers.
Schedule 7.1 of the Government Organization Act (GOA) defines Health Services Restricted Activities. These are activities deemed to be high risk and that require specialized competencies and skills. The GOA provides a legal framework for authorization by a regulatory college of those restricted activities their regulated members can perform.
The Health Information Act (HIA), along with the Health Information Regulation and Alberta Electronic Health Record Regulation, outline expectations for the collection, use, disclosure and security of health information that protects the privacy and confidentiality of individuals and their health information. It provides individuals with the right to request access to health records in the custody or control of custodians and covers the actions of affiliates.
All registrants are either custodians or affiliates under the HIA and have obligations to properly manage health information. The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta protects and promotes the access and privacy rights of all Albertans.
The Health Professions Act (HPA) provides a legislative framework for governance, registration, restricted activities, discipline and continuing competence. It defines the requirements that regulated health professions in Alberta need to follow to provide safe and competent care to the public. Specifically, Schedule 24, Section 3 of the HPA defines the domains of RN practice, as well as specific roles and responsibilities of RNs, and outlines the overall scope of practice for the registered nurse profession.
The Registered Nurses Profession Regulation under the HPA defines the rules that govern registered nursing practice in Alberta, including: