For clinics, surgical centres and health systems in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec
Canadian clinic accreditation, run from one system with wai.
wai runs booking, clinical notes, patient messaging in English, French or any language, payments and records, and keeps each of them as evidence a CPSO inspector, a CPSBC assessor or an Accreditation Canada surveyor can read. Patients see the price before they commit and get a reply in their own language, and the AI scribe drafts the note for the physician to sign, so wai is built to help you achieve accreditation.
Who inspects and accredits Canadian clinics in 2026?
Clinic oversight is provincial. In Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec a different body checks a different kind of premises, and Accreditation Canada accredits hospitals and health systems across the country.
Five programmes across Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec and Canada as a whole. Open a programme for its standards.1
01Ontario, CPSO Out-of-Hospital Premises Inspection ProgramEvery premises outside a hospital where physicians perform procedures under general, regional or parenteral anesthesia or sedation, or certain cosmetic and pain procedures under local anesthesia, is inspected by the CPSO.10 OHP standards
Co-operation with the Out-of-Hospital Premises Inspection Program
02Ontario, ICHSC Quality Assurance Program by Accreditation CanadaCommunity surgical and diagnostic centres licensed under the Integrated Community Health Services Centres Act, 2023 are inspected by Accreditation Canada every four years against the ICHSC Standards.10 sections of the ICHSC Surgical/Medical Standard
Organizational Structure, Personnel Policies and Training, and Management
03British Columbia, CPSBC Non-Hospital Medical and Surgical Facilities Accreditation ProgramOnly facilities accredited by the NHMSFAP may provide the procedures in Schedule G of the CPSBC Bylaws. Over 50 standards are assessed every 46 to 48 months, using patient tracers.7 standard areas
04Quebec, specialized medical centres under Santé QuébecA specialized medical centre needs a Santé Québec authorization, valid for five years, and must have its services accredited by a recognised accreditation body within three years and keep that accreditation.6 obligations
Santé Québec authorization naming the place, the treatments, the operating rooms and the beds
Accreditation within three years, kept at all times
Recognized practices for the quality of services and for infection prevention and control
A medical and professional services director chosen from the centre's physicians
An activity report to Santé Québec by 31 March each year
The total foreseeable cost of pre and post operative services told to the patient
05Canada, Accreditation Canada Qmentum GlobalQmentum Global for Canadian Accreditation runs on a four-year cycle of self-assessment, survey instruments, attestation and a short-notice on-site assessment by third-party surveyors, against HSO and Accreditation Canada standards.6 components
Self-Assessment
Survey instruments, the HSO Global Workforce Survey and the HSO Governing Body Assessment
Attestation
On-Site Assessment
Quality Improvement Action Plan
Required Safety Practices, 24 in place of 38 Required Organizational Practices
What evidence do Canadian assessors and inspectors look at?
Assessors judge care as it is delivered, from observation, interviews and records.2
01
Patient tracers
A CPSBC team follows a patient from admission through the procedure, recovery and discharge.
02
Patient medical records
Charts reviewed for completeness and accuracy by the CPSO, the CPSBC and Accreditation Canada.
03
Policies and procedures
The facility manual, sent ahead of the visit for an ICHSC inspection and reviewed on site.
04
Personnel files
Qualifications, registration, privileges and training for every person who works there.
05
Maintenance records
HVAC, equipment, fire, medical gas and generator records, in British Columbia.
06
Quality records
Quality assurance minutes, incident reviews and drill records.
How is each decision made?
Each body decides on its own terms, and each one can stop procedures when patients are at risk.3
Pass, Pass with Conditions or FailThe CPSO Premises Inspection Committee, for an Ontario OHP. A Fail stops all OHP procedures.
Accredited or Not AccreditedAccreditation Canada's recommendation for an Ontario ICHSC, with any licensing action decided by the Ministry of Health.
Provisional, full, or with conditionsThe NHMSFAP Committee, for a BC facility. Full accreditation is a four-year term with a five-year certificate.
Accredited, and keptA Quebec specialized medical centre, within three years of its authorization, by a recognised accreditation body.
4 years
between routine CPSO inspections of every out-of-hospital premises, or sooner if the CPSO decides.3
46 to 48 months
between formal CPSBC assessments against every applicable NHMSFAP standard.2
30 days
for an Ontario ICHSC to submit corrective actions after its Accreditation Canada inspection.4
After a CPSO Pass with Conditions or Fail, the premises has 14 days for written submissions, and after a Fail a follow-up inspection may come within 60 days of them.
A CPSBC critical nonconformance is reported within two business days, and patient care stops until the facility answers it.
An ICHSC hears a verbal report at the end of the visit, and receives the written report within 14 days.
A Quebec CMS renewal asks for the accreditation date, the accreditation body and its evaluation report.
What is changing in 2026?
Four changes are in force or under way, and one is still pending.
In force. Since 1 April 2024, Accreditation Canada is the inspecting body for Ontario's integrated community health services centres, replacing the CPSO and the College of Midwives of Ontario. Mid-cycle self-assessments become mandatory after a centre's first Accreditation Canada inspection.
In force. CPSBC's Person-centred Care standard, version 1.2, took effect on 1 May 2026, and its Patient Safety Incident Management standard on 1 July 2026.4
In force. Qmentum Global replaces 38 Required Organizational Practices with 24 Required Safety Practices.
In force. Quebec specialized medical centres now hold a Santé Québec authorization under chapter G-1.021. A permit issued under the old Act counts as an authorization until it expires.
Pending. The Quebec duty to be accredited within three years applies until Santé Québec develops a national programme on the quality of services under section 74 of G-1.021.
Which body checks your clinic, province by province?
What you need depends on the province and on what you do in the room. Physicians are licensed by their College in every province, and premises rules sit beside that licence.5
Medicine Act, 1991, Ontario Regulation 114/94, Part XI
Out-of-hospital premises using general, regional or parenteral anesthesia or sedation, and certain cosmetic and pain procedures. Inspected every 4 years. A new premises is inspected within 180 days, for a $500 fee.
Act respecting the governance of the health and social services system, chapter G-1.021, sections 555 and 574 to 593
Specialized medical centres offering hip or knee replacement, cataract surgery or other treatments set by regulation. Authorization for 5 years, accreditation within 3.
Accreditation, mandatory for health systems and hospitals in several provinces
Hospitals, health systems, ambulatory care and other organizations, on a four-year cycle. Trusted by over 9,300 locations.
The Quebec terms, in French
Santé Québec and the Collège work in French. These are the names on their forms and in the law.
Centre médical spécialisé, CMS, is a specialized medical centre.6
Autorisation CMS is the Santé Québec authorization to operate one.
Agrément is accreditation, by an organisme d’agrément reconnu par Santé Québec.
Directeur des services médicaux et professionnels is the medical and professional services director.
Loi sur la gouvernance du système de santé et de services sociaux is chapter G-1.021.
Collège des médecins du Québec, CMQ, is the college that licenses and inspects physicians.
What should Canadian accreditation software actually run?
wai runs booking, notes, messaging, payments and access, and each one leaves a record mapped to the programme that checks your clinic.
01
Appointments and booking
Online booking from your own website, every clinician's diary read from their calendar, reminders, rebooking after a missed visit and waitlist offers when a slot opens.
Online booking at any hour, with a reminder before the visit.
For the business
Fewer missed appointments, and cancelled slots offered to the waitlist.
On the record
Every booking, reminder and change, with a time and a name.
02
Billing and payments
Card payments into your own Stripe account, the cancellation policy shown at booking, invoices, statements and reconciliation, with an export for your accountant.
A clear price and policy before they commit, and an invoice in their app.
For the business
Payments reconciled against visits, with an export for your accountant.
On the record
What was charged, when, against which visit, and the policy the patient saw.
03
AI scribe and clinical notes
The note, letters and referrals written from the consultation, cited to published clinical guidelines, with the transcript beside the note, for the clinician to read, edit and sign.
The clinician's attention stays on them during the consultation.
For the business
Less time spent writing notes after clinic.
On the record
A contemporaneous note, signed, with the time, the signature and the source it cites.
04
Follow-ups and patient messaging
WhatsApp, email and calls in one thread per patient, replies drafted in the patient's own language for your team to approve, a response clock on every new enquiry, and recalls a clinician approves.
A reply in the language they wrote in, approved by your team.
For the business
More enquiries answered within the hour, when they are most likely to book.
On the record
The whole conversation on one record, with response times.
05
Referrals, consent and audit trails
Recording consent taken at booking, referrals written from the visit, patient flags for controlled drugs and safeguarding notes, and every read of a record logged against a named account.
What is the best software for Canadian clinic accreditation?
The system your clinic already runs on, so the evidence is recorded as the work is done. Look for one record behind booking, notes, messaging, payments and access, with signed contemporaneous notes and a full audit trail. wai is built that way, to help you achieve accreditation.
Is there CPSO, CPSBC or Accreditation Canada approved software?
Accreditation Canada accredits health organizations and, in Ontario, inspects community surgical and diagnostic centres. It does not approve, certify or endorse software, wai included, and software cannot earn an accreditation decision on a provider's behalf. wai keeps the records your team uses to show your accrediting body how care is delivered, and your accrediting body decides the accreditation decision. The CPSO, the CPSBC and Santé Québec do not endorse software either.
Does my Ontario clinic need a CPSO inspection?
Yes, if physicians there perform procedures under general anesthesia, parenteral sedation or regional anesthesia other than a digital nerve block, or certain cosmetic or chronic pain procedures under local anesthesia. Clinical procedures with local anesthetic alone, minor dermatology and LASIK do not need notice to the CPSO.
Who inspects Ontario's community surgical and diagnostic centres now?
Accreditation Canada, since 1 April 2024. Ontario Regulation 215/23 under the Integrated Community Health Services Centres Act, 2023 names it the inspecting body, and the Ministry's Director decides any licensing action.
What does a new BC facility need before it opens?
Provisional accreditation from the CPSBC. An assessment is held when the facility is ready to open, a patient tracer follows within the first year, and full accreditation is a four-year term with a five-year certificate.
Does a Quebec specialized medical centre need accreditation?
Yes. It must have its services accredited by a body recognised by Santé Québec within three years of its authorization, and keep that accreditation. The rule applies until a national programme on the quality of services replaces it.
Does wai work in French?
Yes. Replies are drafted in the language the patient writes in, French, English or any other, and your team approves each one before it is sent.
Where does wai keep our records?
wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with you before go-live. Encrypted, with a full audit log.
See your own diary, notes and inbox in a 15 minute demo.
On video, with your team, in English or French. Built to help you achieve accreditation. wai hosts each clinic's records in its own country, under that country's rules. We set this up with you before go-live.