Inter-Institution Affiliation Agreements (IIA) | School of Medicine

An IIA agreement is required by RCPSC/CFPC when a program does not have the resources to provide a core mandatory rotation within our catchment area and must make arrangements with another University/program, within Ontario, in order for them to provide clinical instruction.

An IIA is different than an Affiliation Agreement (AA). An affiliation agreement supports training at institutions that are considered part of our geographic training location(s).

We have existing AAs with the following hospitals in our catchment area, so a separate program IIA is not required for these locations:

Lennox & Addington County General Hospital, Napanee
Campbellford Memorial Hospital
Brockville General Hospital
Humber River Health
Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC)
Lakeridge Health (Oshawa)
Moose Factory Weeneebayko Area Health Authority
Northumberland Hills Hospital
Peterborough Regional Health Centre
Providence Care Centre
Quinte Healthcare Corporation
Ross Memorial Hospital

You’ve determined your program needs an IIA

When a program identifies a need for an IIA they should follow the format/flow of this process document.

Note:

As IIAs are only within Ontario, the Regional Education Office will not fund out of province travel and accommodation.

IIA Checklist

IIA checklist to supplement the above process diagram:

The program identifies that an IIA is needed and contacts the PG Office to initiate the process
The PG Office informs the Postgraduate Dean, the Regional Education Office, and the Accreditation Program Coordinator about the request
The Program Director confirms a commitment from the same program (e.g., Emergency Medicine to Emergency Medicine not Pediatric Emergency Medicine to Emergency Medicine) at the receiving school to partner on an IIA
The PG Office sends instructions to the program along with the IIA Program Completion form to complete
The Program Director completes and signs the IIA Program Completion form for Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) programs, the IIA Agreement form for Family Medicine programs, or the IIA Agreement form for Family Medicine - Enhanced Skills programs.
The Program Director completes an accompanying covering letter, addressed to their Specialty Committee at:

<Insert program name> Specialty Committee
Residency Accreditation Committee
Royal College and Physicians & Surgeons of Canada
774 Echo Drive Ottawa, ON
K1S 5N8

For CFPC programs, the cover letter can be submitted to:

College of Family Physicians of Canada
2630 Skymark Ave.
Mississauga, ON
L4W 5A4

This letter needs to provide a rationale for the addition of the IIA (for example, a change in the STR, available resources, or number of residents) along with the signed IIA Program Completion form.

The IIA Program Completion form, and accompanying letter are returned to the PG Office
The Postgraduate Dean adds their signature to the IIA Program Completion form, and it is then sent to the receiving school
The receiving school’s Program Director and Postgraduate Dean add their signatures to the IIA Program Completion form and return it to our PG Office
The PG Office sends the completed IIA Program Completion form, and the Program Director’s cover letter to the RCPSC/CFPC for them to review.
For RCPSC, the Residency Accreditation Committee ratifies the IIA. which can take up to six months.
Once the IIA has been approved, the decision will be communicated to the program and the Regional Education Office and the PG master list of IIAs is updated

You’ve determined your program no longer needs an existing IIA

If an existing IIA is no longer in use and needs to be rescinded, you should follow the format/flow of this process document and complete and return the IIA removal form (for RCPSC programs) to the PG Office. For Family Medicine or FM Enhanced Skills programs, please create a letter notifying the PGME Office of the removal of the IIA and that letter will be forwarded to the CFPC.