Speaker: Rose Carter
Session Presentation:
The governing principal in a patient/healthcare provider relationship is for the provider to protect patient confidentiality. However, healthcare providers have a number of legal obligations requiring them to breach patient confidentiality. In addition to their legal obligations, healthcare providers may encounter situations where they may be allowed by a Court to breach confidentiality.
Provided certain steps in breaching patient confidentiality are taken, the healthcare provider is protected.
Two legal pathways exist to disclose laws: enacted by federal and/or provincial laws and judge-made laws. The first is mandatory reporting, such as suspected child abuse, which is required under the law of the Province. The second relates to a healthcare provider wishing to report a concern to protect members of the public from harm, which is not mandated by law. In this circumstance, the healthcare provider may have what is called a common law duty to disclose. The Supreme Court of Canada has set out principles to be followed in such circumstances.
Healthcare providers must obey reporting directions set out in the laws of the Federal Government and the laws of the Alberta Provincial Government. In rare circumstances, a healthcare provider may encounter a situation that they believe must be reported, but there is no law to cover a breach of patient confidentiality. In these situations, breaches of confidentiality must be handled carefully and require the advice from the healthcare provider’s College and/or a health law lawyer. A Court Order will often be required to protect the healthcare provider.
Learning Objectives
1. Learn under which circumstances a breach of patient confidentiality may be necessary.
2. Understand the Federal and Provincial laws that mandate reporting to authorities.
3. In addition to mandatory reporting, understand the possible circumstances where a breach may be necessary and the steps to be taken to protect the healthcare provider in those situations.
BIO
Rose Carter KC practices Health Law. Rose has over 35 years of experience in defending physicians, nurses, and other health care providers in lawsuits and before regulatory colleges. She assists healthcare providers in understanding the regulatory requirements in setting up private clinics and Non-Hospital Surgical Facilites. As an Adjunct Professor of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta, she lectures to Medical Students and Residents and presents at Staff rounds. She has published in peer-reviewed journals on various topics of interest to healthcare providers. Rose is regularly asked to speak at medical meetings