I have been absent from social media and our communities for a few months. I had a little undercover work to do in the healthcare system.  It was not voluntary! I had ovarian cancer and needed surgery. It was caught early and I should have a full recovery. For those of you who enjoy details – I had a 20 cm tumour. It was ginormous. I had put up with a lot of pain and discomfort for a long time, thinking I was just tired and uncomfortable due to the changes of midlife and stress. Turns out it wasn’t menopause – it was cancer!! I am back at work. Part-time for now. I am taking things slowly ..read more

Listening to the Podcast, “We Can Do Hard Things” with Glennon Doyle, in Episode 118 Cheryl Strayed (author of “Wild” and other best-selling books) said that the best advice she ever received was from her mother who told her that as often as possible she should “put herself in the way of beauty“. By that she meant, when you can, choose to notice the beauty all around you. When I started my law firm, I wondered … Can the law be beautiful?  What would it mean if what I did as a lawyer was “beautiful”? I even wrote a blog about that in 2019. What could it mean to put oneself in the way of be ..read more

Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner (Patricia Kosseim) has released her 2021 annual report. The report reflects on the shift towards an increasingly digital society over the course of the past year and describes the IPC’s role in protecting people’s privacy while supporting innovation in our province. In addition to reporting on the IPC’s adjudication of complaints, the report outlined the IPC’s efforts to conduct public education and outreach as well as advice and consultations in four strategic areas: Privacy and Transparency in a Modern Government This priority is centered on imp ..read more

Oh happy day! I’ll admit, I have been moping around for awhile. All the usual reasons why – but I’ve been moping. TODAY I WAS EXCITED! Our Personal Health Information Protection Act is going to be amended to acknowledge the role of Ontario Health Teams. See Schedule 4 of Bill 106 or read on! Ontario Health Teams were created in 2019 as the next generation vehicle of coordinating health care in a geographic region.  Groups of health care providers in a region are given an opportunity to apply to the government for the title “Ontario Health Team”. To date, the title has come with some extra ..read more

The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario has released its first decision related to services provided under Ontario’s Child, Youth and Family Services Act (the “Act”). The decision relates to a request for access to records under Part X of the Act. Background: The Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CAST) had two reports in its records about a child who may have been in need of protection. The reports named one of the child’s teachers. The teacher sought access to the records in order to use them in a dispute with their employer (the school board). CAST refused the request on the bas ..read more

In Decision 160, the IPC reviewed a complaint from the father of two children (both under the age of eight) whose records request was partially denied by the hospital where the children received care. The records contained concerns about the father’s relationship with the children. The mother did not consent to the records being disclosed to the father. The IPC dismissed the complaint. The father and mother were equally ranked substitute decision-makers for the children under PHIPA. For that reason, the father did not have a right to access the children’s health records over the objection of t ..read more

Key takeaway message: When a patient asks for an audit of their health record, you must disclose the names of staff that appear those audit reports, even if those staff did not provide health care. If the disclosure of the name would result in economic harm or a serious threat to health or safety then you can redact the name. In Decision 159, a parent made access requests to Public Health Ontario (PHO) for laboratory tests for Lyme disease. The request included the names of staff members who accessed her and her children’s electronic health record. PHO provided audit reports showing when the h ..read more

OFFICE MAGICIAN POSITION We are excited to recruit an additional administrative member who is eager to showcase their ability to support, collaborate and grow within an entrepreneurial team. This is a shared position between Kate Dewhirst Health Law and Something Orange Training Inc. Salary will be negotiated depending on experience. This could be either a 4 or 5 day per week position. Please submit a PDF resume and cover letter to Melissa Martin at melissa@katedewhirst.com by May 10th before 5pm. We need a candidate who can: Billing: All support for accounts payable and receivable including ..read more

If you ever needed a reason to behave, this is as good a one as any. In a new Ontario court decision, a nurse was denied coverage from her former hospital employer’s insurance provider for her legal fees and possible costs associated with her alleged snooping in health records. So now, she walks into court alone. Last year I wrote a blog post about a class action against a nurse and hospital for breach of privacy (intrusion upon seclusion). The nurse had stolen more than 20,000 Percocet pills (opioids) over a nine-year period of working at the hospital. To do so, she had to look at the medical ..read more

Not my program – but I highly respect Maria and Cleo and would recommend this program to my health care and child welfare clients. Learn what harassment is: and what it is not, as well as the definition of sexual harassment and discrimination Learn how to investigate: to be able to competently respond to allegations in your workplace Practise investigating: to gain confidence, by applying techniques in mock interviews as part of a case study Write an investigation report: and receive feedback on how to improve your skills T W O  D A Y  C O U R S E  F O R  M A N A G E R S ..read more