Virtual care has quickly become integrated as a healthcare delivery model in Canada. While virtual care has generally been viewed as complementary to in-person care, there are a growing number of highly specialized virtual care services, which often include services that are provided asynchronously. When services are provided asynchronously, patients and care providers generally communicate…
Read MoreAcross Canada, demand for youth mental health services has increased steadily, placing nurses at the forefront of complex clinical, legal and ethical decision-making. Adolescents often seek care in the context of stigma, fear of judgment, and uncertainty about how personal information may be shared. For many young people, willingness to disclose sensitive concerns depends on…
Read MoreIn the course of their work, nurses may interact with the police in several different ways. They may be asked to respond to inquiries from police or provide a copy of a patient’s chart because they have assessed and treated patients who are alleged victims or suspected perpetrators of crimes. In some instances, a nurse’s…
Read MoreGood communication is essential to good health care. In most Canadian lawsuits against doctors and hospitals, there was a breakdown in communication with the patient.1 In a British Columbia case, for example, the Court found that the nurse’s failure to ask more questions of a person seeking telephone advice was negligent, saying, “Her fault lies…
Read MoreWhat legal processes could involve a community/public health nurse? The community/public health nurse may be a witness or a defendant in legal proceedings. Common legal proceedings are civil lawsuits, criminal prosecutions, professional discipline hearings, inquests, and labour arbitrations. Less common are public inquiries and human rights tribunals.1 What are the common legal issues a community/public…
Read MorePrivacy is an aspect of personal information that is legislated at a federal and provincial level. At its core, personal information implies any data that can identify an individual, such as medical history.1 Patients have a right to control their own information based on what the law permits or requires. Maintaining confidentiality is an aspect of privacy and consists…
Read MoreCPR is treatment The combination of chest compressions, artificial ventilation and medications is commonly referred to as CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Because of its potential benefit if implemented immediately, CPR has become a default treatment for cardiac arrest in many institutions, meaning that it will be implemented in all cases of cardiac arrest unless there is…
Read MoreMental Health or Hospital Acts contain specific procedures to address the issue of consent to treatment for those with a psychiatric disorder. This infoLAW will not touch on persons subject to those Acts but will focus on other adults who do not have the capacity to give or refuse consent to treatment on their own…
Read MoreConsent may be implicit or explicit. Holding out an arm to have a blood pressure taken is implicit consent, whereas an ECG or blood gases may require explicit consent. The main types of consent in the health care settings are: general consent (required for admission to and basic care in a health care facility) and…
Read MoreKey terms we use in this InfoLAW: Plaintiff: the person or the organization who filed a civil lawsuit against someone else. Defendant: the person or the organization being sued in a civil lawsuit. What is defamation? The courts have defined a defamatory statement as one “…which tends to lower a person in the estimation of…
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