Perioperative nursing is a complex specialty of nursing that encompasses care before, during, and after surgery. Reported case law helps identify potential physical risks to surgical patients and possible legal risks for operating room nurses. This article presents a variety of case studies that highlight some of the legal risks involved with perioperative care. The…
Read MorePatient restraints are measures used to limit the activity or control the behaviour of a person or a portion of their body. More specifically, according to the Patient Restraints Minimization Act of Ontario, “restrain means, with respect to a person, to place the person under control by the minimal use of such force, mechanical means…
Read MoreWhat is meant by “patient safety”? Patient safety is the reduction and mitigation of unsafe acts within the health-care system, and the use of best practices shown to lead to optimal patient outcomes.1 Countries around the world, including Canada,2 are taking steps to identify how patients are unintentionally harmed by health care management. Achieving the…
Read MoreTechnological advancement in the healthcare field, as well as the increase in virtual care or telepractice, has helped patients access safer, faster and more specialized care than ever before. However, these developments have also given rise to a multitude of new privacy issues, concerning loss of and unauthorized access to, use, and disclosure of a…
Read MoreElectronic medical records (EMR) are now common to most nursing practices. To protect the privacy of patients’ personal health information, nurses should be aware of the unique privacy issues related to the use of EMR. Privacy Risks Access An increasing number of privacy breach cases involve unauthorized and inappropriate access by employees into their employer’s…
Read MoreDuring legal proceedings nurses may be protected from giving evidence in certain circumstances. In this infoLAW, the Canadian Nurses Protective Society (CNPS) reviews one legal exception to the requirement to provide evidence. This exception is called privilege. What is privilege? Privilege is a special legal rule arising from rules of evidence, the common law and…
Read MoreThe Canadian Nurses Protective Society (CNPS) frequently receives requests for information regarding documentation issues or concerns. Nurses working in all areas of patient care encounter issues related to documentation, whether in paper or electronic form. Quality documentation can be a nurse’s best defence in the face of a complaint, claim or legal proceeding. Addressed below…
Read MoreAn adverse event in healthcare can arise when there is an unexpected outcome or complication that negatively affects a patient’s care. It can involve prolonged hospitalization, injury, or death and is often due to complications in the management of the patient’s care. If a patient is unintentionally harmed by the provision of healthcare services (i.e. an…
Read MorePlease note: In this document, “dispensing of medication” specifically refers to RNs dispensing medication in the absence of a medical order for the treatment of a specific condition(s) following the RN’s nursing assessment. In an effort to safely improve timely access to care for certain patient populations, an increasing number of Canadian provinces and territories have…
Read MoreSocial media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, YouTube, and LinkedIn allow us to communicate in real-time with “friends”, “followers” or the public. Nurses may use these sites as research and educational tools, for information sharing and as a way to network or socialize. Understanding the legal considerations involved in using social…
Read More
fr
1-800-267-3390