Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes: What Every Nurse Should Know

On June 21, 2018, the Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Criminal Code and other Acts (Bill C-45) received Royal Assent and came into force on October 17, 2018. The new stand-alone Cannabis Act, S.C. 2018, c. 16 (the “Cannabis Act”) amends existing legislation, including the Controlled Drugs…

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Ask a lawyer: Documentation of late entries

Question 1: Do late entries hold the same weight in court as multiple small timely entries? Answer: A late entry is one which is not made as soon as possible after an event has occurred. It is required when it is not possible to document at the time of or immediately following an event, or…

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Ask a Lawyer: Engaging with non-compliant patients and discontinuing nursing services

Question: I am a nurse working in a community healthcare clinic. I am providing services to a patient who regularly fails to attend appointments, refuses to take prescribed medications as recommended, and has dismissed my proposed plan of care. I am concerned about their well-being and their compliance with clinic expectations regarding practitioner-patient communications. The…

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Celebrating National NP Week

It’s National Nurse Practitioner (NP) Week! From November 10 to 16, we celebrate and recognize the vital role NPs play in healthcare across Canada. Nurse Practitioners use their clinical expertise to diagnose, prescribe, and treat patients. In many jurisdictions, Nurse Practitioners may run independent practices, serve as primary care providers, and collaborate with other healthcare…

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Celebrating Nurse Practitioners’ Week!

It’s Nurse Practitioners’ (NP) Week! During this special week, we celebrate the contributions that nurse practitioners make across Canadian communities. Thank you, NPs, for your compassion and professionalism when caring for your communities. The meaningful impact you make with patients and other healthcare workers does not go unnoticed. The CNPS offers a range of legal…

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InfoLAW: Privacy

Technological 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…

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InfoLAW: Privacy and Electronic Medical Records

Electronic 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.

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