I’m Kate Dewhirst.

My team and I write about legal issues affecting healthcare in Canada.

Kate Dewhirst Health Law - bringing the law to life. Meet Kate (in 13 seconds)

I’m back!

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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. Over time, I will have more to… Read more »


Responsible for compliance? Put yourself in the way of beauty

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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… Read more »



IPC Statistical Report 2021

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Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner has released its annual Statistical Report for 2021. Below is a summary of the high-level take-aways: Access Requests: There were 137,481 requests for access to personal health information in 2021, a 2.5% decrease from 2020 when 140,950 requests were received. Health institutions completed 137,234 requests for access to personal health… Read more »


IPC Annual Report 2021

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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… Read more »



Documenting Quality of Care and Risk Management Activities

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IPC decision 177 is a companion decision to IPC Decision 176. Both decisions centre around the shared records of two hospitals who provided care to a patient prior to his death by suicide. See the take-aways from Decision 166 here. The patient’s father filed a complaint with the IPC after reviewing an audit of his… Read more »


Sharing EMR Credentials — A Cautionary Tale

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The Information and Privacy Commissioner has released Decision 176, which speaks to the use of electronic medical record (EMR) credentials by individuals other than the authorized user. The decision arose after the father of a patient asked for an audit of his son’s hospital records, following his son’s death by suicide. The records were located… Read more »


Hiring! We are looking for a new Office Magician – is that you?

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Full-Time Office Magician – Come Join our Admin Team! 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 full-time position with benefits. Salary will be negotiated depending on experience.   Please submit a PDF resume and cover… Read more »


How much is enough: meeting the threshold for the tort of intrusion upon seclusion

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On March 24, 2022, the Ontario Divisional Court released its decision in Stewart v Demme (2022 ONSC 1790), a class action case against William Osler Health System and one of its ex-nurses (Demme). The case deals with the tort of intrusion upon seclusion, which is a claim that can be advanced by individuals affected by… Read more »


Some of Kate’s recent and upcoming events

Free healthcare privacy webinar - ask me anything!
the first Wednesday of every month

Free webinars - advance registration needed

Whether you're an experienced privacy officer or new in the field, pick Kate’s brain for free for an hour, in this live webinar. No charge, but you’ll need to register in advance.

Health Privacy Officer Foundations training
starts March 2024

For Privacy Officers within healthcare organizations.

This course focuses on how to become a more confident privacy officer and gives you the tools to document your privacy program. Full details and registration here...

Join the Shush: a collective of health privacy officers
Annual membership 2024

For Privacy Officers within healthcare organizations

This is an annual membership program that takes theory into practice and tackles real life scenarios to build Privacy Officer skills.
Full details and registration here.

Primary care webinars: Employment Law Update & Legal Issues for EDs and Board members

Part of Kate’s monthly webinar series.

Our 2024 program is now live.
Full details of the 2024 webinar series and registration here.

Mental Health webinars: Legal issues for mental health and addictions agencies and teams
Annual membership 2024

For managers and other leaders from mental health and addictions agencies, hospitals, CMHAs, CHCs, school boards, FHTs and Indigenous health services

This is an annual membership program with monthly webinars.
Full details and registration here.

Team Privacy Training Events

For Primary Care clinics, Hospitals, Community Agencies, Mental Health Teams, Public Health Units, School Boards, Police departments

Scheduled to your team's needs for comprehensive or refresher training More details...

Free summary of all PHIPA IPC decisions

Want to read privacy breach stories to learn how to improve your work? We have summarized all the Information and Privacy Commissioner's health privacy decisions for you Download here...

Kate Dewhirst Health Law

Kate says:

My mission is bringing the law to life. I make legal theory understandable, accessible and fun! I’m available and love to work for all organizations in the healthcare sector across Ontario and beyond.

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  • contact details

    P.O. Box 13024, RPO Bradford Centre
    Bradford, ON, L3Z 2Y5

    (416) 855 9557

    .