This blog post is written by Maria McDonald of McDonald HR Law COVID-19 and the Primary Care Workplace Public Health Ontario Guidelines Primary healthcare employers have been receiving daily updates from Public Health Ontario regarding COVID-19 practice guidelines.These guidelines are intended to protect the safety of patients and employees. It is vitally important that primary… Read more »

The Public Hospitals Act deals with the relationship between hospitals and their Professional Staff members (physicians, dentists, midwives and some nurse practitioners). In a pandemic, pull out your Professional Staff By-laws and look for provisions dealing with temporary appointments to the Professional Staff to deal with an emergency. The concept of temporary appointments should be… Read more »

I am a calm and logical person. We are facing unprecedented impact in our world and that causes uncertainty and instability for everyone.  I have felt a bit unsettled for a few days now. When I feel like that, I need practical, concrete information to help me make informed choices.  If I am feeling like… Read more »

This is a summary of the new Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario‘s Decision 109, which deals with snooping. Six months after an employee left her employment at a family health clinic, a patient of the clinic complained she suspected the employee had looked at her patient’s record. That prompted the clinic to do an… Read more »

We are the trust builders.  Privacy Officers assist their organizations to earn the trust of their clients, patients, residents, consumers and their caregivers.  These are their stories. Simeon Kanev, Alliance for Healthier Communities   Alliance for Healthier Communities is an association of community-governed primary health care organizations. Alliance members serve diverse communities across Ontario, and they… Read more »

Hey everyone! I was recently featured on the Riffcord Podcast with Paul Lalonde. Paul is part of the digital marketing firm Lalonde Muller I’ve known Paul for about 15 years.  I met Paul through his wife, Christa Haanstra, when we worked together at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.  Christa and I look pretty much identical… Read more »

Just when you thought it was safe … a new class action was recently certified after a health privacy breach at a hospital in Ontario. Here’s what every health Privacy Officer needs to know. Stewart v. Demme and William Osler Health System (2020) “The central question … is whether a privacy violation can be “highly… Read more »

Yesterday was Privacy Day. I came to work and saw a new email newsletter from the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. It opened … “Today is Privacy Day. It also marks my last Privacy Day as the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. As my term comes to an end, my thoughts turn to… Read more »

In this series, I want to share the journey and stories of health Privacy Officers. I am surrounded by amazing leaders in the health community and I am inspired to share their stories! We are the trust builders.  Privacy Officers assist their organizations to earn the trust of their clients, patients, residents and consumers and… Read more »

I’m a little late announcing this, but I was thrilled to be invited to participate in the 4th Edition of Public Health Law and Policy in Canada, which was published last year. Elaine Gibson from Dalhousie University and I wrote a chapter called “Public Health Information Privacy and Confidentiality”. In it we address the topics… Read more »