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)

Would you choose to be a lawyer?

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I was recently at an event with a “mixed group” – a mix of lawyers and non-lawyers. As we were introducing ourselves, a few of the lawyers seemed to distance themselves from law and didn’t want to be identified as a “lawyer”.  I was surprised (and a bit saddened) at how many of the lawyers… Read more »


Managing difficult employees – 6 minute video

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Maria McDonald of McDonald Human Resources Law and I just did a webinar on “Managing difficult employees and how to terminate employment with compassion” for a group of family health teams. Watch this 6-minute video to learn some tips from Maria when dealing with performance management. Interested in joining our Legal Issues for Family Health Teams… Read more »


What is new in health privacy in Ontario?

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In 2016 we saw changes to health privacy legislation in Ontario.  There were significant developments in health privacy litigation and additional certifications of class actions for health privacy breaches.  There were at least two physicians in Ontario who had their licenses to practice suspended for snooping in health records and at least two nurses faced… Read more »


January is the time for your annual “Privacy Reminder”

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Happy new year! If you are a health care Privacy Officer, January is a great time to remind your organization about privacy. By sending out an annual privacy email or privacy update in a newsletter – you keep privacy top of mind for your teams and you have something tangible to show your organization’s commitment… Read more »


Legal issues for family health teams

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Are you an executive director or lead physician in a family health team?  If so, I am relaunching my monthly webinar series on Legal Issues for Family Health Teams.  Practical information on the topics you need to know about as a healthcare leader. Details here.  



Nurse’s personal comments on Facebook and Twitter constitute “Professional Misconduct”: what do family health teams need to know about social media and the law?

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Last week I presented with Maria McDonald on “Social Media and the Law” and issues family health teams need to consider. Then on Friday December 3rd the CBC reported on a nurse being found guilty of professional misconduct in Saskatchewan for personal comments she made on Facebook and Twitter about care received by her grandfather…. Read more »


Launch of Kate Dewhirst Health Law

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I was interviewed by Advocate Daily on our launch. You can read the article here. I love working with Advocate Daily – they are an amazing resource to the legal profession and to the public who want to keep up with the latest legal news and developments. You will see reference to a second business… 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.

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

Part of Kate’s monthly webinar series.

Our 2025 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 2025

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.

Health Privacy Officer Foundations training
starts Spring 2025

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.

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

    .