The Law and Health Care
Laws used in Health Care Legislation
- Constitutional Law: addresses the relationship between the people and their government, it establishes, allocated, and limits public power
- It deals with the legislation recorded in the constitution
- Legislation: laws by the provincial or territorial legislature or by parliament
- Once passing the necessary test one has a right to practice simultaneously accepting the responsibility to practice ethically and legally
- Ethics: what you should and should not do
- Laws: what you can and can not do
- Everyone has the fundamental right of freedom to:
- Conscience and religion
- Thought, belief, and opinion, including freedom of the press
- Statutory Law: laws passed in Parliament (federal) or in the provincial/territorial legislatures
- Aka a statute
- Regulatory Law: a form of law that possesses the legally binding feature of an act, since it is usually made under the authority of an act
- Aka subordinate legislation
- They are not made by the Parliament or the province but by the tribunal or administrative agency
- Must be outlined either federally or provincially
- Common (CASE) Law & Civil Law in Canada
- Common Law or Case Law: is based on a judge who decided by consulting with previous court decisions, historically established laws, interpretations, and other principles not outlined in the statutory law.
- Classifications of Law: Public & Private Law
- Public Law: matter between an individual and society as a whole
- Private Law: matters concerning relationships people or legal entities
- Civil lawsuits deal with the relationship between people
- Classifications of Law: Public & Private Law/ Tort Law: when a person or their property is wronged or damaged both intentionally or not
- Intentional Tort: when a harmful act is deliberate
- In Healthcare it is typically seen as physical aggression or forcing unwanted medication treatment
- Unintentional Tort: when the act causes physical or emotional damage but was not deliberate or calculated
- Such as human error and misjudgment
- Negligence: same is a type of torte law
- When a healthcare provider fails to meet the standards of care provided for their profession
- Maybe malpractice, professional misconduct
- Litigation and the duty of care: consider the standard of competency that a “reasonable person” is expected to meet
- Classifications of Law: Public & Private Law/ Contract Law: private agreements typically enforceable by the courts that are either implied or expressed that do not violate any governing laws
- Classifications of Law: Public & Private Law/ Criminal Law: set out in federal legislation found in the Criminal Code of Canada
- Deals with crimes against people and/or property and those deemed intolerable to society
- Ex. murder, racism, theft
- They must perform a wrongful act (actus reus) and a wrongful intent (mens rea)
- In healthcare punishable crimes are
- Using someone else’s health care (fraud)
- Practicing surgery without a license (fraud)
- Trafficking narcotics
- Performing euthanasia
The Law, The Division of Power, and the Jurisdictional Framework
- The federal government retained jurisdiction of Health care for certain population groups and retains the provision of federal funds to provinces or territories
- “Peace, order and good government” (Constitution Act, 1982) allows the government to enact emergency powers allowing them to take control of what is typically the provinces’ jurisdiction
Workplace Safety
- Under federal jurisdiction
- Covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act with WHIMIS legislation
- Both fall under the federal Hazardous Products Act
- Occupational Health and Safety
- Provided by each province
- To prevent workplace injuries and occupational diseases
- To reduce the impact of a work-related injury or illness on the workers and their loved ones
- The responsibility of overseeing the ministry or department of labor
- Applies to all workplaces except work done by private owners and those overseen by the federal government
- Occupational Health and Safety: Objectives
- Employees rights
- Right to be aware of potential health and safety hazards
- Right to take part in health and safety activities
- Right to refuse dangerous work
- Occupational Health and Safety: Compensation Boards
- Work with the CCOHS
- Concentrate on rehabilitation, training, and wage replacement
- WHMIS was created in 1988
- Enforced in all jurisdictions
- Named the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
Drugs and the Law
- Controlled Drugs and Prescriptions
- Controlled Drugs and Substances Act states who can prescribe
- And how they are given out
- In Hospital settings what’s called Narcotics are kept in a double-locked dispenses area
- Or held in a machine that dispenses the mediation for them leaving a smaller margin for error
- Can only be prescribed for therapeutic uses
- Opioid Crisis
- Health Canada has shown an alarming rate of opioid-related deaths
- They are trying to work with the provinces and territories to bring the number of deaths down
- Are limiting the number of opioids prescribed
- Regular checks are done to make sure pharmacies are doing when they can to prevent narcotics from getting into the wrong hands
- A chain of custody is always maintained
Cannabis
- While is now legalized there are still special precautions set out by the provincial, territorial, and federally
- Most Doctors prescribing medical marijuana typically send their patients to Medical Cannabis Clinics
- Under the food and Drugs Act advertising prescription drugs had very specific regulations that Cannabis regulated or not has to follow
- Reminder advisement: can advertise drugs using the brand name but cannot mention directly their uses
- Disease-oriented ads: instead of using a brand name they discuss a condition and say they should ask their doctors
Health Canada’s Emergency Powers
- Quarantine Act
- Gives the federal government control to:
- Divert aircraft and cruise ships
- Designate quarantine facilities anywhere
- Restrict and prohibit travelers from entering Canada
- Environmental Health officers have also been created and given the authority to assess, screen, and detain others who pose to be a health risk
- International Health Regulations
- Outline strategies to prevent the global spread of infectious diseases
- They work to screen six different infectious diseases around the world to prevent the World-Wide Spread
Health Care as a Right
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Guarantee Canadians certain rights and freedoms subjective by reasonable limits
- It demands everyone be treated equally and fairly
- Section 7: life liberty and security of person
- 3 things to consider if a person’s rights have been violated
- Medically resources are available at the time they were needed
- Demands made on those resources
- Urgency of needs
- Section 15: Equality
- Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to equal protection
- Equal benefit of the law without discrimination
- Based on race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, sex, age
- Mental or physical disability
- Private health care becoming ever more common with the rising wait times
- The Law, Constitution, and End-of-Life Issues
- Must be sixteen to outline decisions based on their health
- Instructional directives: can be either specific or general, they outline a person’s requests in presumed circumstances
- Proxy Directives: general instructions are given, however, the decision maker has the latitude to make decisions on a situational basis
- Medically Assisted Suicide
- Types of MAID
- By a healthcare provider where they inject a fatal dosage of medication
- Or maybe prescribed for the patient to take at home
- Eligibility for MAID:
- Over 18
- Mentally competent
- Have a valid healthcare card
- Have a serious illness, disease, disability, or irreversible condition
- No hope of getting better
- Unbearable pain
- Death is reasonable and foreseeable
- A consent form must be filled out
- Patient must be fully aware of the process
The Legality of Private Services in Canada
- Health insurance cannot be bought for medically necessary procedures
- Some private companies only work with non-essential services being fully legal since it doesn’t interfere with the Canadian Health Act
- They are mainly testing clinics
Informed Consent to Treatment
- Informed consent must be provided before any course of action
- Informed consent: understanding, consenting to, the treatment and its foreseeable risks
- Consent must be informed and voluntary
- Informed: understand the procedure or treatment
- Voluntary: must not feel compelled or pressured
- Has the right to withdraw consent at any time
- Consent for deceased Organ Donation
- Must be 16 years old
- Has to sign a donor card
- Cannot be sold
Types of Consent
- Express Consent: can be written or oral: it indicates a clear choice on the part of the patient
- Written Consent: signed by the patient, dated, and witnessed
- Provides a healthcare provider with evidence of consent
- Oral Consent: spoken over the phone or in person
- Equally as binding as written consent
- Implied Consent: because the individual seeks the care of a physician or other healthcare provider
- A competent person receiving the intervention that most often gives consent for the treatment
- Children are allowed to consent as long as they fit the previous statements
The Health Record
- One’s health record contains: numerous and varied reports including an admission sheet, patient history, medication records, diagnostic reports, medical or surgical records, flow sheets, and interdisciplinary notes
- Clinics typically maintain a cumulative profile
- Cumulative profile: diagnostic report, consultation reports, and history sheets
- When health records are stored the patient must always know who has their records
- Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act: protects personal information preserved for the private sector
- Defines personal information: as information about an identifiable individual
- Name, address, telephone number, gender,
- Identification numbers, income, or blood type;
- Credit records, loan records, the existence of a dispute between a consumer and a merchant, and intention to require goods of service
- Confidentially: all healthcare providers must legally and ethically keep all health information confidential
- Moral and legal obligation to keep a patient’s health information private
- Security
- Health records are to secure and safe
- Protected from fire damage as well as other economic disasters
- Electronic records are to be encrypted software and password protection
- Electronic Health Information requirements
- Electronic Medical Records: housed in one facility and only affect care at the one facility
- Electronic Health Records: provide the “bigger picture”. Comprised several sources
Health Care Professions and the Law
- Are all supposed to have their ability insurance
- A union: is an organization that represents and advocated for its members usually regarding employee-employer issues
- They represent groups of workers
- Are not legally obliged to represent members in anything other than labor regulations
- Essential services do not have the right to strike and must submit any disputes to arbitrations
- When a human error occurs the patients have the right to know all relevant facts
- An apology is not an admission of fault
- Dear John Letter: written document stating the termination of care
- Use of restraints
- Typically used for impaired or psychiatric conditions
- Restraints: can be mechanical, environmental, physical, or chemical
- A patient can leave the hospital at any time
- They are typically asked to sign a release form from the hospital
- Good Samaritan Law: protect anyone who offers help to a distressed person if something goes wrong
- Whistle Blowing: someone who reports misconduct to organizations willing to take corrective action