The likelihood of patients making a complaint is reduced when they perceive genuine care and concern, compassion, honesty, and acknowledgment of their values and preferences.
Physicians can take steps to address bullying and other abusive behaviours they may be subjected to by patients and their families, colleagues and other healthcare workers, and third parties.
Physicians should use their professional judgment when determining whether a virtual assessment, an in-person assessment, or a hybrid of both is best for individual patients.
Documentation in clinical notes and reports to third parties should be factual, objective, and use a suitable tone of medical professionalism.
A review of the impact of incivility in healthcare workplaces.
Text messaging offers the potential for improved communication among physicians and healthcare teams, and using it appropriately can mitigate some of the inherent risks of this channel.
Physicians can successfully manage online ratings using a reasonable and measured approach.
Guidance for specialists on their ethical and professional responsibilities in accepting to care for new patients.
Points for physicians to consider if a journalist asks for an interview.
Guidance for physicians on assessing whether a chaperone is right for their practice.
A review of the legal duties and ethical considerations for physicians to report their reasonable concerns about the professional competency, conduct or behaviour of another physician to health care institutions/hospitals, public health officials or regulatory authorities (Colleges).
Physicians participating in clinical research studies should be aware of their relevant legal, ethical, and professional obligations.
A complaint to a medical regulatory authority (College) initiates a process that warrants a physician's attention and timely response.
Highlights from CMPA discussion paper “The role of physician leaders in addressing physician disruptive behaviour in healthcare institutions.”
Considerations for ending the doctor-patient relationship.
The circumstances under which physicians can treat themselves, family and friends are limited.
An overview of communication strategies physicians can use to help resolve conflict with other physicians or other healthcare providers.
Physicians providing emergency care as good Samaritans often have questions about their legal and ethical obligations and the liability protection available to them.
Physicians regularly encounter patients or family members who behave aggressively and make demands that may be unrealistic and potentially harmful. In their medical practice, physicians need strategies and tools to manage conflict and such challenging behaviours.
When patients make requests for specific care providers, treatments, or services, physicians should assess whether they can reasonably accommodate such requests.
Physician leaders who foster a culture of accountability in their teams and institutions help promote learning from undesirable behaviours that include human error, and at-risk and reckless behaviour.
DISCLAIMER: This content is for general informational purposes and is not intended to provide specific professional medical or legal advice, nor to constitute a "standard of care" for Canadian healthcare professionals. Your use of CMPA learning resources is subject to the foregoing as well as CMPA's Terms of Use.
