Physician-patient
All articles listed under "Physician-patient" category
Physicians can take reasonable steps to maintain the best interests of the patient in the midst of family disputes concerning the care of children or of elder patients.
Advice for physicians travelling across international borders and carrying devices that may contain patient information.
What can be done to maintain quality care for patients and reduce medical-legal risks for physicians when patients do not heed medical advice.
An overview of ways in which physicians can use patient decision aids (PDAs) to encourage shared decision-making.
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.
An update on the evolving rules and processes around MAID.
Focusing on the follow-up phase of clinical testing for office-based family physicians, this article presents actionable advice based on a review of CMPA legal and College cases.
A discussion of consent issues that may arise when caring for adults with diminished mental capacity (competency).
End-of-life treatment decisions can be difficult for both physicians and patients, but many issues can be avoided by following the key concepts outlined.
While restraints should be used only in extraordinary circumstances, physicians can take steps to reduce the risks and help ensure patient safety.
Documentation in clinical notes and reports to third parties should be factual, objective, and use a suitable tone of medical professionalism.
Information on consent and access to records when child protective services are involved.
Practising physicians, particularly those at the beginning of their career, should ensure they have enduring access to medical records after leaving a practice for medical-legal purposes.
Responsibilities of physicians when planning to close or leave a practice due to retirement, illness, or other reasons.
Physicians may face a privacy breach when viewing personal health information that is not required for current clinical care and without the patient’s or information custodian’s consent.
Steps physicians can take if they receive results of a lab test they did not request.
An overview of issues physicians need to consider when conducting treatment or non-treatment capacity assessments.
Advice for Canadian doctors on how to prepare an expert opinion report.
Physicians who respond affirmatively to a request for a medical-legal report should prepare the report with care and in keeping with their College’s policies and guidelines.
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.
A discussion of physicians’ obligations when certifying a patient’s death.
If physicians have reason to believe a child is in need of protection, they are responsible for informing the appropriate authority in a timely manner. Planning what to say to the family is important.
Physicians can successfully manage online ratings using a reasonable and measured approach.
A review of the precautions that physicians can take to address the risk of sever jaundice in newborns.
Advice for physicians for using social media in a way that is mindful of medico-legal risk.
Answers to questions physicians have been asking about the use of AI scribe services
When physicians wish to record a clinical encounter, they should first obtain express consent from the patient and have in place security measures to ensure confidentiality.
Limiting patients to one issue per visit can lead to negative perceptions if not communicated with respect and diplomacy.
Physicians supervising medical trainees must keep in mind their responsibilities to patients when delegating tasks to trainees.
Physicians owe patients a duty to keep their personal health information confidential, yet there are times when this conflicts with other statutory duties or with concerns for public safety.
Physicians may release a patient’s medical records to lawyers only with patient authorization or where required by law.
Physicians should consider encouraging patients to engage in advance care planning and appointing a substitute decision-maker early, before the patient no longer has the capacity to consent to end-of-life care.
When a patient seeks a second opinion about a diagnosis or treatment plan, the other viewpoint will confirm, modify, or offer alternatives to the initial one, and ultimately the patient is free to decide.
Physicians can take steps to help prevent abuse of the opioids they prescribe, while improving safety for their patients and reducing their own medico-legal risk.
Advice for physicians when a patient presents with an emotional support animal or requests a letter supporting their use of an emotional support animal.
How to respond to queries seeking to verify the authenticity of doctors’ certificates.
A plain-language review of CMPA’s 2023 research piece about sepsis, featuring key messages and advice for physicians.
An exploration of privacy and consent issues when using clinical images or recordings of patients to teach medicine.
Physicians participating in clinical research studies should be aware of their relevant legal, ethical, and professional obligations.
Physicians who treat or who are asked to treat transgender individuals should be aware of the ethical and legal considerations in these circumstances to avoid allegations of discrimination.
Guidance for physicians who can not reach a patient.
The physician's role in providing a child's medical information to a parent.
Physicians should exercise care in modifying or correcting medical records. Suggestions on when and how to go about this are provided.
Key points for physicians to keep in mind if they are providing cosmetic medicine procedures.
Steps that physicians can take to reduce the risk of dental injury to patients.
Guidance for physicians about addressing the possibility of pregnancy when preparing patients for procedures that could be harmful.
A review of the physicians who treat patients with cognitive decline.
The increased availability of genetic testing raises a number of medico-legal questions that physicians should consider.
Individuals have a general right to access their personal information in independent medical examination files, but there are exceptions to what must be produced
Accepting and refusing new patients is part of managing a primary care practice, and physicians should be aware of their College’s policies on this matter.
The courts expect physicians to provide appropriate care to patients, making effective use of available resources.
Considerations for ending the doctor-patient relationship.
Physicians can be better prepared to transfer patient health information when they understand who has custody of and access to medical records.
Considerations for physicians when responding to requests for deceased patients’ medical records.
Physicians should be aware of the pros and cons of social media and the risks of participating.
A discussion of the principles of access, the challenges with access, and managing the risks.
Physicians can take steps to mitigate the medical-legal risks of patients taking photos and making video and audio recordings during healthcare encounters.
An overview of how to reduce medico-legal risks when completing fitness to participate forms.
A just patient safety culture promises the provision of higher quality and safer care. Advice is provided to CMPA members on participation in reporting and reviews of adverse events and close calls in hospitals and institutions.
Guidance for providing disclosure following harmful incidents in which more than one patient is affected.
An overview of the principles of retention, sharing and transferring of medical records.
This article explores the role of physicians in promoting the exchange of information and active decision-making by patients. It also examines the relationship between decision-making and consent.
Protecting the privacy of patient information when using digital communication channels, including email, portals, and social media platforms.
Greater clarity in patient care can be achieved through healthcare directives, and when physicians understand their purpose and the rules governing them.
How doctors can help protect their information technology systems from cybersecurity threats and what they should do in the event of a cybersecurity incident.
Adherence to credible CPGs can be beneficial and assist in providing quality care, though they do not necessarily establish a standard of care
Whether providing or referring patients to alternative treatments, physicians need to remain mindful of their professional obligations, potential medico-legal risks
Certain provinces have legislation to prevent apologies for adverse events from being used in court proceedings.
A description of the impact of overly limited or absent of physical examination on diagnostic error and patient harm using CMPA cases.
The Colleges outline expectations for continuity of care, and physicians can enhance continuity when they are aware of their professional obligations, and have the necessary systems in place for managing tests, patient transfers, and availability and coverage.
A review of CMPA medico-legal cases showed opportunities for physicians to improve their communication and coordination of care for patients undergoing non-urgent in-hospital surgery.
Physicians should try to accommodate patients’ requests to limit access to their personal health information.
The practice of marking transcribed reports or entries “dictated but not read” gives rise to medical-legal risks and can create uncertainty for those relying on that information in providing patient care.
While fatigue can negatively affect the performance of individual physicians, systematic and standardized approaches to teamwork and communication may help mitigate patient safety risks.
Actions physicians can take to mitigate potential risks of using patient portals to communicate clinical information with patents.
Changes to the Criminal Code have raised the age of consent for sexual activity. Physicians should be guided by legislation in each province and territory on their duty to report such activity to the appropriate authorities if there are reasonable grounds to believe the child is being abused.
The CMPA advises on how to reduce medico-legal risks from vaccination, and how to address vaccine hesitancy and refusal.
Communication and conflict resolution skills may help physicians deal effectively and safely with challenging patient encounters.
Effective communication and awareness of legal requirements are key to obtaining consent for treatment of children.
Although communication is identified as an underlying issue in the significant 10-year rise in the number of members asking for CMPA help with College complaints, research suggests physicians can improve their interactions with better communication skills.
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.
Physicians who are familiar with regulatory requirements governing organ and tissue donations can more effectively meet their obligations and mitigate the potential for complaints.
Professional and ethical obligations to keep in mind when considering offering medical services through online virtual clinics.
An analysis of CMPA medico-legal cases involving lower extremity joint surgery and the non-technical factors contributing to patient harm and medico-legal risk.
An overview of the different legal protections attaching to different practice arrangements.
When patients make requests for specific care providers, treatments, or services, physicians should assess whether they can reasonably accommodate such requests.
Physicians considering various arrangements for practising medicine, other than the privileges-based model, need to consider any medico-legal implications.
A review of CMPA medico-legal cases and research literature describing the non-technical factors contributing to diagnostic errors by surgeons in hospital operating rooms.
Care for patients with mental health concerns can be complicated, especially when access to psychiatric expertise is limited. Consider these strategies to address medical-legal risks when managing patients’ mental health needs.
This article discusses infections associated with intravenous drug use. These infections are on the rise and can be diagnostically challenging.
This article offers practical tips and techniques for building a robust system for follow-up of clinical test results that can be applied in both office and hospital practice settings.
Strategies for managing the stress associated with transitioning to a new EMR system for managing patient records.
This publication provides guidance and good practices about physician communications with patients concerning the disclosure of harm stemming from healthcare delivery, and aligns with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute’s (CPSI) Canadian Disclosure Guidelines (2011).
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.
