■ Professionalism and ethics:

Integrating professional duties, societal expectations and personal wellbeing

Privacy and confidentiality

Male physician selecting a lock icon on a digital screen

20 minutes

Published: January 2021

Learning objectives

Upon completion, you will be able to:

  1. Describe the professional and legal obligations for physicians to protect health information and maintain patient confidentiality.
  2. Define the concept of implied consent when sharing patient information within the circle of care.
  3. Recognize specific situations where the law requires or allows disclosure of confidential patient information without the consent of the patient.

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Accreditation

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)

This activity is an Accredited Self-Assessment Program (Section 3) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and approved by the CMPA. You may claim a maximum of 0.5 hour (credits are automatically calculated).

The College of Family Physicians Canada (CFPC)

This online 2-credit-per-hour Self-Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada for up to 1 Mainpro+ credit.

Disclosure

Scientific Planning Committee: Dr. Eileen Bridges1, Dr. Shirley Lee1, Dr. Élisabeth Boileau1, Dr. Cheryl Hunchak1, Dr. Katherine Larivière1, Dr. Tino Piscione1, Dr. Richard Mimeault1, Dr. Liisa Honey1

Employees of: 1. Paid employee of the CMPA

Conflict of Interest: The members of the Scientific Planning Committee have no financial or professional affiliation with any organization that can be perceived as a conflict of interest in the context of this online program.

CanMEDS: Leader, Professional

Questions? Contact us at [email protected]


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.