Published September 2026 and currently in effect
CMPA generally assists members with medico-legal matters that arise from their professional practice of medicine. CMPA’s decision to assist in a particular case is discretionary, guided by a set of principles.
Examples of the types of medico-legal difficulties with which CMPA assists include civil legal actions, regulatory authority (College) complaints and investigations, hospital complaints and privilege matters, human rights complaints, coroner's inquests and other fatality inquiries, billing audits and inquiries, privacy breaches and complaints, and criminal proceedings.
In accordance with the CMPA By-law, CMPA does not assist members with matters unrelated to their medical professional work, including non-clinical, practice management, and business-related issues. While CMPA’s assistance is broad in nature, members should understand the limits of CMPA assistance to ensure they have appropriate support in place for managing these types of matters.
- As a CMPA member you are encouraged to consult with business lawyers, accountants, IT professionals, and alternative liability providers to assess your needs beyond the protection provided through your CMPA membership.
Data security and technology issues
Although CMPA generally assists members with privacy-related matters arising from the practice of medicine—including complaints, investigations, and civil actions—CMPA assistance does not generally extend to ransomware payments, or costs for data restoration, privacy breach notifications, forensic investigations, or hardware issues. Similarly, CMPA does not assist members in becoming privacy compliant.
CMPA does not pay settlements, judgments, awards of costs, or any portion thereof, that are based on allegations or findings of inappropriate collection, use, or disclosure of personal health information (e.g. “snooping”, inappropriate recording of patients).
CMPA does not pay settlements or damages arising from cybersecurity breaches.
Physicians are responsible for maintaining appropriate data backup systems and implementing safeguards to protect patient information.
- Consider purchasing cybersecurity insurance and consulting with IT specialists to address data and technology issues.
Medical records
CMPA does not assist members with setting up medical record systems or establishing agreements with group practices or private clinics regarding custodianship and access to records.
Many Colleges and some privacy commissioners require physicians in a group practice to have a written agreement that delineates responsibility for maintaining and transferring patient records upon a physician’s departure from the group practice.
- Consider requesting a personal or business lawyer, or your provincial or territorial medical association or federation, to review any contracts before signing.
CMPA may provide limited assistance to members leaving a private clinic or group practice if they are prevented from accessing their patient records to respond to a medico-legal proceeding, ensure continuity of care, or meet their professional obligations. However, CMPA’s assistance does not extend to any other aspect of the business or contractual dispute, including assisting members to retain their patient panel.
Administrative work
CMPA generally does not assist physicians with non-clinical administrative work that supports an organization, such as developing and implementing non-clinical policies, procedures, or other directives on behalf of organizations like private clinics or group practices.
- Ensure your organization provides appropriate liability protection if legal issues arise from your non-clinical administrative work.
Contract reviews, negotiations, and disputes
CMPA does not generally assist members with reviewing or negotiating a contract. This includes employment agreements, partnership agreements, locum contracts, office lease agreements, and vendor or service contracts.
Members are generally not eligible for CMPA assistance with contractual disputes where their medical professional work is not called into question or their ability to practise medicine is not jeopardized.
- In these situations, consider obtaining legal assistance from your business lawyer.
- Consider contacting your provincial or territorial medical association or federation for assistance with prospective contract reviews.
Employment matters
CMPA does not generally assist members with employment-related matters, such as disputes with employees regarding terms and conditions of employment, wrongful dismissal claims, human resources issues involving clinic staff, or workplace matters unrelated to patient care.
- Consider consulting a business or employment lawyer for assistance with such matters.
Other business and practice management matters
Other business-related matters that fall outside CMPA’s scope of assistance (and with which CMPA does not generally assist members) include incorporation and business structuring, tax planning, real estate transactions for clinic premises, fee disputes among practice group members or with provincial health insurance plans, general business litigation unrelated to patient care, and personal or bodily injury claims unrelated to medical professional work (e.g. slip and fall in clinic lobby or parking lot).
- Consider consulting a business lawyer and purchasing commercial general liability insurance for assistance with such matters
More reading
Article: Cybersecurity threats: Are you prepared?
Article: Reporting a privacy breach: What are your responsibilities?
