Health Sciences 3300A/B Chapter 1: law chapter 1
2 Jun 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
HS 3101b: Chap 1 Readings Changing the Environment
•4 fold increase in number of civil suits brought against Canadian physicians from
1976 to 2012
•85 fold increase in the related costs of responding to complaints and actions
•CMPA = Canadian Medical Protective Association
•CMPA: organization that advises and represents physicians in legal matters
•CMPA opened more than 21,300 new files involving complaints against
physicians in 2012
•CMPA total expenditures in that year was $781 million ($248 mill damage
awards/settlements, $157 mill legal costs, $13 mill consultant fees, $302 mill
outstanding claims)
•56% civil suits against doctors in 2012 were resolved in their favour
•In 2012, 10 judgments in plaintiff’s favour, 63 in physicians favour, 444
settlements, 514 cases to be dismissed or abandoned
•Health professionals in an administrative capacity have added burden of ensuring
their policies and practices are compatible with the increased threat of litigation
and proliferation of regulatory legislation.
•Health professional: broadly interpreted to include all treatment, counseling and
care professionals
•Several factors explain the expanding role of law in treatment:
1) Rise in concern about the legal rights of patients and clients
2) Law now recognizes that young, old, physically and mentally disabled
patients who are competent are entitled to make their own decisions,
regardless of the wishes of their next of kin.
3) Dramatic increases in public concern about specific issues such as child abuse,
violence against women and privacy (heightened legal and public sensitivity)
4) Counselling and care professionals have been subject to a growing number of
complex, piecemeal statutes. (ON enacted 4 new health statutes that came into
force in 1995, only to repeal 2 of them and significantly amend the other 2
- these for statues are: 1) Consent to Treatment Act. 2) Substitute Decisions Act.
3) Advocacy Act. 4) Consent and Capacity Statute Law Amendment Act
5) The law has evolved along with the development of health services (ON gov
is in the process of recognizing new categories of regulated health
professionals)
6) Health issues have become more politicized
7) Legal and political changes In the health environment have occurred in an era
of fiscal restraint
•Canadian health care costs increased steadily from (5.5% in 1960 to 11.6% in
2012)
•Health costs constitute largest component of provincial budgets so govs want to
streamline services and reduce costs
