Mitigating the risks of generative artificial intelligence in the health industry
Background The emergence of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a paradigm-shifting technology and its potential impact on the health industry cannot be overstated. While AI has been and is increasingly used in Canada for both clinical and non-clinical applications, particularly […]
Privacy Commissioners call on Health Industry to phase out use of traditional fax and unencrypted email in shift to digital healthcare
On September 21, 2022, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada released a Joint Resolution of the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Privacy Commissioners and Ombudspersons with Responsibility for Privacy Oversight entitled Securing Public Trust in Digital Healthcare (the “Joint […]
Ontario launching new agency to centralize government procurement
On November 5, 2020, the Ontario government published Ontario Regulation 612/20 Centralized Supply Chain Ontario (the “Supply Chain Regulation”), under the Supply Chain Management Act, 2019 (the “Act”). The Supply Chain Regulation establishes Supply Ontario, a centralized procurement agency that […]
Tragic death of patient in German cyberattack a reminder of vital importance of cybersecurity in healthcare
On September 10, 2020, a large university hospital in Dusseldorf, Germany, experienced a major cyberattack, apparently caused by a security vulnerability of an off-the-shelf software that allowed hackers to infiltrate the hospital’s systems. The hospital treats approximately 350,000 patients per […]
Ontario passes new law to extend certain COVID-19 Emergency Orders beyond declared state of emergency
On July 21, 2020, Bill 195, the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 (the “Reopening Ontario Act”) received Royal Assent and will take effect on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor. The […]
Patchwork of face covering By-Laws, Orders, Directives and Instructions issued across Ontario to protect against COVID-19
Wearing non-medical masks or face coverings can be an added public health measure for containing the spread of COVID-19. To date, the Government of Ontario has not implemented a province-wide mandatory face covering requirement due to the substantial variation in […]
COVID-19 Efforts Shift to the Protection of Seniors and Vulnerable Persons
Health Management in Canadian Health Care, Volume 22 Number 3
This article, originally published in Miller Thomson’s Health Communiqué, was reproduced in the June 2020 issue of Health Management in Canadian Health Care (LexisNexis). Although the community spread of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have peaked in the province according […]
Public Hospital Advisory: Emergency Order allows Government to institute hospitals as temporary management for long-term care homes experiencing COVID-19 outbreak
On May 12, 2020, the Ontario government passed an emergency Order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act temporarily amending section 156 of the Long-Term Care Homes Act, 2007 (“LTCHA”) to expand the circumstances under which the Director may […]
Operational requirements for health sector restart released
Chief Medical Officer of Health updates Directive #2 to ramp up health services On May 26, 2020, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health released an updated Directive #2 for health care providers which allows for a gradual restart of previously […]
Injunction requires Long-Term Care homes to provide nurses access to PPE
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice released a decision on April 23, 2020, Ontario Nurses Association v Eatonville/Henley Place, 2020 ONSC 2467, granting an interlocutory injunction requiring four Long-Term Care (“LTC”) homes to act in accordance with Directive #3 and […]
