Topic: General

Uber as a HIPAA business associate

By Alexis Wilpon (US) and Robert Kantrowitz (US) on March 7, 2018 Posted in General

Uber recently announced the launch of Uber Health, a non-emergency ride service that allows healthcare providers to schedule and pay for transportation for their patients. The stated purpose of the service is to expand medical transportation to traditionally underserved areas. Roughly 3.6 million Americans miss medical appointments each year due to lack of reliable transportation, contributing to the … Continue reading

Update on medical assistance in dying: Bill C-14

By Erika Lambert-Shirzad (CA) on April 20, 2016 Posted in General

Update on Medical Assistance in Dying: Bill C-14 On April 15, 2016, the federal government responded to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 5 by introducing Bill C-14 into the House of Commons for first reading. While Bill C-14 addresses many of the issues raised by the … Continue reading

Update on physician-assisted dying: A changing medical legal landscape

By Melissa Perry (CA) on March 7, 2016 Posted in General

On February 29, 2016, an Alberta woman suffering from amynotrophic lateral sclerolsis (“ALS”), became the first person in Canada to obtain a physician-assisted death. Four days prior to her death, Ms. S applied to the Alberta Court of the Queen’s Bench and successfully obtained an exemption from the Criminal Code prohibition on physician-assisted dying in … Continue reading

A loophole in the law of contracts? The application of the duty to act honestly

By Melissa Perry (CA) on March 2, 2016 Posted in General

In its recent decision in Burquitlam Care Society v Fraser Health Authority, 2015 BCSC 1343, the British Columbia Supreme Court may have expanded the potential use of the common law duty to act honestly as a means for contracting parties to seek legal recourse against public bodies outside the scope of their contractual rights. (See … Continue reading

Physician-assisted dying part 4: Patient perspectives

By Erika Lambert-Shirzad (CA) on February 26, 2016 Posted in General

The right to determine what should be done with one’s own body is a fundamental right in our society. In Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 5, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that, for a competent adult suffering from a grievous and irremediable medical condition, this right includes a right to die with … Continue reading

Physician-assisted dying part 3: Finding a balance between autonomy and access

By Melissa Perry (CA) on February 19, 2016 Posted in General

“Health institutions, including regional health authorities and other institutional providers (e.g. hospitals, hospices and long-term care facilities) are critical enablers of effective and equitable access to physician-assisted dying.” Provincial-Territorial Expert Advisory Group on Physician-Assisted Dying, Final Report, November 30, 2015, at 3. Part 2 of this series examined the implications of the decriminalization of physician-assisted … Continue reading

Physician-assisted dying part 2: Implications for frontline healthcare professionals

By Melissa Perry (CA) on February 5, 2016 Posted in General

“This issue is not one of life or death. The issue is what kind of death, an agonized or peaceful one. Shall we meet death in personal integrity or in personal disintegration? Should there be a moral or demoralized end to mortal life?” Fletcher, J. (1954). Morals and Medicine. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press at … Continue reading

CMS revisits ACO benchmarking

By Jim Wiehl (US), Bernie Duco (US) and Joseph Keillor (US) on February 1, 2016 Posted in General, Regulatory

CMS issued a proposed rule on January 28, 2016 that would significantly overhaul benchmark calculations for Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (MSSP ACOs), which may increase the long-term attractiveness of the MSSP for high-performing ACOs.… Continue reading

Physician-assisted dying: Where are we now and where are we going?

By Erika Lambert-Shirzad (CA) on January 21, 2016 Posted in General

What is the current status of physician-assisted dying in Canada? For most of Canada’s history, physician-assisted dying was a crime: sections 14 and 241(b) of the Criminal Code absolutely prohibited any person from assisting another person to commit suicide and provided that any person who violated this prohibition was liable to imprisonment for up to 14 … Continue reading