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A Medical Professional's Obligations Regarding Police Requests

Jun 5, 2019

Health-care providers need to stand their ground when police officers express an interest in patients’ medical information, says Toronto health lawyer Brooke Shekter.

Ontario’s Court of Appeal recently upheld the drunk-driving acquittal of a woman involved in a car crash in which a person was killed after finding a police officer asked a nurse for her urine-test results before seeking a search warrant.

The unanimous three-judge panel of Ontario’s top court ruled the trial judge was right to exclude the evidence under s. 24(2) of the Charter.

Shekter, associate with TTL Health Law, says she can understand why medical professionals might feel intimidated by law enforcement officers.

“The police were obviously in the wrong, and completely infringed on this person’s Charter rights, but at the same time, there is really no excuse for self-regulated health professionals not to be aware of their duties, and the importance of confidentiality,” she tells AdvocateDaily.com. “The better you know your obligations, the harder it is for someone to shake you from them.



Testimonials

Ms. Tremayne-Lloyd was the keynote speaker at the Medical Staff Association 2011 meeting on June 20, 2011. Her presentation was titled: “Hospital Governance: An Indispensable Joint Venture of Medicine and Management and Rights and Responsibilities of the Medical Staff”. The presentation was well received by the Medical Staff and the topic was certainly relevant. We would recommend her and have her back for any further topics.

Hien Ta, M.D., FRCPC Past Medical Staff President, York Central Hospital

Tracey Tremayne-Lloyd Health Law