Clinical Risk, Negligence and Claims Management in Health Care

• Overview of key patient safety concepts
• Effective error reduction strategies; challenges and best practices for improving patient safety
• The link/association between patient safety, adverse events, incident reports and claims: the role of the risk manager in patient safety
• Post‑incident investigations and reviews: overview of best practices
• Understanding the importance and role of quality reviews
• The legal and regulatory context including adverse events and apologies

The Role of the Coroner in Enhancing Public and Patient Safety

Instructors:

Carleene Bañez
Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC)

Lori Borovoy, Bsc.OT Reg. (Ont), MSc.
Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC)

Keaghan Hepp
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Dr. Dirk Huyer
Office of the Chief Coroner

Marie Pinard, RN, BScN, MSc
Women’s College Hospital

Laura Pozzobon, RN, MSc(hq), CHE, PhD(c)
University Health Network (UHN)

Jared B. Schwartz
Fogler, Rubinoff LLP

An Overview of Medical‑Legal Claims in Canada and Promoting Quality Improvement

Clinical Decision Making in Medicine

Best Practices for Reducing and Managing Risk in the Following Areas:

• Emergency
• Medical treatment/monitoring
• Diagnosis
• Surgery
• Intensive care
• Anesthesia

Understanding and Managing the Risky Nature of Critical Care Medicine and a Team Approach to Mitigation

Management of Suicidal Risk

The Rise of Human Rights Code Claims and Their Implications for Health-care Administrators

Instructors:

Dr. Stephen Brown, BSc, MD, FRCPC
Anesthesiologist, William Osler Health System, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, Department of Anesthesia

Dr. Peter I. Collins, CD, MD, MCA, FRCPC
Forensic Psychiatrist, Complex Mental Illness Program, CAMH, Forensic Psychiatrist, Criminal Behaviour Analysis Unit, Ontario Provincial Police; Associate Professor, Division of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Toronto

Dr. Pat Croskerry
Dalhousie University

Dr. Laura Hawryluck, MSc, MD, FRCPC
Toronto Western Hospital; University Health Network; University of Toronto

Alyssa Jagt
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Risk Management Issues with Health Records, Privacy and New Health Information Technology

Overview of a Medical Malpractice/Liability Claim

• Content
• Limitation periods

Overview of the Litigation Process

• Roles of claims examiners, adjustors, risk managers, defendants (named and not known), and expert witnesses
• Steps involved – statement of claim; accepting service; notifying insurer; statement of defence; investigation; oral and documentary discoveries; trial
• Role played by contingency fees
• Settlement decisions; assessing damages; actuarial assessments
• Total costs including legal fees, awards and settlements

Defence Best Practices/Mitigation Strategies

• The importance of consent
• The importance of documentation: the health record
• Preservation of evidence
• Insurance (health-care organization and staff, physicians)
• Learning from past claims, audits, self‑assessments, inspections

Dealing with Non-Patient Related Adverse Events

Instructors:

Michael B. Fraleigh
Fogler, Rubinoff LLP

J. Mark Jackson, KC
Field Law

Gillian Kafka
Senior Legal Counsel, Kate Dewhirst Health Law

Risa Kirshblum
Lenczner Slaght LLP

Michael Mandarino
Rousseau Mazzuca LLP

Navigating the Legal, Ethical and Practical issues Surrounding MAID

Hospital-Physician Relations: Key to improving Quality of Patient Care

Balancing Safety and Patient Privacy in interactions with Police

• What to do when a doctor wants to call the police?
• What are the requirements for turning information over to the police?
• What if too much information is disclosed?
• Dealing with a hospital refusing to allow identification efforts when patient is going to die and there is a need to notify family

Impact of Resource Allocation/Lack of Resources on the Standard of Care in Medical Practice

Instructors:

Mary Jane Dykeman
INQ Law

David W. Eisen, BA, LL.B., MBA, MD, CCFP, FCFP
North York General Hospital; University of Toronto

Dr. Laura Hawryluck, MSc, MD, FRCPC
Toronto Western Hospital; University Health Network; University of Toronto

Daniel Girlando
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Catherine Rosebrugh
General Counsel, Lakeridge Health

Morning Session
It is very likely that health-care professionals will, at one time in their career, be sued or be involved in the legal process as a witness when their organization and/or one of their colleagues find themselves involved in a lawsuit. Learn first-hand the Judicial perspective of these claims. Then, using a case study, this interactive session is designed to give you practical insights into the litigation process and highlight the issues that come into play.

Live Demonstrations

• Examination and cross‑examination of an expert witness
• Examination and cross‑examination of a defendant doctor
• Examination and cross‑examination of a defendant nurse

Afternoon Session
Individual, Team and Organizational Strategies for Managing the Stress of Litigation
There is no doubt that working under the cloud of litigation causes significant individual, team and organizational stress. In this interactive session, participants and faculty will discuss how they manage to deal with the pressure of risk and litigation and still function effectively. Individual and team strategies will be discussed.

Instructors:

Meghan Bridges
Lenczner Slaght LLP

David A. Cameron, MD, LLB, CCFP
Regional Supervising Coroner – Inquests, Office of the Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service

Michael B. Fraleigh
Fogler, Rubinoff LLP

Adam J. Karakolis
Thomson, Rogers

Anna L. Marrison
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

The Hon. Justice Michael McKelvey
Ontario Superior Court of Justice

Jon S. Novick, MDCM FRCPC MRO
Ontario Medical Association

The Hon. Justice Darla A. Wilson
The Court of Appeal for Ontario