Human Resources Legislative Update
Ontario Introduces New Healthcare Legislation to Enhance Patient Care, Pharmacy Safety
Date: October 11, 2013
On October 10, 2013, the Ontario government introduced Bill 117, Enhancing Patient Care and Pharmacy Safety (Statute Law Amendment) Act, 2013. If passed, this legislation would, among other things:
- amend the Drug and Pharmacies Regulation Act to allow premises associated with hospitals and health and custodial institutions to be considered “pharmacies” for the purposes of certain provisions of the Act;
- amend s. 33(c) of the Public Hospitals Act to require a hospital administrator to prepare and forward a detailed report to the College of Physicians and Surgeons where a physician resigns or restricts his or her practice and there is reason to believe the resignation or restriction is related to his or her competence, negligence or conduct;
- amend the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 to provide for the appointment of a person as a supervisor of a health profession college, where the Minister considers it to be appropriate or necessary to do so;
- create additional exceptions to the existing duty of confidentiality under subsection 36(1)(d) the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991 for the purposes of (1) administering the Health Protection and Promotion Act; (2) where the disclosure is to a public hospital that employs or that provides privileges to a member of a college, where the college is investigating the member, subject to any limitations in the regulations; and (3) disclosure to additional classes of persons as prescribed by regulation; and
- make various procedural amendments to the “Complaints and Reports” provisions of Schedule 2 of the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991, the Health Professions Procedural Code.
As outlined in the government’s press release, the proposed legislation comes in response to Dr. Thiessen’s recommendations “to safeguard the hospital drug supply system and to strengthen health care system’s ability to respond to any future incidents affecting patient care.”
The proposed legislation would come into force upon proclamation.
