UPFRONT | From the editor Unintended consequence The Ontario government recently passed legislation that can potentially change the way health practitioners in the province deliver patient care. Bill 87, Protecting Patients Act, 2017, includes amendments to certain legislation including the Regulated Health Professions Act, 1991. Bill 87 is the government’s response to recommendations set out in a report by the Minister’s Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse of Patients, effectively enforcing a zero tolerance policy on sexual abuse of patients by any regulated health professional. It includes, among other things, amendments that: expand the list of sexual abuse offenses that will result in mandatory revocation of a health professional’s licence; prohibit a regulated health pro-fessional from continuing to practice on patients of a specific gender after an allegation or finding of sexual abuse; require the disclosure of a regulated health professional’s personal information, including their health records. This recent legislation is the government’s attempt to finally put a stop to the decades old problem of sexual abuse involving regulated health profes-sionals. The head of the Minister’s Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Abuse, Marilou McPhedran, acknowledged in a Toronto Star interview that the current system of self-regulation has not been effective in handling sexual abuse cases. Hence, her task force’s central recommendation – which Bill 87 does not seem to address – is the establishment of an independent body to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate sexual abuse cases that involve health professionals. As an unintended consequence, Bill 87 may potentially put some health practitioners on a “self-preservation” mindset and cause them to take a more cautious approach when delivering care to patients for fear of losing their li-cence. This can be particularly significant for manual practitioners, like chi-ropractors and massage therapists, whose treatment protocols rely heavily on the power of touch. Quality of care could potentially take a back seat. There is also the privacy implication of the new legislation. The amendments could mean a health professional’s personal and health information may no longer be protected by privacy statutes. The intent of the law is commendable. Sexual abuse in the health care realm must be eradicated. The government should implement effective, sustainable solutions to the problem, but it should also ensure such solutions do not marginalize an entire profession. We will have to wait and see how this new legislation plays out. September 2017 Volume 22, Number 6 EDITOR Mari-Len De Guzman [email protected] (289) 259-1408 PUBLISHER Christine Livingstone [email protected] (519) 429-5173 • (888) 599-2228 ext. 239 ACCOUNT COORDINATOR Shannon Drumm [email protected] (888) 599-2228 ext. 219 MEDIA DESIGNER Gerry Wiebe CIRCULATION MANAGER Anita Madden GROUP PUBLISHER Martin McAnulty [email protected] COO Ted Markle [email protected] PRESIDENT & CEO Mike Fredericks Published and printed by Annex Business Media, 105 Donly Drive South, Simcoe, ON, Canada N3Y 4N5 Publication Mail Agreement #40065710 ISSN 1488-6952 CIRCULATION e-mail: [email protected] Tel: (416) 510-5189 Fax: (416) 510-5170 Mail: 80 Valleybrook Drive, Toronto, ON M3B 2S9 Canadian Chiropractor is published eight times a year: February, April, May, June, July/August, September, October and December. SUBSCRIPTION RATES Canada – 1 Year $24.00 (with GST $25.20, with HST/QST $27.12) (HST #867172652RT0001) USA – 1 Year $35.00 (US Funds) Occasionally, Canadian Chiropractor will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above. No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2017 Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. MARI-LEN DE GUZMAN, Editor EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD @CanChiropractor Victoria Coleman, DC; Connie J. D’Astolfo, DC, Dip HA, PhD (cand); Pierre DesLauriers, DC; James P. Laws, DC, FRCCSS(C)(Hon); David Leprich, DC; Wanda Lee MacPhee, DC; Peter Moore, DC; Don Nixdorf, DC; Renae Rogers, DC; Greg Stewart, BPE, DC 4 Canadian Chiropractor September 2017 www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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