Legal Privilege Legislation: Consequences for Patient Safety

Robson Robert; Carolyn Canfield; Darrell Horn; Allison Kooijman; Nelly D Oelke; Sam Sheps; Ryan Sidorchuk; Fiona MacDonald

doi:10.12927/hcq.2022.26811

Legal Privilege Legislation: Consequences for Patient Safety

Healthc Q. 2022 Apr;25(1):21-27. doi: 10.12927/hcq.2022.26811.

Authors

Robson Robert¹, Carolyn Canfield², Darrell Horn³, Allison Kooijman⁴, Nelly D Oelke¹, Sam Sheps⁵, Ryan Sidorchuk⁶, Fiona MacDonald⁷

Affiliations

¹ A clinical assistant professor at the Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, and the principal advisor at Healthcare System Safety and Accountability. He can be contacted at rrobson@hssa.ca or www.robrobson.ca.
² A citizen-patient and adjunct professor at the Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.
³ A certified patient safety investigator and permanent faculty for the SPHERE Workshop, based in Winnipeg, MB.
⁴ A PhD student at the School of Nursing, University of British Columbia in Okanagan, BC.
⁵ A professor emeritus at the School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC.
⁶ An MSc student (Human Factors and System Safety) at Lund University in Lund, Sweden.
⁷ An assistant professor of political science at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, BC.

PMID: 35596760
DOI: 10.12927/hcq.2022.26811

Abstract

Increasing awareness of the extent of preventable harm from healthcare has led to efforts to improve patient safety through a variety of efforts, including legislation. Extending legal privilege to quality and safety reviews leads to further harm for many patients, families and healthcare providers. The intentional isolation, silencing and exclusion after the incident undermines trust, prevents learning and impedes an opportunity to heal and recover for all those directly involved. Our case study examines Section 51 of British Columbia's Evidence Act (1996) and concludes that amending this legislation is an urgent and necessary step toward trauma-informed care.

MeSH terms

Delivery of Health Care*
Health Personnel
Humans
Patient Safety*