Ontario has 21 health professions that are governed by colleges which regulate the standards for skills, knowledge and behaviour of their members.

Ontario laws administered by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care set the legal framework for regulated health professions, but the colleges are independent of the Ministry. Many members mistakenly believe the view that their college’s purpose is to protect them; colleges tend to see their primary role as the protection of the public as mandated by their governing legislation and by-laws. College proceedings against regulated health professionals can be very complex and can have a serious impact on the member’s ability to practice. College proceedings are often very stressful to the member as their professional integrity and ability to practice are being challenged.

At Lerners LLP, we understand the stress and strain associated with college proceedings. We expertly manage the regulatory framework to ensure health care professionals are treated fairly and in accordance with the applicable legislation. Lerners LLP has one of the largest Health Law groups in Canada and assists health care professionals with:

MEDICAL AND PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE

CLASS ACTIONS AGAINST REGULATED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

COLLEGE COMPLAINTS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS

• Defending against complaints by patients, families, hospital administration, colleagues and co-workers
• Section 75 investigations
• Compliance monitoring
• Practice assessments and preceptorships
• Registration committee proceedings
• Quality assurance committee proceedings
• Discipline committee hearings

CHANGE IN SCOPE OF PRACTICE

COMPLIANCE WITH POLICIES AND CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES

CLIENT/PATIENT BILLING AND AUDIT ISSUES

FOREIGN EQUIVALENCY MATTERS

HEALTH PROFESSIONS/SERVICES APPEAL REVIEW BOARD HEARINGS

• Challenging or confirming Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee decisions
• Judicial Review of HSARB and HPARB decisions

REGISTRATION COMMITTEE PROCEEDINGS

PATIENT BILLING AND AUDIT ISSUES

PRIVACY AND CLIENT/PATIENT HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

• Disputes over ownership of patient records
• Compliance and Breaches of Personal Health Information Protection Act obligations
• Information and Privacy Commission investigations
• Inadvertent disclosure of personal health information

CONSENT AND CAPACITY REVIEWS

DEFENCE OF REGULATORY, CRIMINAL AND QUASI-CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS

CLIENT/PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS
Advice and guidance on:

• Record keeping and charting issues
• Treating family members
• Test results management and referrals
• Electronic medical records
• Accepting new patients
• Terminating patient relationships
• Re-locating clinics and practices
• Association and partnership agreements
• Privacy and confidentiality issues

PEER REVIEW AND QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCEEDINGS

We are committed to protecting the professional integrity of health professionals.

Complementary Areas of Practice

• Professional Regulation including assisting regulated professionals, regulators and associations in the health and non-health law fields
• Business Law including assistance with institutional and professional corporations as well as partnerships and sole proprietorships
• Commercial Litigation
• Real Estate and Land Development including real estate – land use legal services, zoning and facilities development.

Lerners Health Law Group provides advice and assistance on a wide range of legal issues on behalf of health care facilities, clinics, public health units and regulatory bodies. We have the expertise and experience to provide sound legal advice to any organization involved in providing health related services or care, or in the regulation of health care providers.

We are retained by and provide services to a number of regulated non-physician health professional colleges in Ontario and regularly act as prosecution and independent legal counsel.

Our clients include regulatory colleges, medical and rehabilitation treatment facilities, physiotherapy clinics and other applied health care facilities, nursing homes, community care access centres and public health units across Ontario.

Our services include:

REGULATORY PROSECUTIONS (DEFENCE, PROSECUTION, AND COUNSEL)

COLLEGE COMPLAINTS, DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS AND INVESTIGATIONS

PROFESSIONAL AND MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE LITIGATION

CLASS ACTIONS AGAINST HEALTH-RELATED FACILITIES, CLINICS, PUBLIC HEALTH UNITS AND REGULATORY BODIES

PRIVILEGES AND CREDENTIALING AND RELATED DISPUTES

REGULATORY AND LICENSING APPLICATIONS, DISPUTES AND HEARINGS

ADVICE ON ALL HEALTH LAW RELATED ISSUES

PRIVACY AND CLIENT/PATIENT HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

• Disputes over ownership of patient records
• Compliance and Breaches of Personal Health Information Protection Act obligations
• Information and Privacy Commission investigations
• Inadvertent disclosure of personal health information
• Assistance with Compliance Audits and Educating Staff of Information Management Obligations
• Employment Contracts and Human Resources

EMPLOYMENT LAW MATTERS

• Employment contracts
• Termination of employment
• Wrongful dismissal claims

LABOUR RELATIONS

• Collective bargaining
• Grievances
• Arbitrations
• Ontario Labour Relations Board hearings

CONTRACTUAL DISPUTE AND COMMERCIAL LITIGATION

ASSISTANCE TO PUBLIC HEALTH UNITS

• Health law issues
• Labour relations
• Human resources
• Policy development
• Compliance
• Prosecutions
• By-law development
• Governance

Complementary Areas of Practice

• Professional Regulation which subsumes the work in this area and also includes work for regulated professionals, regulators and associations in the non-health law sector
• Business Law including assistance with institutional and professional corporations as well as partnerships and sole proprietorships
• Commercial Litigation