The links below represents a wide range of topics in news articles, resources, and journal articles. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) identified in the respective articles, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Odyssey Medical, or the author of this blog post. |
Legal Waivers
If you have ever participated in mass sports events (for example, triathlons), no doubt you would have signed a legal waiver. Did you actually read the content? Do you think it is as ‘iron-clad’ as the language led you to believe?
The articles below presents different perspectives – the first comes from a legal scholar discussing the issue of liability waiver in general. The second comes from the perspective of insurance underwriters, and finally, we have a lawyer discussing the issue of waivers with respect to minors.
Why it matters? If the waivers are not as iron-clad as they are once thought, what are your liabilities when you are treating patients on site?
When Sports Have “Death Waivers”
https://daily.jstor.org/when-sports-have-death-waivers/
How waivers of liability could be harder to enforce
https://www.canadianunderwriter.ca/legal/how-waivers-of-liability-could-be-harder-to-enforce-1004150499/
Canada: Minors – The Special Case Of Liability Waivers
http://www.mondaq.com/canada/x/833398/Contract+Law/Minors+The+Special+Case+Of+Liability+Waivers+Of+Liability+Waivers
Social Media
The rise of social media allows information to spread at unprecedented speed and reach. When it comes to sharing sensitive information though, can you run into faux pas (on a minor scale) to a major breach of policies and the law (on the other end of the scale)?
If you have spent any amount of time watching medical TV shows from the United States, no doubt you would have heard of HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). In Canada, we also have privacy legislation covering medical-personal information. The oversharing or inappropriate sharing of information can lead to embarrassment/losing social status among your colleagues, and have led to sanctions from various regulatory bodies across the country.
Why it matters? Sometimes a post in isolation doesn’t betray privacy, but when a topic becomes newsworthy elsewhere, then links back to no-identified comments can become an unintended violation, as assumptions are made about the event. For example, posting anything after a ‘big case’ at an event, would become attributable to a person once that story got otherwise picked up by the press. Would you want to wake up one day to find your name splash across headlines on websites, newspaper and social media?
Nurses and doctors are flocking to TikTok to crack jokes and lip sync. But are they eroding patients’ trust?
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/18/us/tiktok-doctors-nurses-trnd/index.html
10 Ways Doctors Lose Patients and Respect on Social Media
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:b8EljyKJC6oJ:https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/923452
Mental Health
Whether you are a first responder, healthcare professional or families of the aforementioned, no doubt you would have seen or experienced some of the ugliness that comes with the job.
As we focus on saving/getting our patients better, have you thought about YOUR own (and your family) mental health? Do you know who/where you can seek help if needed?
Why it matters? We are pretty good at handling the physical aspect of health, but perhaps just a bit short on the mental side. The articles below explore a bit more than just PTSD – it’s worth sharing with your family if you find it difficult to talk at first. Self-care is important. Take the time your need for it!
Mental Health and First Responders: How Their Jobs Can Cause More than Just Stress
https://ohsonline.com/articles/2020/01/21/mental-health-and-first-responders-how-their-jobs-can-cause-more-than-just-stress.aspx
U of G researcher creates website to support first responders and their families
https://www.kitchenertoday.com/regional-news/u-of-g-researcher-creates-website-to-support-first-responders-and-their-families-1976131
First responders carry coins to spark mental health conversations in Windsor-Essex
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/emergency-coin-mental-health-1.5429950
Harm Reduction – Australia
As the summer season of music festivals continue in Australia, the debate about harm reduction continues.
Why it matters? We haven’t heard of major discussion in Canada about this subject yet. Do we have similar issues here at home, and what would drive the discussion for policy changes?
Does the future of music festivals rely on pill testing?
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/does-the-future-of-music-festivals-rely-on-pill-testing/news-story/2a6dfe2b052d2e7a04791a20dd14082f
Grieving mother wants music festival pill deaths to be ‘catalyst for change’
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/grieving-mother-wants-music-festival-pill-deaths-to-be-catalyst-for-change-20200118-p53sm2.html
Photo Credits:
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Thanks, Stephen! I love reading your posts every month. They are a great cross section of topics for our field.