Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT "I think what lawyers bring to orga- nizations like health-science centres is really an analytic discipline that is just different than how clinicians think and is generally quite different from how ad- ministrators sometimes think as well," Belaiche says. Within the hospitals and clinics them- selves, health care can be a highly emo- tionally and politically charged fi eld with immediate expectations. The work done to support its practitioners may mimic the emergency room in terms of triaging to determine priorities, says Weyant. The hospital legal department "runs 24/7 and our emergencies are literally emergen- cies," he notes. One of the issues that demands a rapid response and often arises for in-house counsel in this environment involves consent and providing advice to those on the hospital's front line. For example, if one of the staff has a consent to treat- ment issue, it likely can't wait until the next business day, so calls come in all hours of the day and night for lawyers working on clinical support in Calgary, says Weyant. Among the variety of diverse issues that have come up, in the area of consent and otherwise, notes Belaiche, include who has the right to consent to an autop- sy, who has the right to take possession of a body under the law, and if somebody is shot and is taken to the hospital, who owns the bullet? Another area that lawyers get involved with are the "diffi cult discharges" at the hospital, namely with patients who are ready to leave the acute care facility, but will not for various reasons. These types of issues require very care- 153447C DD RXHLFA InHs 12/21/07 11:58 AM Page 1 ful management because of the legal risks involved, but also because of the public relations implications, says Bella Martin, general counsel for downtown Toronto's University Health Network, which in- cludes three major hospitals employing The Big Case With over 20,000 Office Products finding what you want is easy. Finally, a big case ideal for lawyers, accountants, businessmen / women, etc... • Dimensions:19 x 16 x11" • Weight: Approx. 5 Lbs. • 1680D Ballistic Nylon • Padded computer pocket • Telescopic handle • In line skate wheels • Front zippered organizer To order please quote code #90036-00 yourONE source supplier for Office & Furniture Products • Corporate Promotional Products • Printing & Graphic Services Law Office Essentials • Corporate Supplies • Search & Registration Services OFFICE & FURNITURE PRODUCTS dyedurham.ca • Phone: 1-888-393-3874 • Fax: 1-800-263-2772 40 FEBRU AR Y 2008 C ANADIAN Lawyer INHOUSE C E &DUR H PREFERRED SUPPLIER S A over 11,000 staff and nearly 2,000 volun- teers. In-house counsel also get calls from staff who are distressed about individu- als in the hospital who they perceive are acting in a threatening way, says Martin, which involves a judgment call on the part of lawyers as to how serious the situ- ation might be. One area that Belaiche and Martin are not involved with as part of their daily workload is litigation. As most of the medical practitioners are independent contractors, any issues that may arise are handled by their insurer's counsel. In- deed, Martin says some of the value the hospital's in-house counsel provide is litigation avoidance. Litigation management is a fairly large part of what the legal services depart- ment does at the Calgary Health Net- work, but similar to the health system as a whole, they are trying to shift the focus to prevention. I NCE 19 9 W e ' r e a y C a n a p d i m a n o a n M D Y 8