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Practice

Practice

eHealth & TeleHealth

Effective healthcare service delivery is heavily dependent upon timely access to relevant patient information. Existing manual, paper-based processes simply cannot keep pace with the explosion of information and ever more complex diagnostic and treatment options. eHealth will provide patients with the tools needed to easily and quickly access the information to make timely and effective decisions, thereby increasing patient safety and improving overall healthcare system efficiency. eHealth technology therefore is changing the way health care is and will be practiced. However, this expansive development of the eHealth industry has created an equally explosive expansion of regulatory legislation, which challenges the industry by demanding compliance for issues such as requirements for licensing, record-keeping, applicable standards of care, responsibilities for ongoing treatment, venue of lawsuits, and jurisdiction in multi-provincial and international treatment scenarios.

Our eHealth practice focuses on regulatory compliance and liability issues steaming from the use of information technologies in health care. We provide legal counsel concerning the federal and provincial regulatory issues that arise out of the provision of healthcare information, products or services via the Internet. Members of the Firm are  assisting clients in matters related to telemedicine, teleradiology, telepathology, virtual medicine, online medical information, professional health education via the Internet, healthcare procurement, digital imaging, online pharmaceutical regulation, and other issues. We advise on legal issues including compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act (FIPPA).

We also can assist clients in developing and implementing eHealth business strategies. The Firm can counsel clients on international telemedicine and jurisdictional issues as well as service nonprofit clients whose Internet activities and affiliations may affect their tax-exempt status. Because of the importance of information systems and other technology to the fulfillment of their missions, health care organizations must protect their investment in these assets with the assistance of sound legal counsel. Further, the use of the Internet and new technologies in the health care field creates legal risks that should be addressed and minimized.