Healthcare

Total 44 Posts

Update on MAiD: Mental Disorder as a Sole Underlying Medical Condition

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In Canada, the law no longer restricts medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to people whose death is reasonably foreseeable: as of March 17, 2023, people with a mental disorder as a sole underlying medical condition (MD-SUMC) will be eligible for MAiD…..

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Capacity Law, Disability, Elder Care, Elder Law, Family Conflict, Geriatric Care Management, Healthcare, In the News, Medical Assistance in Dying, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes, Succession Planning

Capacity to Consent to MAiD: A Suggestion For Amendment

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I have found it uncommon for a family member or beneficiary to exert undue influence to pressure a patient to pursue MAiD. What worries me is the vulnerability of patients to undue influence from physicians who may embrace therapeutic nihilism and bias patients unduly towards MAiD. I suggest that, for capacity to consent to MAiD, the test of “ability to appreciate” should be expanded to require an appreciation of the views and wishes of supportive family members and friends…..

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Capacity Law, Disability, Elder Care, Elder Law, Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Healthcare, In the News, Medical Assistance in Dying, Power of Attorney, Spouse, Succession Planning, Testamentary Capacity, Undue influence

Shingeki no Kyojin: An Anime Unexpectedly About Family, Legacy and Succession

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Last week, my colleague Yvonne Mazurak wrote a blog post about a recently-released television show, And Just Like That, discussing the estate planning issues highlighted by the events of the show. So, I thought I would provide a bit of a television recommendation show of my own…although my taste is a bit different. For this post, I’d like to highlight Shingeki no Kyojin (in English: Attack on Titan), one of….

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Estate Planning, Family Conflict, Healthcare, In the News, Interest, Wills

Role of the Health Practitioner at Board Hearings: Recommendation for Reform

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The Consent and Capacity Board (“Board”) in Ontario is a quasi-judicial administrative tribunal which operates at arm’s length from the Ministry of Health. The Board convenes hearings and makes decisions under six pieces of legislation, but most hearings relate to the Health Care Consent Act (HCCA) and the Mental Health Act (MHA). According to the Board’s website,[i] over 5,200 hearings were convened in the 2019/2020 fiscal year. Applications to the….

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Capacity Law, Courts, Disability, Guardianship, Healthcare

Disclosure of a Party’s Medical Records

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In will challenges, it is common to seek the disclosure of the testator’s medical records for the period around the time the will was signed. The medical records are directly relevant to the question of whether or not she had the requisite capacity to sign the will. While the testator has a right to privacy that continues after death, the harm caused by disclosure of the records after death is….

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Contested wills, Costs, Credibility, Estate Litigation, Family Conflict, Healthcare, Limitation periods, Wills

Dementia, Health Law and Discharge Planning Challenges

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A clinical dilemma: a patient was diagnosed with dementia in the mild-to-moderate stage requested to be discharged home from hospital to live alone despite the opinion of the attorney for personal care and property that the patient is unsafe to do so. The clinical opinion was also that the patient could not live independently safely. This resulted in the need to confine the patient in hospital involuntarily under the Mental….

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Capacity Law, Caregiving, Disability, Elder Care, Elder Law, Fiduciary Professions, Geriatric Care Management, Guardianship, Healthcare, Power of Attorney, Powers Of Attorney and Guardianship Disputes
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