Patient Rights

Patient rights in Ontario are not contained in a single statute but arise from a framework of laws governing consent, information, and the relationship between patients and the health system. Central among them are the right to give or refuse informed consent to treatment under the Health Care Consent Act, 1996, and the right to access and to the privacy of one’s personal health information under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, 2004.

These rights interact with the substitute decision-making regime for patients who lack capacity, with the regulatory obligations of health professionals, and with the law of negligence and battery where care is provided without proper consent. Understanding them helps patients identify when a concern is about the violation of a right, which may be addressed through several avenues, and when it is about negligent care, which is pursued as a civil claim for damages.

Posts tagged Patient Rights analyze Ontario decisions and processes concerning consent, access to information, privacy, and the other rights of patients within the health system.