CMPA: Practically Speaking

Decision support tools are designed to ease shared decision-making and patient involvement on health care decisions. When patients actively participate in decision-making and understand what is required of them, they are more likely to follow through. To establish an efficient shared decision making process, physicians must consider patients values, preferences and circumstances. In this month’s episode of CMPA Practically Speaking, our experts discuss the importance of patient’s decision aids to overcome communication challenges and build a strong patient-physician relationship.

Surgeons put a tremendous amount of focus on mastering the technical skills and maximizing their knowledge base. Data from the CMPA's medico-legal files suggest that a number of adverse events involving surgeons are related to communication issues, rather than to poor surgical technique or insufficient knowledge. This episode identifies techniques to help physicians working in surgery settings reduce their risk of adverse events in the OR.

Retirement, parental leave, illness, moving to a new practice – what considerations should be made when taking an unplanned leave of absence? This episode looks at the importance of planning for the unforeseen, and ensuring patients’ continuity of care is at the forefront of those arrangements.

When is access to EMR deemed inappropriate? In this episode, Dr. Bellemare and Dr. Madarnas offer key considerations on how to avoid breaching privacy rules when accessing electronic medical records. The hosts review how privacy legislation, the circle of care, and custodianship of medical records affect how and when physicians can access medical records.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians have had to rapidly pivot their practices to include virtual care provision. In this podcast, Dr. Yolanda Madarnas, CMPA Physician Advisor, and Dr. Steven Bellemare, CMPA Director of Practice Improvement, identify key issues to consider for the provision of safe virtual care. Listen to them discuss how to include considerations around clinical judgment, standard of care, informed consent, and privacy to provide the best virtual care you can.

Physicians routinely face challenging situations and difficult decisions. This can be morally distressing, especially during times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In this podcast, Dr. Yolanda Madarnas, CMPA Physician Advisor, and Dr. Steven Bellemare, CMPA Director of Practice Improvement, are joined by Dr. Caroline Gérin-Lajoie, psychiatrist at The Ottawa Hospital, and Executive Vice-President of Physician Health and Wellness at the Canadian Medical Association. Listen to them discuss why it is important to recognize and manage moral distress and explore various coping strategies that physicians can adopt to stay well.