TORONTO - The organization that defends Canadian physicians against lawsuits is warning doctors they could find themselves legally liable if their patients' wait for specialty services exceeds established wait-time benchmarks.
The Canadian Medical Protective Association says both referring doctors and specialists could be held liable if something adverse happened while a patient was waiting for surgery and the delay was longer than the wait-time targets.
The association has drawn up some advice for doctors, which it is sending to members in its March newsletter.
It suggests that referring doctors should keep an eye on how long it is taking for a patient to see a specialist and how the patient is doing during the wait.
If the patient's condition worsens or it looks like the referral appointment won't take place within the recommended time-frame, referring doctors should consider sending the patient elsewhere.
Courts could determine that doctors receiving referrals also have a duty to the patient, potentially from the time the referral is accepted. The association advises specialists to consider declining a referral if they don't think they can see the patient quickly enough, or to discuss alternative treatment options with the patient.
It also advises all doctors in the process to document their actions thoroughly.
The association's executive director, Dr. John Gray, said Monday that the organization is getting an increasing number of calls from member doctors who want to know what their liability is if their patients aren't treated within the recommended time.
Gray said the calls go like this: "'The benchmark waiting time for my procedure is X weeks and now I'm into X months and what happens if something goes wrong while somebody's waiting?' It's a very common question now.''
He said that so far the association hasn't faced any lawsuits directly related to missed wait times. But the association believes it could happen.
"It doesn't take a lot to think that the court is eventually going to rule that the alternative to waiting six months for a bed in this institution, there was another alternative in terms of referring somewhere else,'' Gray said. "That is the fear.''
