On March 17, 2020, Alberta declared a state of public health emergency “due to pandemic
COVID-19 and the significant likelihood of pandemic
influenza”.
While in the normal course, a patient’s right to privacy
is paramount, in the face of a public health emergency, regulated
members may find themselves in situations where they have a
positive obligation to report a patient’s conduct pursuant to
section 1.1(1) of the Health Professions Act (HPA).
Further, regulated members who believe that the conduct of another
regulated member is placing patients at risk also have positive
reporting obligations.
Duty to Report Information about Patients to the Medical
Officer of Health
Section 1.1(1) of the HPA imposes a positive obligation on
regulated members to immediately notify the medical officer of
health of the appropriate regional health
authority1 if the regulated member “knows of
or has reason to suspect the existence of a nuisance or a threat
that is or may be
