Speaking Engagements

Edward Nagel, Principal of nagel + associates will be chairing a webinar entitled, “Creating and Sustaining a Whistleblower Policy: How to Design and Keep-Alive an Effective Whistleblower Policy in a Health Care Setting”.

The standards and expectations for good governance in the health care sector are constantly evolving with whistleblower policies and practices being one of the fastest developing areas. Even a policy developed five or six years ago may not meet current standards and expectations. The heightened focus on accountability and patient safety in recent years has spurred calls for hospitals and those providing health care services to broaden their whistleblower policies beyond non- retaliation for employees to include suppliers, patients and caregivers. Broadening the scope and coverage of the policy affects how the policy is communicated and included in contractual materials. Hospitals need to consider how the whistleblower policy has relevancy to the bidding process, contracts and purchasing, patient safety and patient satisfaction mechanisms.

No longer is it enough to simply have a whistleblower policy in place. Good governance today requires that health care employers take active measures to ensure their whistleblower policy is relevant and has enterprise-wide compliance.

Presented by Lynne Golding, national director of the Fasken Martineau Health Law Practice, Guy Giorno, a partner at Fasken Martineau and expert in the area of public law, accountability and ethics laws, and Tamara Gottlieb, founder of The Listening Post, a national whistleblower service, this session will provide a step- by-step approach to developing the framework for a whistleblower policy in a health care-setting and how to review an existing policy. Participants will also learn how to assess the efficacy and appropriateness of their policy on an on-going basis and best practices in communicating the policy to third parties, like suppliers and patients.

Following the broadcast, participants will have a better understanding of:

• Stakeholder and public expectations
• Key elements of a whistleblower policy
• Scope and coverage of the policy
• Reporting mechanisms
• Anonymity, confidentiality, and legal privilege
• Non-retaliation protection
• Implications for employment and contracting law
• Role of the board
• FIPPA implications