Law Times

Law Times • apriL 4, 2016 Page 11 www.lawtimesnews.com Content aimed at health-care employees, public Lawyers create video training materials and podcast BY YAMRI TADDESE Law Times A fter some 20 years of law practice in the health-care sector, two Toronto law- yers and former in-house counsel are putting some of their know- ledge into video training materi- al for health-care professionals and the general public. Mary Jane Dykeman and Kate Dewhirst, partners at bou- tique health law firm DDO Health Law, spent a year putting together two separate series of videos, and a podcast to boot, all in hopes of making sure health- care players and patients are "on the same page" about the work- ings of the system. "Kate and I have seen so many scenarios over our shared prac- tice for all of these years that we thought we really should put some of this out so that these [health- care] teams can get together [and talk]," Dykeman says. The videos are available at thehuddleseries.com under two banners. One of them, called the Health System Series, is meant for members of the general public with questions about the health- care system in Ontario. This series is also useful to employers across various sectors. The vid- eos address issues such as con- sent, the mental health system, kids' health, elderly and long- term care, and privacy matters. "We get phone calls from all kinds of people asking us, in times of crises or in times of disputes be- tween family members, 'Can you please give me a short summary of the health-care system and how it works because we're really con- fused or we're not sure where to turn,'" Dewhirst says. "What we wanted to do is to build some goodwill into the sys- tem so that everybody is on the same page," she adds. The second video series, dubbed the Huddle Short Clips, is aimed at health-care teams. Dykeman's and Dewhirst's cli- ents include hospitals, long-term care homes, family health teams, and community mental health and addiction agencies. They say they're often called upon to give presentations and training to those who work in these areas. "What we realized was there was a space for online training and information that would be relevant and timely," Dewhirst says. "One of the challenges that many of our clients face is taking their staff members off the unit or bringing them to in- person training at a particular time when they have shifts." With their on-demand vid- eos, Dykeman and Dewhirst say health-care professionals can get the latest on their areas of prac- tice and gather best practice tips. The videos talk about everything from how to deal with child pa- tients to privacy issues such as snooping and what to do when a patient or a family member of a patient is using racist, homo- phobic, or sexist language. These are common scenarios, according to the lawyers, who say the videos are meant to help health-care teams know how best to respond. "These Huddle short clips are designed to be useful worldwide because these scenarios hap- pen regardless of jurisdiction," Dewhirst says. "These are the same scenarios that happen in a health-care environment any- where in the world, so the beauty is [the video series] creates a framework for a clinical team to have a discussion about these challenging situations." One of those tricky situations arises when an in-patient, against the advice of a physician, says "I'm out of here," Dykeman says, add- ing one of their videos explains the best way to handle such cases. Dykeman and Dewhirst maintain their videos do not pro- vide legal advice. "It's not legal ad- vice, it's really a way of looking at challenging situations in health care," Dewhirst says, adding she and Dykeman bring objectivity to a clinical situation. "We're trying to solve situa- tions before they heat up," Dyke- man adds. LT FOCUS YOUR ADVANTAGE, in and out of the courtroom. TF: 1.888.223.0448 T: 416.868.3100 www.thomsonrogers.com Since 1936 Thomson, Rogers has built a strong, trusting, and collegial relationship with hundreds of lawyers across the province. As a law firm specializing in civil litigation, we have a record of accomplishment second to none. With a group of 30 litigators and a support staff of over 100 people, we have the resources to achieve the best possible result for your client. Moreover, we are exceptionally fair when it comes to referral fees. We welcome the chance to speak or meet with you about any potential referral. We look forward to creating a solid relationship with you that will benefit the clients we serve. Every time you refer a client to our firm, you are putting your reputation on the line. It is all about trust well placed. TRUST Thomson, Rogers Lawyers ALEKS MLADENOVIC | RICHARD HALPERN | KATE CAHILL Untitled-2 1 2016-03-29 4:13 PM THIS PROGRAM CONTAINS 3 PROFESSIONALISM HOURS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LAW SPRING FORUM 2016 CHAIRED BY Lisa R. Lifshitz, Partner, Torkin Manes LLP Cory Freed, Senior Legal Counsel, Microsoft Canada Inc. St. Andrew's Club & Conference Centre 150 King Street West 16th Floor, Toronto ON, M5H 1J9 MAY 16, 2016 | WWW.IT-CONFERENCE.CA Powered by Untitled-1 1 2016-03-29 4:09 PM Mary Jane Dykeman and Kate Dewhirst spent a year putting together two separate series of videos and a podcast to educate health-care employees and patients.

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