Canadian Medical Protective Association - No-fault Medical Compensation

No-fault Medical Compensation

When the CMPA was incorporated there was an imbalance of knowledge between doctor and patient, which in turn led to what may be considered an imbalance of power in the doctor-patient relationship. Some point to abuse by MDs, both in the healthcare system and in the court system. The arrival of the internet brought a sea change. Today, objective medical information is so readily available that patients no longer need to live in a city with a university medical library to become informed about their own health conditions. Doctor rating sites have sprung up, covering every continent. The skill level of MDs, or lack thereof, may be exposed on such sites. Doctors need to keep up to date with technical advances in their field, and demonstrate high ethical standards. Patients, meanwhile, are demanding a medical Glasnost of transparency and accountability.

Some critics of the current system want to replace the current tort-based system with a so-called "no-fault" medical compensation system. In 2008, the Canadian Medical Association Journal printed a three-part series on this topic. In 2008, Healthcare Quarterly published "Giving Back the Pen: Disclosure, Apology and Early Compensation After Harm in the Health Care Setting." The title refers to a comment made by Bishop Desmond Tutu regarding the importance of restitution after harm: If you take my pen and say you are sorry and don't give me back my pen, nothing has happened..

In 2005 the CMPA published a comparative analysis of medical liability systems internationally, including in countries with "no fault" systems. It called for "common sense reforms" within the current tort-based compensation system, concluding that Canada's current system is fundamentally sound and "is very likely the best possible model for our circumstances."

The contingency fee system is not widely used in Canada, and the British Cost Rule discourages the initiation of the frivolous lawsuit by transmitting the cost of the lawsuit to the unsuccessful party