Privacy laws, prayer requests, and hospitals

By LAUREEN McMAHON

Communication is the name of the game when it comes to understanding how new federal privacy legislation affects parishioners’ prayer requests and hospital chaplaincy visits, says Vancouver General Hospital chaplain Father William Ashley, chairman of the pastoral care committee for the Catholic Health Association of British Columbia.

Worries about violating confidentiality have even caused some Canadian churches to substitute their members’ initials for their full names during congregation prayers for the sick and deceased, according to a recent Ottawa Sun report.

Such changes are unnecessary, Father Ashley advised, because the Personal Health Information Protection Act passed in January of 2004, as it applies to prayer requests and Mass Intentions, simply requires that permission to announce a name come from the persons themselves or from their families, rather than from a third party.

The new laws also serve to highlight that patients should make sure their hospital admission form records their religious affiliation and a request that a chaplain visit them, said Father Ashley.

“This legislation can have a positive effect if more people are supported in prayer by their church community and more receive pastoral visits,” he added.

Generally speaking, said Father Ashley, hospitals ask patients to indicate their religion and if they want pastoral care. It’s accepted practice, he said, that most people who write down their religion wish to be visited.

However, CHABC executive director Susan House told The B.C. Catholic that instances have been reported of admissions clerks failing to follow through on a patient’s behalf.

The CHABC, she said, has produced free wallet-sized cards for people to carry with them indicating they are Catholic in the event of an accident.

“I have been called to emergency several times when someone is brought in unconscious and the attendants have found an ‘I am a Catholic card’ in their possession,” said Father Ashley.

Cards are available from the CHABC at 604-524-3427 or www.chabc.bc.ca.

The CHABC, House noted, has also put together a booklet of prayers for the sick or dying, and there are plans to produce a booklet on the Sacrament of Reconciliation particularly geared to people at the end of life.

United Church minister Rev. James Christie, Dean of Theology at the University of Winnipeg, told The B.C. Catholic that he thinks the new privacy rules provide a “teachable moment,” whereby all Canadian churches can better support their sick and hospitalized congregants.

The need for privacy legislation, he suggested, is real because of how easy it is today to get information even on strangers.

“At the stroke of a key, someone can find out a great deal about each of us. These new rules are designed to make sure that due diligence is practised.

“We want people to contact us in a time of crisis. This message has been necessary for a long time. Sometimes chaplains discover that a person has been in hospital for days or weeks without a visit. If the right information is missing, they may assume we know they are there and have not taken the trouble to come.

“As Christians, caring for each other is a part of our calling, and as ministers, we must teach our church communities to come forward if they want our help.”

Chaplains, Rev. Christie added, can do a better job if they can talk to family members about a patient’s illness.

“When someone is in hospital, we often get our information second hand. If we can learn more about what a patient is dealing with, we can be of more help.”

About a year ago, said Rev. Christie, a young woman in his congregation who was expecting her first child was told that the baby had a cardiovascular defect and was probably not going to survive.

The situation, he said, became a focus of prayer for church members and was a wonderful opportunity for them to feel they were doing something to support the family.

“We knew most likely that the child’s birth and death would have to be announced on the same day. Through this difficult time, the many long conversations I was able to have with the mother and her family allowed for a compassionate preparation which proved to be useful, beneficial, and proper for everyone concerned.

“Certainly the community’s support was very appreciated by the family,” Rev. Christie said.