Bill 40: An Act Respecting Health Quality and Patient Safety

This bill primarily affects health care organizations operating in New Brunswick — including regional health authorities and other health care providers — rather than typical private businesses. These organizations will need to establish more rigorous incident reporting systems, conduct mandatory quality reviews whenever a critical or multiple-patient event occurs, and submit annual quality improvement plans and reports within 40 business days after fiscal year-end. Day-to-day operations like patient care documentation, incident tracking, and internal safety committee work will all be touched by the new requirements. The scale matters here — regional health authorities face the most extensive obligations, including disclosing data to national bodies like CIHI and ISMP Canada, but all health care organizations regardless of size must comply with the new quality improvement planning cycle.