Comment

There are many older male physicians who have been practising for over 30-40 years and having been doing breast exams or prostate exams in checkups with similarly older patients without chaperones for years in the past without any discomfort to the patient. Often asking such a patient now if they would like a chaperone for their breast exam or the prostate exam each time this scenario occurs may create a more uncomfortable environment. The CMPA recommendation in these scenarios to say 'Is it ok " to do the exam before starting makes a lot of sense.
I realize wording is difficult in writing policy but the current wording of "must" as in -
must give patients the option of having a third party present during an intimate examination-
could be replaced by "should" in some situations depending on the context of the situation.