Canadian privacy advocates are questioning the practice of allowing representatives of medical equipment manufacturers into operating rooms during surgeries, but there are no plans to change policy on P.E.I.

Dr. Richard Wedge, director of medical programs for the P.E.I. Health Department, said having equipment manufacturers' representatives in the operating room is common, and patients would not necessarily be informed in advance about it.

"That's a time-honoured way of gathering that new technology and new skills," Wedge said.

"Usually the surgeons would use their discretion as to whether or not anyone is in the operating room who doesn't need to be."

But medical ethicists and privacy experts are starting to look at taking that discretion away from surgeons.

This fall, the biggest health authority in British Columbia introduced sweeping new rules about how close company representatives can get to patients. Among the new rules are a requirement for company representatives to wear ID badges in hospitals and health clinics, and they may no longer scrub in for surgeries.

David Fraser, a privacy lawyer in Halifax, said patients should have a say.

"When an individual is undergoing surgery, they're sedated. They're not aware of what's going on around them and they're completely vulnerable to the surroundings and what's happening to them," Fraser said.

"There's a higher obligation on the part of health care professionals to make sure that consent is properly obtained."

Wedge said despite privacy concerns in other provinces there are no plans to bring in new policies on P.E.I.