Grits without honour

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Grits without honour

If the Liberal Party of Canada had a shred of honour or decency left in it, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale would have tendered his resignation as a cabinet minister on Wednesday night, and it would have been immediately accepted by the PM.
Goodale's department is the subject of an RCMP investigation into whether there was a leak about changes to income trusts that allegedly resulted in a spurt of insider trading on the stock market before the announcement was officially made. Prime Minister Paul Martin said yesterday that he's standing by his embattled finance minister. "He is a person of the greatest integrity, and he will not be stepping down," Martin said.
If he's a person of such great integrity, however, then it's all the more reason why he should step down. Because, unlike the Liberals, we still believe in concepts like ministerial accountability and the greater good. And there's the bigger issue of the overall integrity of the government.
Goodale simply must resign as finance minister while his department is under criminal investigation.

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - The waiting game

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - The waiting game: "The Doer government continues to do everything in its power to try to prevent the privately-owned Maples Surgical Centre from succeeding in Manitoba.
The Maples opened its doors in Winnipeg in 2001. And from the very first day of its operations, the NDP has been trying to shut the facility down"

winnipegsun.com Politics again -what about the ustomers?

winnipegsun.com: "WCB pulls clinic's MRI patients
The Workers Compensation Board has stopped sending clients to the Maples Surgical Centre for MRIs, prompting accusations from the clinic's director that his facility has fallen victim to politics"

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - We're still waiting

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - We're still waiting: "Suspiciously, no benchmarks were provided for the fifth area the feds and provinces agreed to target -- access to diagnostic tests such as CAT scans and MRIs.
This is particularly disturbing because CAT scans and MRIs are vital diagnostic tools for three of the four other areas targeted for wait times reduction -- cancer treatment, cardiac disease and hip and knee replacements.
Thus, setting benchmarks for how long it should take to treat a patient after he or she is diagnosed is meaningless if the diagnosis is unduly delayed in the first place because the patient had to wait too long for a CAT scan or MRI.
Doctors have also warned that as the provinces shift around budgets to meet demands for improvement in these five targeted areas, wait times for other procedures will inevitably start to grow as they are starved for funding.
Our concern is that this so-called strategy to reduce wait times is starting to look more and more like a strategy to look busy while failing to reduce wait times. And that federal and provincial politicians will again do what they always do when it all falls apart: blame each other. "

winnipegsun.com - Tom Brodbeck - Public solidly supports private MRIs

winnipegsun.com - Tom Brodbeck - Public solidly supports private MRIs: "Canadians know that the government monopoly system isn't working well and they're beginning to accept the fact that, in some cases, taxpayers should be able to spend their own money to get care for themselves and their families.
It's no different than what every other developed country in the world has -- a mix of universal health care with private options. "

MRI choice- What is the problem?

The right of health choice debate - It comes down to service not government dictate QJ

winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - What's the problem?: "'When did we lose our freedom in this country?' said Corlett, who says he just wants to get better and return to work.

'Why do they have to control us?'

Corlett needs an MRI so his doctor can make a diagnosis and decide whether he needs surgery or not.In the meantime, he can't even lift his arm, much less work on airplanes.'I can't work because they don't have work for a one-armed person,' said Corlett.Like many patients who will use The Maples clinic, Corlett didn't have to pay out-of-pocket for his MRI. Instead, his insurance company did. Like many Manitobans, Corlett has private disability insurance and it's in his insurance company's best interest to get him an MRI as quickly as possible so he can be treated and return to work.In fact, the insurance company was planning to fly him to Calgary for an MRI until The Maples announced it would be providing MRIs.'Why do I have to go to Calgary when we've got one in Winnipeg?' said Corlett.Precisely.How can government possibly have a problem with this? Government sends Workers Compensation Board patients to clinics for preferential treatment.Why can't a private insurance company send one of its clients to a clinic, too?The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a recent Quebec case that government cannot prevent people from buying private insurance and using it to obtain medical services if government is not providing that service in a timely fashion.Clearly, the Manitoba government is not providing elective MRIs in a timely fashion.So I'd say The Maples clinic has the blessing of Canada's top court.

Besides, if people like Corlett aren't getting their MRIs in Manitoba, they'll go out-of-province for them and they'll take their money with them"

winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - Private clinic to do MRIs today

winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - Private clinic to do MRIs today: "The Maples Surgical Centre is planning to switch on Manitoba's first private MRI today after the clinic received word late yesterday that it has received accreditation from the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
'It's official,' Dwayne Venter, general manager of the private clinic, told the Sun. 'It's been confirmed and we are slating patients from 10 o'clock on (today).'
The Maples will be the first clinic in Manitoba to provide MRI scans outside of the government health-care system. The fee for patients is $695 a scan.
But the clinic says it will be able to provide the service within 48 hours or less.
That's in sharp contrast to the three- to four"

Other parties dismantling medicare 'by stealth

Other parties dismantling medicare 'by stealth: "Other parties dismantling medicare 'by stealth
' NDP: Accuses premiers, too
View Larger Image
Shirley Douglas came out in support of NDP leader Jack Layton yesterday in Regina. She said the health care debate is at a turning point.
Published: Wednesday, December 14, 2005
REGINA - Jack Layton accused Paul Martin, Stephen Harper and three provincial premiers of launching a 'stealth' campaign to foist private health care on Canada, in a fiery speech in which he positioned his party as the only defender of medicare."

Great -how can you dismantle something which does not work-hmm -more rhetoric with little substance -PR

Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor SES Health pool

Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor: "The SES Research/Osprey Media poll found that while a majority opposed that idea, Canadians aged 40 and older (those most likely to be health care consumers) were also more likely to support private health care insurance and services.
�It�s still a minority opinion but they were the most likely to be game for something like that,� Nanos said.
Women, on the other hand, had fairly strong objections to two-tier
health care. Full reseach results at www.sesresearch.com.

Interesting that the older the population the more willingness there is for health choice. Is it because the more you need health service ,themore choice you want and need? QJ

The poll found 71 per cent of women, compared to 61 per cent of men, thought health care should be the same for all people regardless of their ability to pay.
A detailed breakdown of poll can be obtained at www.sesresearch.com. It was conducted between Nov. 14 and Nov. 16 by telephone with 525 Ontarians and is considered accurate within 4.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
"

National Health standard-a step in the right direction

The new standard wait times
Provinces set benchmarks: new hip within 6 months, cardiac bypass in 2 weeks

Tom Blackwell, National PostPublished: Monday, December 12, 2005

Canada's first-ever national standards for medical wait times will suggest patients get radiation cancer treatment within four weeks, a hip replacement in no more than six months and a non-emergency cardiac bypass in as little as 14 days, health ministers are expected to announce today.
The unveiling of so-called wait-list benchmarks by provincial and territorial ministers is being called a "revolutionary" first step in curing the backlogs that have increasingly bedevilled health care.
But critics say the new standards, which are not binding and do not have to be implemented for at least two years, will be largely meaningless, and called for more drastic action to speed up care.

Showdown over private health care expected this week in Manitoba

McDonald tried to get Manitoba's Health Department to reimburse him and his wife for her MRI in Calgary, but he was turned down.
"They said, `No, services are available here,"' McDonald said. "It's stupid. Yeah, services are available, but what is your definition of available?"
Following the MRI, a specialist determined McDonald's wife needed a knee replacement. She is now on a list for surgery and has been told she may have to wait more than two years.
The patchwork of private services in different provinces has brought more business to health-care brokers, who for a fee will help patients find private services in other provinces or the United States.
"We've had many clients from Winnipeg, from Toronto and elsewhere," said Richard Baker with Timely Medical Alternatives in Vancouver.
"In the last three weeks, we've had about 15 people fly from Winnipeg to Vancouver for MRIs, CT scans."
A health-care economist said the federal government could tackle the issue by reducing transfer payments to provinces that allow MRIs.
"This is what they have to decide. Are they the government of Canada or what are they the government of?" asked Richard Plain, a former professor at the University of Alberta.
"You've got to treat all Canadians equally regardless of where they're located ... and when you don't, you start to get this mess and you start to get this checkerboard."
Over the last 20 years, Ottawa has fined various provinces more than $10 million for violating the Canada Health Act -- usually for allowing user fees for services covered by medicare.

Health Care Consumerism- a novel idea

Health care expert Regina Herzlinger, a Harvard Business School professor advocates consumer choice. In summary " consumer -driven health care" means: (Source National Post)

• create competition
• allow providor or supplier innovation
• provide information to consumers so that they can make informed decisions

That being said, she is the pioneer and leader in another, better solution -- one that could benefit either publicly run or privately run schemes. She calls it "consumer-driven health care" and it involves deploying market disciplines on the medical world.

In 1998, she launched a one-woman crusade, by organizing a high-level conference involving the country's most prominent health-care executives, to hoist her plan on to the public agenda. And it's starting to gain traction.
She defines the problem the same, no matter whether the system is managed by the private or public sector: The consumer is lost in the shuffle and the health care professionals have never had to fix their increasingly cumbersome, inefficient and expensive system.
In essence, she wants to do for the health care system what the big box stores have done for retailing.
She cites the fact that, between 1995 and 1999, 40% of the productivity gains in the United States were in the difficult sector of retailing due to economies of scale, specialization and other efficiencies, she said.
"This can happen in health-care services too. But it's against the grain of the health-care community to permit consumerism to flourish," she said in a recent interview. "Their mindset is they're smart and you're not."

She said there are three steps to drive down costs of any service or product: Create competition for services, which leads to innovation and productivity; allow suppliers to innovate; and provide information to consumers so they can make astute choices.

Stepping on swindlers' toes

Stepping on swindlers' toes: "As for the patients, many had no actual symptoms that would require orthotic supports or were 'prescribed' Birkenstock sandals, though the receipt indicated they had received custom-made orthotics, the College of Chiropodists' discipline decision said.
Mr. Vivekanand was stripped of his licence.
Ms. Finlay said she was contacted recently by a woman who visited a medical supplies retailer at the suggestion of a friend at the nursing home where she worked, and used a $1,600 health benefit claim to obtain new street shoes."

This is the third article on medical swindles by the national post. The question is how do we stop it? QJ

Private health firm built on tax dollars

Private health firm built on tax dollars: "n Canada, the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario was an early investor in InterHealth but sold its stake in 2002, feeling that the company's involvement in private-sector delivery of health care did not mesh with its own beliefs, said Doris Grinspun, the RNAO's executive director."

An interesting article . The point is that the Ontarion Government owns shares in a private health organization. Why not bring back the doctors and nurses to Ontario to improve our level of health here? qJ

All the road's a stage for scams

All the road's a stage for scams: "All the road's a stage for scams"

Third of a 4 part series on Medical fraud . Check out fake auto accidents at the link.

Spending on health to hit all-time high in 2005, hitting 10.4 per cent of GDP

The more we spend on public health -the more it costs . We need to find a way to improve the effectiveness and service delivery for our money . The spending has outpaced our ability to sustain it- QJ


Helen Branswell, Canadian PressPublished: December 8, 2005
TORONTO -- Health spending in Canada is expected to hit $142 billion this year, bringing expenditures in this sector to 10.4 per cent of GDP, an all time high, the Canadian Institute for Health Information reported Wednesday.

An 11-per-cent jump in spending on prescription and non-prescribed medications fuelled the rise - prompting the head of an independent health watchdog organization to predict governments will be moved to address the issue of rising drug consumption and costs.
Michael Decter, chair of the Health Council of Canada, said the significant and ongoing increase in spending on medications is outstripping the increases in costs for other parts of the health sector, including the running of hospitals and paying of physicians.

"When I look at these numbers, I say: 'Well, (with) hospitals and doctors, there are issues, but there aren't real cost pressure issues.' (With) drugs, there's a real cost pressure issue," Decter said.
"It's made more complicated in Canada by the federal-provincial issue . . . but I would say you're going to hear a lot more about the drug issue," he said, noting a task force is to report to federal, provincial and territorial health ministers on issues of drug costs and drug plan coverage next June.

Although Decter was chair of the Canadian Institute for Health Information before taking on the role as head of the Health Council, he had no involvement in the writing of this report.
It noted health spending increased 7.7 per cent overall, though when that figure was adjusted to sift out the impact of inflation the rate of increase was five per cent this year over last, the institute's annual look at health-care expenditures revealed.
"Over the course of the last several years, health-care spending has been growing faster than our economy," institute president Glenda Yeates said in a release

A Call to Action on Health Reform

An old friend of the Frontier Centre flew into Winnipeg in the middle of November and left behind more than the winter’s first blizzard. Johan Hjertqvist’s seminar here laid out the basics of what his Belgium-based organization calls the EuroHealth Consumer Index. An ambitious attempt to benchmark the relative sensitivity of countries to healthcare consumers’ need for information, it may well represent the wave of the future.

The project’s relevance in Canada can be summed up with one person’s name: Jacques Chaoulli. The Québec doctor had sued his provincial government on behalf of a patient who faced long waiting times for orthopedic surgery. In June, Québec’s Supreme Court ruled that a longstanding ban on private health insurance violated the patient’s rights. Although the decision was later stayed for a year, to allow the provincial and federal governments time to respond, it threw down a gauntlet to our Medicare system. Canadians are tired of being pushed around.

Hjertqvist cited the case as one of several elements in the growing demand for
consumer empowerment in healthcare, with escalating costs and unhappiness with waiting lists high on the list. As affluent boomers near the age at which they will max out our healthcare resources, they are increasingly intolerant of the system’s demand that they suffer in silence. If Dr. Mark Godley is willing to sell a private MRI scan at the Maples Surgical Clinic for $695, what exactly gives Health Minister Tim Sale the gall to tell people they can’t spend their own money, or even buy insurance coverage, to get it? Better they should wait months and have taxpayers provide it for $300?

After providing the intellectual ammunition for the 1990s revolution in healthcare delivery in Stockholm—splitting the purchaser from the provider, and encouraging internal markets—Hjertqvist turned to consumer empowerment. He devised the Swedish Health Index, did the research to provide its content and published his first two rounds of results. After a round of carping, public officials in Sweden’s county councils—the level of government responsible for healthcare—responded positively to the rankings.

“It prompted a new discussion about the inequalities in health care,” Hjertqvist explains. “Why do you have better access to certain treatments or shorter waiting lists in one county council or another? Many patient organizations took action based on this index and used it as a tool for advocacy in relation to the governments and medical profession. We noticed that regional governments are taking action now to improve the information they provide. Starting November 1, 2005, we have guaranteed national access, saying that you should not have to wait more than 12 weeks for any kind of treatment.”

That success, combined with the declining importance of national borders within the European Union, prompted the Swede to take the show on the road. He opened the Healthcare Consumer Powerhouse in Brussels and began to compare EU countries. Based on four standards that measure how well healthcare systems respond to service needs, the Index provides patients with the sort of information that magazines like Consumer Reports do for people buying cars or stereos.
Its components look like this:

Patient Rights—Are they recognized by law?

• Do governments provide catalogues of available providers and facilities?
• Is there direct access to specialists and the right to a second opinion?
• Is there no-fault malpractice insurance?
• Do patients have access to their own medical records, and can they travel to other countries for care if it’s denied at home?

Waiting Times—Much like the Fraser Institute’s work in Canada, the Index lists average wait times across a range of treatments. Unlike the Fraser, which gathers data from providers, the Index does it by sampling patients.

Outcomes—The Index compares death rates for a number of medical problems, like pediatric cardiology, maternity, and breast and colon cancer, as well as rates of infection experienced by patients.

Consumer Friendliness—Can you pay extra for extra services?

• Is there convenience of payment?
• Can you renew prescriptions without seeing a doctor again?
• Is information on facilities and services available on the Internet or 24/7 by telephone?
• Pharmaceuticals—Are they subsidized? How easily can cheaper generic varieties be substituted for expensive patented ones? How complete is access to the newest drug remedies?
  
  After assigning weights to these factors, the first Indexers discovered that three countries scored quite well, far above all others: The Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. It’s worth noting, for the ideologues who believe the defining feature of a healthcare system is whether or not it resides in the public sector, that two of those countries fall into that category, while Switzerland—where healthcare is privately provided and funded—does not.

That suits Hjertqvist fine. “Competition among private and public providers is the key to success,” he believes. “The private providers inject a lot of new ideas and a lot of efficiency into the system. I would say that a reasonable mix between public and private and a reasonable share for private providers within the umbrella of public funding are speeding up efficiency and the awareness of consumer attitudes and expectations.”

It’s interesting to speculate how Canada would fare on such an Index, or where individual provinces would stand when compared with each other. We assiduously resist benchmarking of what are arguably our two most important social services, public education and healthcare. Perhaps it’s time for that to change.

If you are interested in receiving the full Frontier Centre health seminar of Hjertqvist overview and suggestions -approximately an hour and a half of provocative thinking in on demand video format- please contact us at : mailto: respondfeedbacknow@yahoo.ca

winnipegsun.com - Election News - Clinics can stay: Layton

winnipegsun.com - Election News - Clinics can stay: Layton

winnipegsun.com - Election News - Target wait times

winnipegsun.com - Election News - Target wait times: "Penalizing or banning private clinics from selling diagnostic testing and other health care services is counter-productive -- if not illegal -- to the public health care system, says Conservative leader Stephen Harper.
'I don't see how it ever benefits a system -- public or private -- to start shutting down health care services,' said Harper, who was in Winnipeg yesterday morning during a stopover en route to Regina. 'People who talk like that are giving an ideological response.'
Harper said his government's solution would be to reduce wait lists for cancer treatment, diagnostic testing and other health care treatment, thereby eliminating the demand for private user-pay services.
'There will be no private, parallel system,' said Harper, noting his government will provide an acceptable publicly-funded health care system for all Canadians.
The crux of the Tory health care platform is a wait-time guarantee that ensures all patients receive treatment within a clinically-acceptable timeframe"

An honest health care system proposed -benchmarking

Sat, December 3, 2005

Honesty on health care



Conservative Leader Stephen Harper announced his party's wait time "guarantee" yesterday. It's not really a guarantee. It's more like a benchmark or a target for provinces to follow. But within the government monopoly system that we have in Canada, it's not a bad approach to take.

Harper says maximum wait times for medically necessary services should be established across Canada.

Failure to provide the service -- be it for hip surgery or MRI scans -- within that established timeframe would mean patients could demand government send them out of province to receive the treatment.

The cost of sending patients to other provinces or the U.S., Harper says, would be an incentive for provinces to meet their targets.

It's not a real guarantee because patients would have no recourse if care weren't provided within the maximum wait time

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - How about the truth?

winnipegsun.com - Editorial - How about the truth?: "Government's monopoly health-care system is faltering in many areas. People want choice in health care and the Maples is planning to provide that choice for MRI scans.
What the public wants to know is whether the government will prevent people from having that choice and if so, why and under what statute?
Sale should stick to the facts, stop misleading Manitobans and debate the issue at hand.
We have enough fearmongering and misinformation in the health-care debate in Canada as it is. "