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"
Saturday, December 03, 2005
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
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
Thursday, December 01, 2005
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. "
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. "
Saturday, November 26, 2005
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - Think tank praises clinic
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - Think tank praises clinic: "Sat, November 26, 2005
Think tank praises clinicPublic, private health-care best
By ROCHELLE SQUIRES, LEGISLATURE REPORTER
mix of public and private health-service offerings would draw more workers to the system, reduce costs, improve service and increase efficiencies, says a public policy analyst.
"Competition from private providers is no threat to the public system, in fact it will save the system," said Dennis Owens of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, a privately funded think tank with offices in Winnipeg.
From his research, Owens believes a monopolized health care system de-emphasizes service and has a harder time attracting and retaining workers.
He doesn't understand why NDP Health Minister Tim Sale is opposed to the Maples Surgical Centre providing MRI scans to the public for a fee.
The clinic -- owned by Dr. Mark Godley -- is poised to begin selling MRI scans to the public for a $695 fee.
"When I hear Tim Sale tell someone he can't sell a product on the public market, I think of a dictator," said Owens. "Cuba and North Korea are the only other countries in the world that would say to a guy like Dr. Godley that he can't provide his service."
A mix of public and private health-service offerings would draw more workers to the system, reduce costs, improve service and increase efficiencies, says a public policy analyst.
'Competition from private providers is no threat to the public system, in fact it will save the system,' said Dennis Owens of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, a privately funded think tank with offices in Winnipeg.
From his research, Owens believes a monopolized health care system de-emphasizes service and has a harder time attracting and retaining workers.
He doesn't understand why NDP Health Minister Tim Sale is opposed to the Maples Surgical Centre providing MRI scans to the public for a fee. "
Think tank praises clinicPublic, private health-care best
By ROCHELLE SQUIRES, LEGISLATURE REPORTER
mix of public and private health-service offerings would draw more workers to the system, reduce costs, improve service and increase efficiencies, says a public policy analyst.
"Competition from private providers is no threat to the public system, in fact it will save the system," said Dennis Owens of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, a privately funded think tank with offices in Winnipeg.
From his research, Owens believes a monopolized health care system de-emphasizes service and has a harder time attracting and retaining workers.
He doesn't understand why NDP Health Minister Tim Sale is opposed to the Maples Surgical Centre providing MRI scans to the public for a fee.
The clinic -- owned by Dr. Mark Godley -- is poised to begin selling MRI scans to the public for a $695 fee.
"When I hear Tim Sale tell someone he can't sell a product on the public market, I think of a dictator," said Owens. "Cuba and North Korea are the only other countries in the world that would say to a guy like Dr. Godley that he can't provide his service."
A mix of public and private health-service offerings would draw more workers to the system, reduce costs, improve service and increase efficiencies, says a public policy analyst.
'Competition from private providers is no threat to the public system, in fact it will save the system,' said Dennis Owens of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, a privately funded think tank with offices in Winnipeg.
From his research, Owens believes a monopolized health care system de-emphasizes service and has a harder time attracting and retaining workers.
He doesn't understand why NDP Health Minister Tim Sale is opposed to the Maples Surgical Centre providing MRI scans to the public for a fee. "
Friday, November 25, 2005
Candidate for legal health challenge needed
Any legal means to get value for our money is encouraged . Are you the one who will make the difference? QJ
Hello friends of freedom,
Now that Quebec's health care law has been invalidated by the Supreme Court of Canada, the Canadian Constitution Foundation wants to challenge regressive health care laws in other provinces, using the Chaoulli decision as a precedent.
We are looking for a suitable plaintiff, for whom we can provide free legal representation in challenging a provincial law. The plaintiff must be unafraid of publicity, and willing to do radio, newspaper and television interviews from time to time. The plaintiff must be personally affected by the legal prohibition on buying private medical insurance, ie. someone who is suffering on a waiting list, unable to access necessary medical care.
There won't be any financial stress for the plaintiff, as legal representation will be provided without cost.
However, there will be stress in "going public" with the complaint, doing media interviews from time to time, being cross-examined by the government's lawyers, plus a few court appearances.
The battle, from start to finish, will take years, not months.
The plaintiff must be willing to stick with it, even if she or he obtains medical treatment before the court makes a ruling.
If you know of a person who is willing and able to handle the stress of being a plaintiff -- for the good cause of freedom -- please refer them to me, or pass this e-mail along to them.
Yours sincerely,
John Carpay
Executive Director
Canadian Constitution Foundation
Phone: 403-592-1731
Email: jcarpay@shaw.ca
Hello friends of freedom,
Now that Quebec's health care law has been invalidated by the Supreme Court of Canada, the Canadian Constitution Foundation wants to challenge regressive health care laws in other provinces, using the Chaoulli decision as a precedent.
We are looking for a suitable plaintiff, for whom we can provide free legal representation in challenging a provincial law. The plaintiff must be unafraid of publicity, and willing to do radio, newspaper and television interviews from time to time. The plaintiff must be personally affected by the legal prohibition on buying private medical insurance, ie. someone who is suffering on a waiting list, unable to access necessary medical care.
There won't be any financial stress for the plaintiff, as legal representation will be provided without cost.
However, there will be stress in "going public" with the complaint, doing media interviews from time to time, being cross-examined by the government's lawyers, plus a few court appearances.
The battle, from start to finish, will take years, not months.
The plaintiff must be willing to stick with it, even if she or he obtains medical treatment before the court makes a ruling.
If you know of a person who is willing and able to handle the stress of being a plaintiff -- for the good cause of freedom -- please refer them to me, or pass this e-mail along to them.
Yours sincerely,
John Carpay
Executive Director
Canadian Constitution Foundation
Phone: 403-592-1731
Email: jcarpay@shaw.ca
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - NDP all alone on punishing private MRIs
More on the right to provide basic services outside of the health monopoly. QJ
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - NDP all alone on punishing private MRIs: "Not violating the act
In the late 1990s, when Ottawa fined provinces for allowing private clinics to charge facility fees, they fined all provinces at the same time, including Manitoba.
And all provinces fell in line and ended the practice. Not the case with MRIs and other diagnostic tests.
For starters, the Canada Health Act says diagnostic testing, unless it's provided in a hospital, is not an insured service. Which means clinics can charge for them and they're not violating the act.
Manitoba's own regulations under the Health Services Act, Sec. 17, says the same thing. The service is not insured 'unless provided in a hospital as an in-patient or out-patient service.'
So both laws say it's OK. And the feds are not going to act on it, despite their verbal warnings over the past few years. "
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - NDP all alone on punishing private MRIs: "Not violating the act
In the late 1990s, when Ottawa fined provinces for allowing private clinics to charge facility fees, they fined all provinces at the same time, including Manitoba.
And all provinces fell in line and ended the practice. Not the case with MRIs and other diagnostic tests.
For starters, the Canada Health Act says diagnostic testing, unless it's provided in a hospital, is not an insured service. Which means clinics can charge for them and they're not violating the act.
Manitoba's own regulations under the Health Services Act, Sec. 17, says the same thing. The service is not insured 'unless provided in a hospital as an in-patient or out-patient service.'
So both laws say it's OK. And the feds are not going to act on it, despite their verbal warnings over the past few years. "
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
National Post Canadians want more choice and lower waiting times
National Post: "A majority of respondents to the survey believe wait times for elective surgery have become longer in the past two years -- 66% of the public, 64% of nurses and 58% of physicians.
This could translate into growing support for alternative options, he said."
This could translate into growing support for alternative options, he said."
Monday, November 21, 2005
Hamilton Why dont they let foreign doctors to practise?
This is in reference to the preceding post. Why does the government not create a new class of practi0nioners as a alternative to the existing crisis ? Stop gap the problem -while the existing system gets fixed. QJ
Hamilton: "OMA: shortage places system 'at risk'
By Keith Leslie
Canadian Press
Monday, November 21, 2005
CREDIT: National Post
The Ontario Medical Association says the province's health care system is 'at risk' due to a shortage of doctors.
CH HAMILTON
Back to Hamilton city page
OMA: shortage places system 'at risk'
By Keith Leslie
Canadian Press
Monday, November 21, 2005
CREDIT: National Post
The Ontario Medical Association says the province's health care system is 'at risk' due to a shortage of doctors.
ADVERTISEMENT
TORONTO -- The stability of Ontario's health-care system is "at risk'' due to the shortage of physicians -- especially family doctors -- according to a new study prepared for the Ontario Medical Association.
The Canadian Press obtained a copy of the report, prepared by the OMA's human resources committee, which said the doctor shortage in Ontario had become much worse since it first warned the problem represented a "looming crisis'' in 1999.
"The year 2005 finds the province in the midst of a deepening physician resources crisis,'' it concludes.
"Family medicine in particular has deteriorated into a dying specialty and requires urgent resuscitation.''
Last Thursday, Health Minister George Smitherman announced an additional $33 million in government funding for medical schools to create 141 new family residency positions in the province next year. Smitherman said that means there will be 337 more family doctors ready to practise by 2008.
The OMA's report acknowledged the Liberal government's efforts to address the doctor shortage, but gave the province an overall grade of C, and said much more must be done.
"The government has taken a number of steps to increase the number of doctors trained in Ontario, and certifying those who trained abroad...(and) to make Ontario more competitive with other jurisdictions,'' OMA President Dr. Greg Flynn said in an e-mail exchange with The Canadian Press.
"Unfortunately there remains more to do before we will see real improvements in the ability of patients to access the necessary care that doctors provide in our communities.''
The OMA report said the province needs at least 2,100 physicians. It estimated there are 1.2 million Ontario residents without a family doctor -- 10 per cent of the population -- and warned that number would grow to 1.4 million in 2006.
Ontario now is seventh in Canada for the population per physician ratio, ahead of only the much less populous provinces of New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.
The report also warned the number of physicians working in specialties with long waiting lists -- such as diagnostic services, oncology, orthopedics and ophthalmology -- is also declining.
"Even worse, OMA projections indicate a further deterioration of the physician supply over the next five years, despite the efforts taken to ease the shortage.''
Writing from Sault Ste. Marie, Flynn said he heard about the problem in every one of the 22 Ontario communities he's visited in the last few months to meet with municipal leaders, health-care workers and patients.
"The number one concern in each of those communities remains the doctor shortage,'' he said.
The report warned that statistics alone "don't adequately describe the depth of the problem,'' noting that while the population is aging and putting more demands on the health-care system, doctors are getting older too. It found 19 per cent of practising MDs -- about 4,100 Ontario doctors -- are over age 60, and 11 per cent -- or 2,300 doctors -- are over age 65.
"Retirement alone will greatly impact physician supply over the next five years, while many other older MDs will be scaling back their practices, adding to the overall shortage of physician services,'' it said.
The report provides a lengthy list of recommendations to address the shortage, and said the government should make it easier for doctors from other provinces to work in Ontario and for the more than 10,000 Canadian-trained physicians working in the United States to return and work here.
"Much more can be done to successfully and quickly recruit excellent physicians from this pool,'' it said.
The OMA also wants the province to make family medicine a much more attractive option for students, with better financial incentives, and also give the students more opportunities to re-certify in another specialty.
© Canadian Press 2005
TORONTO -- The stability of Ontario's health-care system is 'at risk'' due to the shortage of physicians -- especially family doctors -- according to a new study prepared for the Ontario Medical Association. "
Hamilton: "OMA: shortage places system 'at risk'
By Keith Leslie
Canadian Press
Monday, November 21, 2005
CREDIT: National Post
The Ontario Medical Association says the province's health care system is 'at risk' due to a shortage of doctors.
CH HAMILTON
Back to Hamilton city page
OMA: shortage places system 'at risk'
By Keith Leslie
Canadian Press
Monday, November 21, 2005
CREDIT: National Post
The Ontario Medical Association says the province's health care system is 'at risk' due to a shortage of doctors.
ADVERTISEMENT
TORONTO -- The stability of Ontario's health-care system is "at risk'' due to the shortage of physicians -- especially family doctors -- according to a new study prepared for the Ontario Medical Association.
The Canadian Press obtained a copy of the report, prepared by the OMA's human resources committee, which said the doctor shortage in Ontario had become much worse since it first warned the problem represented a "looming crisis'' in 1999.
"The year 2005 finds the province in the midst of a deepening physician resources crisis,'' it concludes.
"Family medicine in particular has deteriorated into a dying specialty and requires urgent resuscitation.''
Last Thursday, Health Minister George Smitherman announced an additional $33 million in government funding for medical schools to create 141 new family residency positions in the province next year. Smitherman said that means there will be 337 more family doctors ready to practise by 2008.
The OMA's report acknowledged the Liberal government's efforts to address the doctor shortage, but gave the province an overall grade of C, and said much more must be done.
"The government has taken a number of steps to increase the number of doctors trained in Ontario, and certifying those who trained abroad...(and) to make Ontario more competitive with other jurisdictions,'' OMA President Dr. Greg Flynn said in an e-mail exchange with The Canadian Press.
"Unfortunately there remains more to do before we will see real improvements in the ability of patients to access the necessary care that doctors provide in our communities.''
The OMA report said the province needs at least 2,100 physicians. It estimated there are 1.2 million Ontario residents without a family doctor -- 10 per cent of the population -- and warned that number would grow to 1.4 million in 2006.
Ontario now is seventh in Canada for the population per physician ratio, ahead of only the much less populous provinces of New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.
The report also warned the number of physicians working in specialties with long waiting lists -- such as diagnostic services, oncology, orthopedics and ophthalmology -- is also declining.
"Even worse, OMA projections indicate a further deterioration of the physician supply over the next five years, despite the efforts taken to ease the shortage.''
Writing from Sault Ste. Marie, Flynn said he heard about the problem in every one of the 22 Ontario communities he's visited in the last few months to meet with municipal leaders, health-care workers and patients.
"The number one concern in each of those communities remains the doctor shortage,'' he said.
The report warned that statistics alone "don't adequately describe the depth of the problem,'' noting that while the population is aging and putting more demands on the health-care system, doctors are getting older too. It found 19 per cent of practising MDs -- about 4,100 Ontario doctors -- are over age 60, and 11 per cent -- or 2,300 doctors -- are over age 65.
"Retirement alone will greatly impact physician supply over the next five years, while many other older MDs will be scaling back their practices, adding to the overall shortage of physician services,'' it said.
The report provides a lengthy list of recommendations to address the shortage, and said the government should make it easier for doctors from other provinces to work in Ontario and for the more than 10,000 Canadian-trained physicians working in the United States to return and work here.
"Much more can be done to successfully and quickly recruit excellent physicians from this pool,'' it said.
The OMA also wants the province to make family medicine a much more attractive option for students, with better financial incentives, and also give the students more opportunities to re-certify in another specialty.
© Canadian Press 2005
TORONTO -- The stability of Ontario's health-care system is 'at risk'' due to the shortage of physicians -- especially family doctors -- according to a new study prepared for the Ontario Medical Association. "
Sunday, November 20, 2005
www.notcanada.com
Unbelievable - these people are resources that are misused. QJ It is tradgic that Canada has so many options and yet cannot mobilize them for the common good . Lets do something to change the situation . Q-J We should all be getting tired of the non performance.
www.notcanada.com: "Why Is Canada Shutting Out Doctors?
While millions of Canadians can�t find a doctor, thousands of foreign physicians can�t get a licence to practise
"
www.notcanada.com: "Why Is Canada Shutting Out Doctors?
While millions of Canadians can�t find a doctor, thousands of foreign physicians can�t get a licence to practise
"
winnipegsun.com - Tom Brodbeck - Don't blame NDP gov't for everything
More voices for choice and a good review of why MRI's should not be apublic monopoly.
The key is that the monopoly cannot keep up with the demand. "Some monopoly and only in Canada "-huh! Q-J
winnipegsun.com - Tom Brodbeck - Don't blame NDP gov't for everything
But there isn't.
You can blame the NDP government in Manitoba for screwing up a lot of things in health care since it took office in 1999.
But on diagnostic services, they've done about as much as any government could be expected to do without raising taxes any further than they already have.
You can accuse them of breaking their election promises on reducing these wait times, because they have broken their promise.
But the truth is, there's not a whole lot more they could have done on diagnostics.
In the 1990s, it was fashionable to blame health care woes on government cut-backs.
The federal Liberals slashed transfer payments to the provinces by some $6 billion a year, making it very difficult for provinces such as Manitoba to increase funding for health care.
Despite the federal cuts, the former Filmon government was able to make small increases to its health budget in the mid-1990s, followed by several years of healthy increases until they were defeated in 1999.
The Doer government inherited a strong set of books and revenue streams when it came to office and dumped billions into the health-care budget, some of which did some good, much of which got lost in a growing, bloated bureaucracy.
Diagnostic services -- MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds -- were the beneficiaries of some of those riches.
In Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority was able to substantially increase its capacity for diagnostic services.
Trouble is, the demand is so gargantuan for MRIs and CT scans, it's almost impossible for any government to keep pace with it.
In 1999, the WRHA was doing about 1,000 scans a month. There were about 1,500 people on the waiting list at that time, which stood at around three to four months.
Fast-forward six years. The WRHA is now doing twice as many scans to try to eliminate the backlog.
But the demand is too great.
MRIs are very popular and useful tools for doctors to diagnose all kinds of ailments and the government monopoly system simply can't keep up with the volume.
The more capacity they add, the greater the demand grows.
Health Minister Tim Sale said recently that the government has enough MRIs in the province to provide the volume of scans it can afford.
And that's the key -- what it can afford.
The government recently added another MRI at the nationalized Pan Am Clinic which is expected to add more volume to the system, although a good chunk of that volume has been purchased by the Workers Compensation Board for priority access.
(If you're an injured worker covered by WCB and require an MRI, you will get speedier access to an MRI at Pan Am than the average guy on the street. Two-tier? Of course it is.)
But even with all the added capacity, the wait list for MRIs has still not come down and even if it does, it will still likely be an eight- to 10-week waiting period.
Which is why people should have the right to use their own money to buy an MRI scan privately if they choose.
And that's why the Maples Surgical Centre in Winnipeg plans to provide MRI services to the public for $695 a scan.
It's not because the government has necessarily done a poor job in providing MRI services. It's just that at some point you have to give your head a shake and realize that government can't be the sole provider of all health care services. There should be alternative options to access care.
We do it with schools. Government provides a universally accessible public school system. And much of it is excellent.
Nevertheless, people have the right to buy education services privately if they choose, many paying thousands of dollars a year to put their children into schools of their choice.
The government can't be the sole provider of K-12 schooling. It can ensure that basic schooling is available to all. But it can't be all things to all people.
Nor can health care.
It's time we stopped fooling ourselves that it can.
( It is also time to allow others to offer the needed services QJ)
The key is that the monopoly cannot keep up with the demand. "Some monopoly and only in Canada "-huh! Q-J
winnipegsun.com - Tom Brodbeck - Don't blame NDP gov't for everything
But there isn't.
You can blame the NDP government in Manitoba for screwing up a lot of things in health care since it took office in 1999.
But on diagnostic services, they've done about as much as any government could be expected to do without raising taxes any further than they already have.
You can accuse them of breaking their election promises on reducing these wait times, because they have broken their promise.
But the truth is, there's not a whole lot more they could have done on diagnostics.
In the 1990s, it was fashionable to blame health care woes on government cut-backs.
The federal Liberals slashed transfer payments to the provinces by some $6 billion a year, making it very difficult for provinces such as Manitoba to increase funding for health care.
Despite the federal cuts, the former Filmon government was able to make small increases to its health budget in the mid-1990s, followed by several years of healthy increases until they were defeated in 1999.
The Doer government inherited a strong set of books and revenue streams when it came to office and dumped billions into the health-care budget, some of which did some good, much of which got lost in a growing, bloated bureaucracy.
Diagnostic services -- MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds -- were the beneficiaries of some of those riches.
In Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority was able to substantially increase its capacity for diagnostic services.
Trouble is, the demand is so gargantuan for MRIs and CT scans, it's almost impossible for any government to keep pace with it.
In 1999, the WRHA was doing about 1,000 scans a month. There were about 1,500 people on the waiting list at that time, which stood at around three to four months.
Fast-forward six years. The WRHA is now doing twice as many scans to try to eliminate the backlog.
But the demand is too great.
MRIs are very popular and useful tools for doctors to diagnose all kinds of ailments and the government monopoly system simply can't keep up with the volume.
The more capacity they add, the greater the demand grows.
Health Minister Tim Sale said recently that the government has enough MRIs in the province to provide the volume of scans it can afford.
And that's the key -- what it can afford.
The government recently added another MRI at the nationalized Pan Am Clinic which is expected to add more volume to the system, although a good chunk of that volume has been purchased by the Workers Compensation Board for priority access.
(If you're an injured worker covered by WCB and require an MRI, you will get speedier access to an MRI at Pan Am than the average guy on the street. Two-tier? Of course it is.)
But even with all the added capacity, the wait list for MRIs has still not come down and even if it does, it will still likely be an eight- to 10-week waiting period.
Which is why people should have the right to use their own money to buy an MRI scan privately if they choose.
And that's why the Maples Surgical Centre in Winnipeg plans to provide MRI services to the public for $695 a scan.
It's not because the government has necessarily done a poor job in providing MRI services. It's just that at some point you have to give your head a shake and realize that government can't be the sole provider of all health care services. There should be alternative options to access care.
We do it with schools. Government provides a universally accessible public school system. And much of it is excellent.
Nevertheless, people have the right to buy education services privately if they choose, many paying thousands of dollars a year to put their children into schools of their choice.
The government can't be the sole provider of K-12 schooling. It can ensure that basic schooling is available to all. But it can't be all things to all people.
Nor can health care.
It's time we stopped fooling ourselves that it can.
( It is also time to allow others to offer the needed services QJ)
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Just what the doctor ordered
Good news some people support health choice. It is time that the major media take action and hold the public health authorities to account. QJ
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Just what the doctor ordered
The Maples Surgical Centre is planning to sell MRI scans directly to the public. It's good news for health care in Manitoba. And it's exactly the kind of alternatives people need to get the best available care for them and their families.
Canadians have for years relied on a government monopoly health-care system to access care. It's given us mixed results.
While we have some of the best medical practitioners in the world in Canada and we receive excellent medical care in many situations, there are also serious shortcomings in the system.
One of the biggest ones is the unacceptably long waiting lists for services such as surgery and diagnostic imaging.
Governments have been unable to bring these waiting lists down over the years. And it hasn't been for a lack of money.
In Manitoba, the provincial health care budget has soared to $3.4 billion from $2.4 billion just five years ago. Despite that, the typical wait for hip replacement surgery is two years. And the wait for an elective MRI is three to four months.
The Maples Surgical Centre says it will be able to book an MRI within 48 hours.
There's a fee, of course. It's $695. But for those whose priority it is to get an MRI scan as quickly as possible, they will now have the option of using their own money for expedited service.
We think that's a right people deserve.
Eventually, these types of services may be covered under private health insurance plans, which many people already buy.
There will be some who criticize this free-market approach to health care, claiming it's the slippery slope to the end of medicare.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
When a clinic like The Maples sells MRIs to the public directly, it does nothing to erode the quality or quantity of MRI scans the government provides.
In fact, people who buy the scans privately take themselves off the public queue and make that list shorter for others.
Besides, a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling on private health insurance is clear. The top court ruled recently in a Quebec case that government can't deny people the right to buy private medical services if government is not providing those services in a timely manner.
Clearly, government is not providing MRIs in a timely manner.
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Just what the doctor ordered
The Maples Surgical Centre is planning to sell MRI scans directly to the public. It's good news for health care in Manitoba. And it's exactly the kind of alternatives people need to get the best available care for them and their families.
Canadians have for years relied on a government monopoly health-care system to access care. It's given us mixed results.
While we have some of the best medical practitioners in the world in Canada and we receive excellent medical care in many situations, there are also serious shortcomings in the system.
One of the biggest ones is the unacceptably long waiting lists for services such as surgery and diagnostic imaging.
Governments have been unable to bring these waiting lists down over the years. And it hasn't been for a lack of money.
In Manitoba, the provincial health care budget has soared to $3.4 billion from $2.4 billion just five years ago. Despite that, the typical wait for hip replacement surgery is two years. And the wait for an elective MRI is three to four months.
The Maples Surgical Centre says it will be able to book an MRI within 48 hours.
There's a fee, of course. It's $695. But for those whose priority it is to get an MRI scan as quickly as possible, they will now have the option of using their own money for expedited service.
We think that's a right people deserve.
Eventually, these types of services may be covered under private health insurance plans, which many people already buy.
There will be some who criticize this free-market approach to health care, claiming it's the slippery slope to the end of medicare.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
When a clinic like The Maples sells MRIs to the public directly, it does nothing to erode the quality or quantity of MRI scans the government provides.
In fact, people who buy the scans privately take themselves off the public queue and make that list shorter for others.
Besides, a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling on private health insurance is clear. The top court ruled recently in a Quebec case that government can't deny people the right to buy private medical services if government is not providing those services in a timely manner.
Clearly, government is not providing MRIs in a timely manner.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Has Canadian health progressed from MEDIEVAL TIMES-HUMOUR
What knowledge did medieval people have in the way of health?
There were many myths and superstitions about health and hygiene in medieval Europe, as there still are today. People believed, for example, that disease was spread by bad odors. It was also assumed that diseases of the body resulted from sins of the soul. Many people sought relief from their ills through meditation, prayer, pilgrimages, and other nonmedical methods.
And in Canada today
The health myths continue. The bad odor –of having the best health system in the world –is spread by Ottawa and the health priest cast-along with the message that it is sinful to use health services not provided by their public health temples- that are seemingly self- serving and , overstaffed with high paid health temple workers. Many people make pilgrimages to other lands and places to seek treatment.
Did they really think that all illness was the result of sin?
Sin was regarded by early medieval authors as the cause of sickness in the sense that without sin there would have been no material evil. This obviously does not imply that a sinful individual would become sick. One's own general sinfulness was often given as the cause of one's own sickness. This was more a result of a kind of a "guilt trip" rather than actual cause and effect occurrence.
And in Canada today
It is a sin to use remedies or services that are not sanctioned by Ottawa’s National Health Act or the directives of the provincial Health Temple authorities. In a convoluted way, the message is that if you use the public health system there will
be no sickness.
What was their view on the body and its 'humors?'
The body was viewed as a part of the universe, a concept derived from the Greeks and Romans. Four humors, or body fluids, were directly related to the four elements: fire=yellow bile or choler; water=phlegm; earth=black bile; air=blood. These four humors had to be balanced. Too much of one was thought to cause a change in personality--for example, too much black bile could create melancholy.
And in Canada today
The four elements have been changed to defend the current status quo. fire=campaigns against other health delivery options, Water= the need and right for obscene amounts of public money, earth= the right to legislate laws for the health monopoly, Air= the right to keep health customers waiting and needy .
Many people today think the existing health system is out of balance and needs fixing.
What did they use in the form of medicine?
Medieval remedies were often herbal in nature, but also included ground earthworms, urine, and animal excrement. Many medieval medical manuscripts contained recipes for remedies that called for hundreds of therapeutic substances--the notion that every substance in nature held some sort of power accounts for the enormous variety of substances.
And in Canada today
Major remedies are made from the same ingredient but are sold by major drug companies -often as a adjunct to the “authorized” health temple authority. The cost of the remedy has increased as the supply is artificially limited, and the demand increased through legislation. Many remedies that work are not allowed because that would reduce the need for more expensive legislated alternatives produced by friends of the health temple authority.
The health authorities are trying to control and legislate any alternative healing source ingredients. Fortunately –they have not always been successful. More people are taking control of their own health, taking preventive measures, as they become more cynical of the “expensive” free public health delivery system. The internet and the instant knowledge available have made this personal act of empowerment and defiance of the given monopoly authorities easier.
Did everyone have access to a doctor?
In medieval times, medical treatment was available mainly to the wealthy, and those living in villages rarely had the help of doctors, who practiced mostly in the cities and courts. Many treatments were administered by people outside the medical tradition. Coroners' rolls from the time reveal how lay persons often made sophisticated medical judgments without the aid of medical experts.
And in Canada today
The myth that everyone gets treated equally, whatever the location or class, is propagated- but unfortunately not true. In reality, those who are wealthy can get service by escaping the existing monopoly jurisdiction and avoid the fatal waiting lines- which are free. The world has healthy alternatives that you can choose if you have the means, will and brains to do so.
Lay persons still make sophisticated judgments without the aid of medical experts. These lay persons consume a disproportionate amount of the health budget. There are a lot of these non health productive people in the “health temple system. The list, by no means exhaustive, includes the temple administrators, federal and provincial health bureaucracies, and all the gatekeepers of the status quo.
Fortunately, there are people and organizations, who are feed up with current medieval system of health delivery in Canada. Help them to help you be healthy.
Health Choice is a wonderful right that must be nourished.
There were many myths and superstitions about health and hygiene in medieval Europe, as there still are today. People believed, for example, that disease was spread by bad odors. It was also assumed that diseases of the body resulted from sins of the soul. Many people sought relief from their ills through meditation, prayer, pilgrimages, and other nonmedical methods.
And in Canada today
The health myths continue. The bad odor –of having the best health system in the world –is spread by Ottawa and the health priest cast-along with the message that it is sinful to use health services not provided by their public health temples- that are seemingly self- serving and , overstaffed with high paid health temple workers. Many people make pilgrimages to other lands and places to seek treatment.
Did they really think that all illness was the result of sin?
Sin was regarded by early medieval authors as the cause of sickness in the sense that without sin there would have been no material evil. This obviously does not imply that a sinful individual would become sick. One's own general sinfulness was often given as the cause of one's own sickness. This was more a result of a kind of a "guilt trip" rather than actual cause and effect occurrence.
And in Canada today
It is a sin to use remedies or services that are not sanctioned by Ottawa’s National Health Act or the directives of the provincial Health Temple authorities. In a convoluted way, the message is that if you use the public health system there will
be no sickness.
What was their view on the body and its 'humors?'
The body was viewed as a part of the universe, a concept derived from the Greeks and Romans. Four humors, or body fluids, were directly related to the four elements: fire=yellow bile or choler; water=phlegm; earth=black bile; air=blood. These four humors had to be balanced. Too much of one was thought to cause a change in personality--for example, too much black bile could create melancholy.
And in Canada today
The four elements have been changed to defend the current status quo. fire=campaigns against other health delivery options, Water= the need and right for obscene amounts of public money, earth= the right to legislate laws for the health monopoly, Air= the right to keep health customers waiting and needy .
Many people today think the existing health system is out of balance and needs fixing.
What did they use in the form of medicine?
Medieval remedies were often herbal in nature, but also included ground earthworms, urine, and animal excrement. Many medieval medical manuscripts contained recipes for remedies that called for hundreds of therapeutic substances--the notion that every substance in nature held some sort of power accounts for the enormous variety of substances.
And in Canada today
Major remedies are made from the same ingredient but are sold by major drug companies -often as a adjunct to the “authorized” health temple authority. The cost of the remedy has increased as the supply is artificially limited, and the demand increased through legislation. Many remedies that work are not allowed because that would reduce the need for more expensive legislated alternatives produced by friends of the health temple authority.
The health authorities are trying to control and legislate any alternative healing source ingredients. Fortunately –they have not always been successful. More people are taking control of their own health, taking preventive measures, as they become more cynical of the “expensive” free public health delivery system. The internet and the instant knowledge available have made this personal act of empowerment and defiance of the given monopoly authorities easier.
Did everyone have access to a doctor?
In medieval times, medical treatment was available mainly to the wealthy, and those living in villages rarely had the help of doctors, who practiced mostly in the cities and courts. Many treatments were administered by people outside the medical tradition. Coroners' rolls from the time reveal how lay persons often made sophisticated medical judgments without the aid of medical experts.
And in Canada today
The myth that everyone gets treated equally, whatever the location or class, is propagated- but unfortunately not true. In reality, those who are wealthy can get service by escaping the existing monopoly jurisdiction and avoid the fatal waiting lines- which are free. The world has healthy alternatives that you can choose if you have the means, will and brains to do so.
Lay persons still make sophisticated judgments without the aid of medical experts. These lay persons consume a disproportionate amount of the health budget. There are a lot of these non health productive people in the “health temple system. The list, by no means exhaustive, includes the temple administrators, federal and provincial health bureaucracies, and all the gatekeepers of the status quo.
Fortunately, there are people and organizations, who are feed up with current medieval system of health delivery in Canada. Help them to help you be healthy.
Health Choice is a wonderful right that must be nourished.
Good news -providing a needed service is not illegal in Canada
Health fight aheadTories fret 'Americanization' with paid MRIs
By TOM BRODBECK
Health Minister Tim Sale has not shut the door on Manitobans' right to buy MRI scans from a private clinic in Winnipeg.
But the Opposition Tories have, calling the new service proposed by the Maples Surgical Centre the "Americanization" of health care.
Go figure.
The privately owned clinic is planning to sell the diagnostic scans to patients directly for $695.
They're promising a 48-hour turnaround on the service, a far cry from the three to four months patients in Winnipeg have to wait for an elective MRI at a government-run hospital.
Charging patients directly for an MRI at a private clinic is legal under the federal Canada Health Act because it's performed outside a hospital.
But provinces have the power to shut the practice down through provincial legislation if they wish. They would have to prosecute the clinic to do it, though.
When asked about the Maples' proposal yesterday, Sale was noncommittal.
"Well let's wait and see until their machine gets licensed," said Sale. "As far as we know it hasn't been licensed and no approvals have been given for what it can do."
So he hasn't said no and he hasn't said yes.
Private clinics in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia already sell MRI scans, CT scans and ultrasounds directly to patients.
Manitoba would be the fifth province added to the list.
It would give patients the choice to buy an MRI directly from the clinic by paying out of pocket for the cost.
I asked Tory Opposition health critic Heather Stefanson what her party's position is on the private MRIs. She said the Tories are against allowing people to buy an MRI scan with their own money.
"At this point in time, we would not support that," said Stefanson. "I think it's something that we are going to have to discuss further as a party."
She also slammed the Doer government for letting the health-care system get to this point.
Tired old buzz words
"Ironically what's happening here is that the NDP is forcing the Americanization of our system," said Stefanson. "If the NDP properly managed the system and utilized public-private partnerships to help deliver services, I don't think we'd be in the situation we're in right now."
Funny, I would have thought a Conservative party would have been more in favour of patient choice. I expect NDP politicians to trot out tired old buzz words like the "Americanization" of health care. But I didn't expect it from the Tories.
Maybe it's just part of the identity crisis they're going through.
The issue of whether patients should be allowed to pay directly for diagnostic scans will eventually be before government.
Premier Gary Doer and his cabinet will have to decide at some point whether they're going to accept this or not.
When patients are forced to wait 12 to 16 weeks for an MRI in the government monopoly system, isn't it time to break up that monopoly?
Government can, and should, continue to cover MRIs for whoever needs them under the province's health insurance system.
But they should also allow people to use their own money to buy the scans directly if they choose.
You would think in a free and democratic society that government wouldn't deprive people of that choice.
This one could be a big battle, folks.
Reach Tom at 632-2742 or by e-mail at tbrodbeck@wpgsun.com.
By TOM BRODBECK
Health Minister Tim Sale has not shut the door on Manitobans' right to buy MRI scans from a private clinic in Winnipeg.
But the Opposition Tories have, calling the new service proposed by the Maples Surgical Centre the "Americanization" of health care.
Go figure.
The privately owned clinic is planning to sell the diagnostic scans to patients directly for $695.
They're promising a 48-hour turnaround on the service, a far cry from the three to four months patients in Winnipeg have to wait for an elective MRI at a government-run hospital.
Charging patients directly for an MRI at a private clinic is legal under the federal Canada Health Act because it's performed outside a hospital.
But provinces have the power to shut the practice down through provincial legislation if they wish. They would have to prosecute the clinic to do it, though.
When asked about the Maples' proposal yesterday, Sale was noncommittal.
"Well let's wait and see until their machine gets licensed," said Sale. "As far as we know it hasn't been licensed and no approvals have been given for what it can do."
So he hasn't said no and he hasn't said yes.
Private clinics in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia already sell MRI scans, CT scans and ultrasounds directly to patients.
Manitoba would be the fifth province added to the list.
It would give patients the choice to buy an MRI directly from the clinic by paying out of pocket for the cost.
I asked Tory Opposition health critic Heather Stefanson what her party's position is on the private MRIs. She said the Tories are against allowing people to buy an MRI scan with their own money.
"At this point in time, we would not support that," said Stefanson. "I think it's something that we are going to have to discuss further as a party."
She also slammed the Doer government for letting the health-care system get to this point.
Tired old buzz words
"Ironically what's happening here is that the NDP is forcing the Americanization of our system," said Stefanson. "If the NDP properly managed the system and utilized public-private partnerships to help deliver services, I don't think we'd be in the situation we're in right now."
Funny, I would have thought a Conservative party would have been more in favour of patient choice. I expect NDP politicians to trot out tired old buzz words like the "Americanization" of health care. But I didn't expect it from the Tories.
Maybe it's just part of the identity crisis they're going through.
The issue of whether patients should be allowed to pay directly for diagnostic scans will eventually be before government.
Premier Gary Doer and his cabinet will have to decide at some point whether they're going to accept this or not.
When patients are forced to wait 12 to 16 weeks for an MRI in the government monopoly system, isn't it time to break up that monopoly?
Government can, and should, continue to cover MRIs for whoever needs them under the province's health insurance system.
But they should also allow people to use their own money to buy the scans directly if they choose.
You would think in a free and democratic society that government wouldn't deprive people of that choice.
This one could be a big battle, folks.
Reach Tom at 632-2742 or by e-mail at tbrodbeck@wpgsun.com.
Special rules for the special people
"Health-care hypocrisy
Why is Prime Minister Paul Martin silent on the growing moves to privatize health care in Quebec, which even his own party in that province now supports?
Quebec already has more private medical clinics than any other province in Canada -- including Martin's favourite whipping boy when it comes to medicare, Alberta.
Martin can't plead ignorance about the huge number of private clinics in Quebec. His own doctor runs one.
Last weekend, the Quebec wing of the federal Liberal party endorsed a resolution calling for the expansion of private health care in that province as a way of combating unacceptably long waiting lists for medical treatment. "
Why is Prime Minister Paul Martin silent on the growing moves to privatize health care in Quebec, which even his own party in that province now supports?
Quebec already has more private medical clinics than any other province in Canada -- including Martin's favourite whipping boy when it comes to medicare, Alberta.
Martin can't plead ignorance about the huge number of private clinics in Quebec. His own doctor runs one.
Last weekend, the Quebec wing of the federal Liberal party endorsed a resolution calling for the expansion of private health care in that province as a way of combating unacceptably long waiting lists for medical treatment. "
Saturday, November 12, 2005
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - This is dead wrong
In Holland, where euthanasia has been practised since the 1980s and legalized in 2002 and where thousands of ill or infirm men and women have been put to death -- many without their consent -- the Dutch government is now going to expand its euthanasia policy to allow doctors to kill not only supposedly terminally ill newborn babies, but children with mild deformities such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy and symptoms of possible retardation.
Though the Liberals plan to oppose the Bloc Quebecois bill -- as will the Conservatives -- it has apparently spurred Cotler to ponder whether prohibitions in the Criminal Code against euthanasia are "in step" with the times.
Cotler plans to look at "what is being done" in other countries and see if his Liberal government can come up with "the kind of law that might enjoy a consensus."
How fittingly macabre -- a bill about death that people can live with.
This bill -- and any future move towards euthanasia -- must be killed.
Though the Liberals plan to oppose the Bloc Quebecois bill -- as will the Conservatives -- it has apparently spurred Cotler to ponder whether prohibitions in the Criminal Code against euthanasia are "in step" with the times.
Cotler plans to look at "what is being done" in other countries and see if his Liberal government can come up with "the kind of law that might enjoy a consensus."
How fittingly macabre -- a bill about death that people can live with.
This bill -- and any future move towards euthanasia -- must be killed.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Doctors Wielding Data
Doctors Wielding Data: "Doctors Wielding Data
Helping patients and cutting costs
If you told most people when they walked into a hospital that the care they were going to get would be as strictly regimented as production in a factory, they'd probably turn around and walk out the door. Americans tend to think quality medicine means customized medicine. For care to be good, it has to be tailored just for them. "
Helping patients and cutting costs
If you told most people when they walked into a hospital that the care they were going to get would be as strictly regimented as production in a factory, they'd probably turn around and walk out the door. Americans tend to think quality medicine means customized medicine. For care to be good, it has to be tailored just for them. "
Thursday, November 10, 2005
No consequences for deadly care
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - Hospital admits mistakes made
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - Hospital admits mistakes made: "We need to have a health-care system that is held accountable,' said Gerrard, adding the bill would ensure measurable outcomes are in place and agreed-upon recommendations are implemented.
Another bereaved daughter was in the legislature gallery yesterday afternoon, also asking for accountability from the health minister.
Mimi Raglan's mom -- Frances Raglan -- was mistreated at Riverview Health Centre and died after being discharged in October 2001.
'It's outrageous there has been no apology to us. My mother was clearly put on the wrong treatment plan,' said Raglan.
Health Minister Tim Sale acknowledged the error and apologized for the family's grief but wouldn't commit to remedial action. "
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - Hospital admits mistakes made: "We need to have a health-care system that is held accountable,' said Gerrard, adding the bill would ensure measurable outcomes are in place and agreed-upon recommendations are implemented.
Another bereaved daughter was in the legislature gallery yesterday afternoon, also asking for accountability from the health minister.
Mimi Raglan's mom -- Frances Raglan -- was mistreated at Riverview Health Centre and died after being discharged in October 2001.
'It's outrageous there has been no apology to us. My mother was clearly put on the wrong treatment plan,' said Raglan.
Health Minister Tim Sale acknowledged the error and apologized for the family's grief but wouldn't commit to remedial action. "
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Relieving The Pressure
So much for health choice and more money is not the answer- it is broken lets fix it. Article from the Frontier centre make good sense QJ
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In September 1997, a new health clinic opened in Grafton, North Dakota. It offers highly technical services such as CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasounds.
Grafton, a sleepy farm town, population 5,000, has little need for the well-equipped clinic, called DMS Imaging. But the hamlet lies just 100 miles from the Manitoba border. Early last summer, the clinic's founders conducted market research in our province to gauge the demand for services. According to one of the principals, "We felt there was a need but we weren't really sure what to expect."
Since "non-urgent" waiting lists for such marvels in our country are long and arguably dangerous -- four to five months for a MRI, six months for a CT scan, and eight months to a year for an ultrasound -- it is no surprise that the clinic was constructed quickly. On some days its customers are all from Manitoba. These people know that early detection of cancerous tumours means a much higher survival rate. Their choice is bleak, to wait for a "free" service and take a huge risk, or to head for the border.
What would happen if the clinic were built closer to its target patients, i.e. right in Canada? Six eye clinics and the Pan Am Sports Medicine Centre in Winnipeg now offer service for fees. But such arrangements break the law, specifically the Canada Health Act. The federal government dings the province of Manitoba $49,000 a month in fines for allowing the infractions to continue, about $1.2 million over the last two years. The Grafton clinic would never be built in Canada because it contravenes a silly statute.
Half a million dollars a year in our province's healthcare budget therefore buys nothing except relief from bean counters in Ottawa. And that's the least of it. Thirty years of central planning in medicine has created enormous distortions in the allocation of resources.
If you live in Winnipeg and your kidneys have failed, you may find yourself in a taxi heading to Morden, where a dialysis machine is running six days a week. The ride costs $350 return, and each patient has to make the trip three times a week. But Manitoba Health picks up the tab, because it falls within the complex and arcane list of rules devised by enforcers of the law.
If the Canada Health Act allowed citizens to choose and pay for homegrown alternatives, the construction of the Grafton clinic, the purchase of its equipment, and the tax revenues generated from its income would have stayed here. At no cost to the public purse.
Think of the system as an enormous pressure cooker. We've set up an unsustainable combination in our officious healthcare kitchen - zero prices, which encourage unlimited demand, and constant centralization in decision-making, which means response to the demand is further and further removed from the public need. The Grafton clinic creates the tiny vent at the top, which prevents the whole stew from blowing up.
We created this pressure cooker out of good intentions because we wanted equity in our healthcare system. We wanted nobody to be denied medical service because they lacked the means to pay for it. But a sour dose of unintended consequences has been the outcome. Now everybody waits for service, and only those with healthy bank balances get quick access. Those who can afford to travel and pay the fees to foreign clinics.
It's a public policy disaster that makes last year's flood of the century look cheap in comparison. It will never work.
We all lose because Canada's recipe for healthcare was long on good intentions but ultimately impractical. It's time to add a few more ingredients.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In September 1997, a new health clinic opened in Grafton, North Dakota. It offers highly technical services such as CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasounds.
Grafton, a sleepy farm town, population 5,000, has little need for the well-equipped clinic, called DMS Imaging. But the hamlet lies just 100 miles from the Manitoba border. Early last summer, the clinic's founders conducted market research in our province to gauge the demand for services. According to one of the principals, "We felt there was a need but we weren't really sure what to expect."
Since "non-urgent" waiting lists for such marvels in our country are long and arguably dangerous -- four to five months for a MRI, six months for a CT scan, and eight months to a year for an ultrasound -- it is no surprise that the clinic was constructed quickly. On some days its customers are all from Manitoba. These people know that early detection of cancerous tumours means a much higher survival rate. Their choice is bleak, to wait for a "free" service and take a huge risk, or to head for the border.
What would happen if the clinic were built closer to its target patients, i.e. right in Canada? Six eye clinics and the Pan Am Sports Medicine Centre in Winnipeg now offer service for fees. But such arrangements break the law, specifically the Canada Health Act. The federal government dings the province of Manitoba $49,000 a month in fines for allowing the infractions to continue, about $1.2 million over the last two years. The Grafton clinic would never be built in Canada because it contravenes a silly statute.
Half a million dollars a year in our province's healthcare budget therefore buys nothing except relief from bean counters in Ottawa. And that's the least of it. Thirty years of central planning in medicine has created enormous distortions in the allocation of resources.
If you live in Winnipeg and your kidneys have failed, you may find yourself in a taxi heading to Morden, where a dialysis machine is running six days a week. The ride costs $350 return, and each patient has to make the trip three times a week. But Manitoba Health picks up the tab, because it falls within the complex and arcane list of rules devised by enforcers of the law.
If the Canada Health Act allowed citizens to choose and pay for homegrown alternatives, the construction of the Grafton clinic, the purchase of its equipment, and the tax revenues generated from its income would have stayed here. At no cost to the public purse.
Think of the system as an enormous pressure cooker. We've set up an unsustainable combination in our officious healthcare kitchen - zero prices, which encourage unlimited demand, and constant centralization in decision-making, which means response to the demand is further and further removed from the public need. The Grafton clinic creates the tiny vent at the top, which prevents the whole stew from blowing up.
We created this pressure cooker out of good intentions because we wanted equity in our healthcare system. We wanted nobody to be denied medical service because they lacked the means to pay for it. But a sour dose of unintended consequences has been the outcome. Now everybody waits for service, and only those with healthy bank balances get quick access. Those who can afford to travel and pay the fees to foreign clinics.
It's a public policy disaster that makes last year's flood of the century look cheap in comparison. It will never work.
We all lose because Canada's recipe for healthcare was long on good intentions but ultimately impractical. It's time to add a few more ingredients.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Ontario Wait Times Strategy : Introduction
see how long it takes for you to get critical health service . The waiting list web site is finally up and running. Check it out and find out how your money is being spent.
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/transformation/wait_times/wait_mn.html#
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/transformation/wait_times/wait_mn.html#
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
winnipegsun.com - Canada - Project fizzles
What a bad use of public funds - would you write a letter for 833.33. Sure if you got the money and not the beaureucracy
winnipegsun.com - Canada - Project fizzles: "OTTAWA -- A Health Canada pilot project launched seven months ago that urged patients and consumers to give input to the department on drug safety yielded only 24 letters, Sun Media has learned. "
winnipegsun.com - Canada - Project fizzles: "OTTAWA -- A Health Canada pilot project launched seven months ago that urged patients and consumers to give input to the department on drug safety yielded only 24 letters, Sun Media has learned. "
National Post
National Post: "These little hookworms want to suck your blood
Doctor's orders!
Tom Spears
CanWest News Service
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
First British doctors reintroduced live maggots to clear away infected flesh (a last resort when antibiotics fail). Now they are testing intestinal, bloodsucking hookworms to fight asthma.
These are ugly little parasites that latch on to the inner wall of the intestine and feed on human blood."
Doctor's orders!
Tom Spears
CanWest News Service
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
First British doctors reintroduced live maggots to clear away infected flesh (a last resort when antibiotics fail). Now they are testing intestinal, bloodsucking hookworms to fight asthma.
These are ugly little parasites that latch on to the inner wall of the intestine and feed on human blood."
National Post Tech makes a difference
National Post: "Why relief agencies love the Internet
It has created a young & generous generation
Siri Agrell
National Post
October 11, 2005
The greatest friend to international relief efforts this year is an online advancement known as PayPal."
It has created a young & generous generation
Siri Agrell
National Post
October 11, 2005
The greatest friend to international relief efforts this year is an online advancement known as PayPal."
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Is there a future for our status quo?
News | canada.com network: "Private health care growing, study finds
Tom Blackwell
National Post
Thursday, September 29, 2005
As debate swirls about the role of private medicine in Canada, the private sector already covers a bigger chunk of health care costs here than in many Western nations -- and its share is growing, a new report released yesterday reveals.
About 70% of Canada's $130-billion health tab is covered by governments, compared with 83% in Britain, 76% in France and 78% in Germany, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) review."
Tom Blackwell
National Post
Thursday, September 29, 2005
As debate swirls about the role of private medicine in Canada, the private sector already covers a bigger chunk of health care costs here than in many Western nations -- and its share is growing, a new report released yesterday reveals.
About 70% of Canada's $130-billion health tab is covered by governments, compared with 83% in Britain, 76% in France and 78% in Germany, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) review."
Monday, September 26, 2005
winnipegsun.com - Canada - Doctors support wait-time travel
CHARLOTTETOWN -- The president of the Canadian Medical Association is continuing her organization's call for a government-funded program that would allow patients to travel to other regions if wait times were too long at home.
The idea was first floated last year and renewed in the release of a report in August by the Wait Time Alliance, a coalition of groups including the CMA.
'System at a crossroads'
The proposed program, dubbed the Health Access Fund, would allow patients to travel for services when a set of maximum wait times are exceeded.
"Our system is at a crossroads and needs immediate attention," Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai told the Medical Society of P.E.I.'s annual meeting in Charlottetown this weekend.
The idea was first floated last year and renewed in the release of a report in August by the Wait Time Alliance, a coalition of groups including the CMA.
'System at a crossroads'
The proposed program, dubbed the Health Access Fund, would allow patients to travel for services when a set of maximum wait times are exceeded.
"Our system is at a crossroads and needs immediate attention," Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai told the Medical Society of P.E.I.'s annual meeting in Charlottetown this weekend.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Remove the blindfold
The phrase "Justice is blind" isn't supposed to refer to the justice minister -- but in Irwin Cotler's case, we fear it fits all too well.
Cotler, Prime Minister Paul Martin's go-to guy for all things law-related, visited Toronto this week for what was supposed to be a first-hand look at that city's gun-violence problem. Yet apparently he managed not to see it.
Even as Toronto Mayor David Miller stressed to Cotler the need for our revolving-door justice system to stop being so lenient on gun-toting gangsters, the Liberal minister clung to his mantra that tougher sentences aren't the answer.
He insisted the four-year minimum sentence for gun crimes already on the books is more than tough enough.
But he failed to acknowledge the real problem -- that judges rarely, if ever, impose such sentences. So what good are they?
DVD PlayersiPods & Accessories
"The Supreme Court has already said that it appears four years is the maximum for a mandatory minimum," he told reporters, sounding like the law professor he is.
Rather than face the reality of an ineffectual justice system that releases suspects on bail often the day after they are arrested in possession of loaded handguns, Cotler focused on things like "diversion" programs to help accused youths get counselling and jobs and stay out of jail. The feds may help fund more of them, he said.
A well-intentioned idea, we're sure (and a typical Liberal approach to crime), but it does absolutely nothing for Torontonians right now who are being terrorized by duelling gangs and random gunfire in their neighbourhoods. How can Cotler not see this?
The problem is not, repeat not, that we are sending too many young people to jail who don't belong there (heaven forbid). The problem is that judges are not locking up enough dangerous criminals!
The 20-something gangsters shooting each other and innocent bystanders grew up laughing at flaccid laws that coddled them as youths and shrug as our courts fail to deliver on so-called tough sentences.
They need to be taken off the streets, period. Only then will more witnesses feel safe enough to come forward.
No doubt some kids could be saved from a life of crime by the type of programs Cotler touts. But not if they get shot first.
He needs to get rid of the Liberal blindfold -- better yet, Canadian voters need to get rid of him.
Cotler, Prime Minister Paul Martin's go-to guy for all things law-related, visited Toronto this week for what was supposed to be a first-hand look at that city's gun-violence problem. Yet apparently he managed not to see it.
Even as Toronto Mayor David Miller stressed to Cotler the need for our revolving-door justice system to stop being so lenient on gun-toting gangsters, the Liberal minister clung to his mantra that tougher sentences aren't the answer.
He insisted the four-year minimum sentence for gun crimes already on the books is more than tough enough.
But he failed to acknowledge the real problem -- that judges rarely, if ever, impose such sentences. So what good are they?
DVD PlayersiPods & Accessories
"The Supreme Court has already said that it appears four years is the maximum for a mandatory minimum," he told reporters, sounding like the law professor he is.
Rather than face the reality of an ineffectual justice system that releases suspects on bail often the day after they are arrested in possession of loaded handguns, Cotler focused on things like "diversion" programs to help accused youths get counselling and jobs and stay out of jail. The feds may help fund more of them, he said.
A well-intentioned idea, we're sure (and a typical Liberal approach to crime), but it does absolutely nothing for Torontonians right now who are being terrorized by duelling gangs and random gunfire in their neighbourhoods. How can Cotler not see this?
The problem is not, repeat not, that we are sending too many young people to jail who don't belong there (heaven forbid). The problem is that judges are not locking up enough dangerous criminals!
The 20-something gangsters shooting each other and innocent bystanders grew up laughing at flaccid laws that coddled them as youths and shrug as our courts fail to deliver on so-called tough sentences.
They need to be taken off the streets, period. Only then will more witnesses feel safe enough to come forward.
No doubt some kids could be saved from a life of crime by the type of programs Cotler touts. But not if they get shot first.
He needs to get rid of the Liberal blindfold -- better yet, Canadian voters need to get rid of him.
Friday, August 26, 2005
winnipegsun.com - Manitoba - An alternative?
is alternative medicine the way ? Too bad it is so expensive
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor: "�We have no openness, no transparency,� Powell said. �That�s why we have the problems we have today.
�What happened to democracy? We have thousands of people and the board is not listening.�
Powell said Watch Action has the best interests of the Paris community at heart in trying to keep in-patient beds and palliative care at the Willett. "
�What happened to democracy? We have thousands of people and the board is not listening.�
Powell said Watch Action has the best interests of the Paris community at heart in trying to keep in-patient beds and palliative care at the Willett. "
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Starved for leadership
What can we say as we survey the political landscape? Canadian voters are a perplexed bunch, and who can blame them? They look at our prime minister and see a man who has trouble sticking to the truth, doesn't have a firm grasp on how to run the country and has considerable difficulty keeping his public and private lives separate.
And yet should another election be called anytime soon, they'd be willing to turn a blind eye to all the shortcomings mentioned above. It's better, apparently, in their minds to vote for the blundering opportunist you know than to take a chance on the alternative.
And yet should another election be called anytime soon, they'd be willing to turn a blind eye to all the shortcomings mentioned above. It's better, apparently, in their minds to vote for the blundering opportunist you know than to take a chance on the alternative.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Patients should have rights
winnipegsun.com - Editorial - Patients should have rights: "Well, the doctors are in a mood to fight. One doctor at the conference summed it up quite well: 'Forgive us for being cynical about the government fixing the system. They've had 30 years to do that.' "
Friday, August 12, 2005
Doing something about Health Care
Common sense review - with a minimum of propaganda -QJ -5 part series in the expositor.
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Thursday, July 21, 2005
MRI needed for Brantford - the citizen's initiative
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor: "Family of Sam Rizzo raising funds for MRI
By Susan Gamble
Local News - Thursday, July 21, 2005 @ 01:00
The family of Sam Rizzo is determined to create a meaningful legacy to the businessman who championed city causes.
Rizzo, who died one year ago next week, suffered through almost a year of esophageal cancer that required a number of magnetic resonance imaging scans or MRIs.
Now, his children want to ensure that other families don�t have to endure the difficult trips to Hamilton, London or even Buffalo to get MRIs.
The Rizzos have organized the Sam Rizzo 2005 Memorial Gala, an invitation-only, $150-a-ticket event at the Brantford Golf and Country Club to raise money for an MRI machine at Brantford General Hospital.
�You don�t realize what you need until you actually need it,� said Rizzo�s daughter, Michelle Fergus.
�When you have to watch a loved one as sick as our father was, you�d do anything to help them and, because of our loss, we don�t want other families to go through what we did."
By Susan Gamble
Local News - Thursday, July 21, 2005 @ 01:00
The family of Sam Rizzo is determined to create a meaningful legacy to the businessman who championed city causes.
Rizzo, who died one year ago next week, suffered through almost a year of esophageal cancer that required a number of magnetic resonance imaging scans or MRIs.
Now, his children want to ensure that other families don�t have to endure the difficult trips to Hamilton, London or even Buffalo to get MRIs.
The Rizzos have organized the Sam Rizzo 2005 Memorial Gala, an invitation-only, $150-a-ticket event at the Brantford Golf and Country Club to raise money for an MRI machine at Brantford General Hospital.
�You don�t realize what you need until you actually need it,� said Rizzo�s daughter, Michelle Fergus.
�When you have to watch a loved one as sick as our father was, you�d do anything to help them and, because of our loss, we don�t want other families to go through what we did."
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Hamilton
Hamilton: "The cash is part of the government's $1.9-billion overall investment in the home care and community services sector this year.
By helping seniors and others receive greater care in their home and communities, the government can relieve stress placed on hospitals and long-term facilities where treatment is more expensive, Health Minister George Smitherman said Tuesday. "
By helping seniors and others receive greater care in their home and communities, the government can relieve stress placed on hospitals and long-term facilities where treatment is more expensive, Health Minister George Smitherman said Tuesday. "
Monday, July 18, 2005
Macleans - Breaking the health taboo
Sympatico / MSN - Partner content
Breaking the taboo
A landmark Supreme Court ruling challenges Canada's long-held health care assumptions
JOHN GEDDES
The Supreme Court of Canada just wasn't buying the familiar old case in favour of a public health care monopoly. In rulings that stunned Canadian politicians last week, judges on the top court looked hard at some well-worn arguments against allowing private care -- and tore that threadbare thinking apart. In key passages, the outrage of some judges seemed to be showing through their cool, deliberate prose, as they described how intolerably long waiting times for public treatment put individual Canadians through pain and psychological torment, or even allowed them to die because their names fell too far down some specialist's list. "Delays in the public system are widespread and have serious, sometimes grave, consequences," wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and Justice John Major. "Inevitably where patients have life-threatening conditions, some will die because of undue delay in awaiting surgery."
Breaking the taboo
A landmark Supreme Court ruling challenges Canada's long-held health care assumptions
JOHN GEDDES
The Supreme Court of Canada just wasn't buying the familiar old case in favour of a public health care monopoly. In rulings that stunned Canadian politicians last week, judges on the top court looked hard at some well-worn arguments against allowing private care -- and tore that threadbare thinking apart. In key passages, the outrage of some judges seemed to be showing through their cool, deliberate prose, as they described how intolerably long waiting times for public treatment put individual Canadians through pain and psychological torment, or even allowed them to die because their names fell too far down some specialist's list. "Delays in the public system are widespread and have serious, sometimes grave, consequences," wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and Justice John Major. "Inevitably where patients have life-threatening conditions, some will die because of undue delay in awaiting surgery."
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Hamilton Defends private clinic
Hamilton: "'There's no violation of any (rules); we're offering a service that is in keeping with the delivery of health-care services outside of a hospital,' Anglin said Friday.
'This is something that's complementary to the public system. We're not competing in any way with the public system.'
The Provis Clinic, set to open in mid-August, will offer cancer patients access to expensive, cutting-edge cancer medications that are approved by Health Canada but not yet covered by Ontario's health plan. Patients would have to be referred to the clinic by their oncologist.
Health Minister George Smitherman said earlier this week he doesn't have enough information about the clinic yet to judge whether it might contravene any of Ontario's health laws.
But Smitherman said he doesn't want the result to be 'pocketbook medicine,' where patients pay for faster access and for services already covered by the health system. "
'This is something that's complementary to the public system. We're not competing in any way with the public system.'
The Provis Clinic, set to open in mid-August, will offer cancer patients access to expensive, cutting-edge cancer medications that are approved by Health Canada but not yet covered by Ontario's health plan. Patients would have to be referred to the clinic by their oncologist.
Health Minister George Smitherman said earlier this week he doesn't have enough information about the clinic yet to judge whether it might contravene any of Ontario's health laws.
But Smitherman said he doesn't want the result to be 'pocketbook medicine,' where patients pay for faster access and for services already covered by the health system. "
Friday, July 15, 2005
Smitherman defends private clinic?
Hamilton: "Ontario's drug plan covers more than 3,400 treatments and the province in spending about $3 billion a year on drugs, up from $1 billion only a few years ago, with $319 million more added to the budget this year, he noted.
Smitherman said the province doesn't yet have enough information about the clinic to know whether it might contravene any of Ontario's health laws.
Although private clinics are allowed to offer drugs not covered by the province, an issue can arise when services and consultations associated with getting the drugs are otherwise covered under the provincial health plan, he added. "
Smitherman said the province doesn't yet have enough information about the clinic to know whether it might contravene any of Ontario's health laws.
Although private clinics are allowed to offer drugs not covered by the province, an issue can arise when services and consultations associated with getting the drugs are otherwise covered under the provincial health plan, he added. "
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Haldimand Review
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Haldimand Review: "Hospital ready to roll with recommendations "
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
CANOE -- CNEWS - Canada: Alberta allows health upgrades
CANOE -- CNEWS - Canada: Alberta allows health upgrades: "Alberta allows health upgrades
By BILL GRAVELAND
Alberta Premier Ralph Klein. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
CALGARY (CP) - Alberta Premier Ralph Klein opened the door Tuesday to Cadillac health care for those willing to pay, but denied claims he has put the province on the road to a two-tiered system. "
By BILL GRAVELAND
Alberta Premier Ralph Klein. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
CALGARY (CP) - Alberta Premier Ralph Klein opened the door Tuesday to Cadillac health care for those willing to pay, but denied claims he has put the province on the road to a two-tiered system. "
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Feds back delay in ending ban on private medicare
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Feds back delay in ending ban on private medicare: "Feds back delay in ending ban on private medicare
By CP
OTTAWA -- The federal government has joined Quebec to ask for an 18-month stay in a Supreme Court judgment striking down a ban on private health insurance in the province.
But a group of private medical clinics in British Columbia say the ban should be lifted immediately, suggesting Quebecers and perhaps all Canadians could be seriously harmed by a delay.
'APPROPRIATE SOLUTION' "
By CP
OTTAWA -- The federal government has joined Quebec to ask for an 18-month stay in a Supreme Court judgment striking down a ban on private health insurance in the province.
But a group of private medical clinics in British Columbia say the ban should be lifted immediately, suggesting Quebecers and perhaps all Canadians could be seriously harmed by a delay.
'APPROPRIATE SOLUTION' "
Monday, July 04, 2005
National post - premiiers competing for business
Hamilton: "HOSPITAL BATTLE: Premier Dalton McGuinty talks with Shriner members John Ball and Eddie Elcombe of Toronto. A bitter turf battle over an $85 million Canadian children's hospital is brewing at this year's Shriners convention"
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Medicare monopoly on the ropes
No more excuses on this vital issue QJ
Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Medicare monopoly on the ropes: "Medicare monopoly on the ropes
The great thing about the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling striking down Quebec's laws banning private medical insurance, is how it has put the defenders of the unacceptable status quo in medicare completely on the defensive. "
Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Medicare monopoly on the ropes: "Medicare monopoly on the ropes
The great thing about the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling striking down Quebec's laws banning private medical insurance, is how it has put the defenders of the unacceptable status quo in medicare completely on the defensive. "
Thursday, June 30, 2005
FCPP Publications :: Supreme Court Strikes Down Public Foodcare
Humour and satire with a bit - thank god for section 7 . Line ups changed the system of government in the USSR -why not here-chuckle. QJ
FCPP Publications :: Supreme Court Strikes Down Public Foodcare: "Supreme Court Strikes Down Public Foodcare
Mark Milke, Times Colonist (Victoria), Page: A6, June 20, 2005
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that a law that mandated most food purchases be restricted to government stores violated the Quebec Charter of Rights. In a narrow 4-3 split, the court ruled that the Quebec prohibition on private spending on most grocery items was unconstitutional.
'The evidence in this case shows that delays in the public provision of food are widespread, and that, in some serious cases, consumers die as a result of waiting lists for unique but rarely available items,' wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin. She noted examples of cases in which rare foods, necessary for those with certain intolerances, were unavailable in the public system and as such negatively affected the health of many Canadians. "
FCPP Publications :: Supreme Court Strikes Down Public Foodcare: "Supreme Court Strikes Down Public Foodcare
Mark Milke, Times Colonist (Victoria), Page: A6, June 20, 2005
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that a law that mandated most food purchases be restricted to government stores violated the Quebec Charter of Rights. In a narrow 4-3 split, the court ruled that the Quebec prohibition on private spending on most grocery items was unconstitutional.
'The evidence in this case shows that delays in the public provision of food are widespread, and that, in some serious cases, consumers die as a result of waiting lists for unique but rarely available items,' wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin. She noted examples of cases in which rare foods, necessary for those with certain intolerances, were unavailable in the public system and as such negatively affected the health of many Canadians. "
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
National Post Canada Adrift -what to do
Common sense - strategic or tactical government? PR
National Post: "THE BIG SIX
The six elements the Canadian Council of Chief Executives believe are needed to improve Canada's standing in the world are:
GOOD GOVERNANCE Implement public-sector reforms that strengthen transparency and accountability. Public officials should be required to do what is required of corporate officers -- sign off on financial statements to verify that everything contained in the document is true. Moreover, there is a need to end the so-called one-off financial deals with provinces, which have boosted public spending while, at the same time, reduced taxpayer accountability. There also needs to be a review of which level of government is best suited to deliver certain services.
PUBLIC SERVICE & INFRASTRUCTURE Governments should ensure their activities contribute to future economic growth, rather than redistributing wealth for current consumption. Also, they should explore partnerships with the private sector in terms of delivering services -- if the joint venture makes economic sense.
TAXATION & REGULATION There is a need to review the tax regime, given that Canada is among the highest in terms of taxes on business investments. Other countries that compete with Canada are moving to higher consumption taxes (like the GST) and lower corporate and personal tax rates.
PRODUCTIVITY Need to review the country's restrictions on foreign investment, among the most stringent of the industrialized world. Such restrictions reduce competition and the need for domestic companies to innovate. Also, need to eliminate regulatory overlap, such as the need for 13 securities regulators as opposed to one national watchdog.
EXPERTISE Canada needs to increase the pace of commercialization, or the ability to bring technology developed as the result of research to the commercial market. Th"
National Post: "THE BIG SIX
The six elements the Canadian Council of Chief Executives believe are needed to improve Canada's standing in the world are:
GOOD GOVERNANCE Implement public-sector reforms that strengthen transparency and accountability. Public officials should be required to do what is required of corporate officers -- sign off on financial statements to verify that everything contained in the document is true. Moreover, there is a need to end the so-called one-off financial deals with provinces, which have boosted public spending while, at the same time, reduced taxpayer accountability. There also needs to be a review of which level of government is best suited to deliver certain services.
PUBLIC SERVICE & INFRASTRUCTURE Governments should ensure their activities contribute to future economic growth, rather than redistributing wealth for current consumption. Also, they should explore partnerships with the private sector in terms of delivering services -- if the joint venture makes economic sense.
TAXATION & REGULATION There is a need to review the tax regime, given that Canada is among the highest in terms of taxes on business investments. Other countries that compete with Canada are moving to higher consumption taxes (like the GST) and lower corporate and personal tax rates.
PRODUCTIVITY Need to review the country's restrictions on foreign investment, among the most stringent of the industrialized world. Such restrictions reduce competition and the need for domestic companies to innovate. Also, need to eliminate regulatory overlap, such as the need for 13 securities regulators as opposed to one national watchdog.
EXPERTISE Canada needs to increase the pace of commercialization, or the ability to bring technology developed as the result of research to the commercial market. Th"
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Dunnville Chronicle
How to get medical services -buy them ? -Communities are open to new options. QJ
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Dunnville Chronicle: "A 14000 square foot clinic is proposed by the Dunnville hospital board. The Dunnville hospital foundation has already accumulated $750,000 toward the project. "
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Dunnville Chronicle: "A 14000 square foot clinic is proposed by the Dunnville hospital board. The Dunnville hospital foundation has already accumulated $750,000 toward the project. "
Monday, June 27, 2005
National Post
National Post: "In an interview, Dr. Schumacher stressed the CMA strongly supports the publicly funded system, but said it also has a responsibility to examine all options -- including privatization -- to strengthen the entire health system for patients.
He said the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that allows patients to purchase private insurance so they can get speedier private medical care has increased the need for such a debate.
''Doctors have a role in this debate. They maybe even have a leadership role because we're probably going to be out first in an organized fashion to talk about it.'"
He said the recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that allows patients to purchase private insurance so they can get speedier private medical care has increased the need for such a debate.
''Doctors have a role in this debate. They maybe even have a leadership role because we're probably going to be out first in an organized fashion to talk about it.'"
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Hamilton
Hamilton: "Kim Craitor, Liberal MPP for Niagara Falls, said it's important for the government to listen to what the people want.
'The government hasn't indicated they're going into privatization,' he said. 'But I think it's still important that the government hears what people believe and what they're concerned with when it comes to hospitals.'
In May, the Ontario government introduced a five-year infrastructure plan that included private financing of public infrastructure, including up to 23 new hospitals. "
'The government hasn't indicated they're going into privatization,' he said. 'But I think it's still important that the government hears what people believe and what they're concerned with when it comes to hospitals.'
In May, the Ontario government introduced a five-year infrastructure plan that included private financing of public infrastructure, including up to 23 new hospitals. "
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Longer waits in private system: Dosanjh
This from the people who have mismanged our health system for too long. Why not see if this is correct by testing the customer choice option. Q-J . Why do we have to be like Albania and Cuba - why the fear?
News | canada.com network
News | canada.com network
Hamilton
Hamilton: "The funding is tailored for each hospital according to its needs and specialties, and will account for growth in demand for certain procedures and services, Smitherman said.
It will also be flexible to accommodate the government goals of reducing wait times for MRI exams and hip and knee joint replacement surgeries, he added. "
It will also be flexible to accommodate the government goals of reducing wait times for MRI exams and hip and knee joint replacement surgeries, he added. "
Breaking the taboo
Sympatico / MSN - Partner content
That cry of denial rang especially hollow on the day the court delivered its much more rigorous reasoning. Justice Deschamps left little doubt Martin's claim that Canada will not have a two-tier system is nonsense -- if only because multiple tiers already exist. Most provinces, she said, allow their citizens some access to private care, with important conditions. Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island all allow doctors to set their fees and function outside medicare, but don't permit private insurance to cover any services offered under the public plan. Ontario and Manitoba also outlaw private insurance, but will refund amounts paid by patients to doctors who opt out of the public plan. Nova Scotia allows private insurance for private services.
That cry of denial rang especially hollow on the day the court delivered its much more rigorous reasoning. Justice Deschamps left little doubt Martin's claim that Canada will not have a two-tier system is nonsense -- if only because multiple tiers already exist. Most provinces, she said, allow their citizens some access to private care, with important conditions. Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island all allow doctors to set their fees and function outside medicare, but don't permit private insurance to cover any services offered under the public plan. Ontario and Manitoba also outlaw private insurance, but will refund amounts paid by patients to doctors who opt out of the public plan. Nova Scotia allows private insurance for private services.
Monday, June 13, 2005
News | canada.com network
News | canada.com network: "Despite talk of accountability, Ottawa and the provinces haven't even agreed on how to measure waiting lists. They are trying to work out 'benchmarks' but currently there's no way to know whether wait times are being reduced. "
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Liberals claim effort on health status quo
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Liberals claim effort on health status quo: "MacKay said all Canadians will seek alternatives to a failing public system.
'If they are in a state of health where they may die or they may be suffering, I think that is consistent with what the Supreme Court has said, that they should have that option,' he said. 'And if that means going to the United States, if it means going to a private health care clinic to avoid death, that's what Canadians are going to do. "
'If they are in a state of health where they may die or they may be suffering, I think that is consistent with what the Supreme Court has said, that they should have that option,' he said. 'And if that means going to the United States, if it means going to a private health care clinic to avoid death, that's what Canadians are going to do. "
Friday, June 10, 2005
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Ruling a dose of logic for medicare debate
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Ruling a dose of logic for medicare debate: "Ruling a dose of logic for medicare debate"
National Post Vindication by the Supreme Court of Canada for Canadians
National Post: "''Access to a waiting list is not access to health care,'' Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin and Justices Jack Major and Michel Bastarache wrote in one of the two majority opinions.
''There is unchallenged evidence that in some serious cases patients die as a result of waiting lists for public health care.''
Legal experts said the high court's voluminous, complex 4-3 ruling yesterday opens the courtroom door to a flood of legal challenges to government restrictions in all provinces that outlaw private health care in various ways, and to the immediate purchase and sale of private medical services and insurance in Quebec.
''It fundamentally reshapes the landscape of medicare in Canada by forcing governments either to guarantee timely care, or if they are not prepared to do so, they must allow Canadians to spend their own money to take care of themselves when they are sick,'' said Osgoode Hall law dean Patrick Monahan, who represented an intervener in the case, Senator Michael Kirby, chairman of a Senate committee that studied medicare."
''There is unchallenged evidence that in some serious cases patients die as a result of waiting lists for public health care.''
Legal experts said the high court's voluminous, complex 4-3 ruling yesterday opens the courtroom door to a flood of legal challenges to government restrictions in all provinces that outlaw private health care in various ways, and to the immediate purchase and sale of private medical services and insurance in Quebec.
''It fundamentally reshapes the landscape of medicare in Canada by forcing governments either to guarantee timely care, or if they are not prepared to do so, they must allow Canadians to spend their own money to take care of themselves when they are sick,'' said Osgoode Hall law dean Patrick Monahan, who represented an intervener in the case, Senator Michael Kirby, chairman of a Senate committee that studied medicare."
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
National Post Medicare future at stake
National Post: "OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will render judgment tomorrow in a case that could have far-reaching implications for the future of medicare.
At the heart of the controversial case -- heard in court one year ago -- is whether it is unconstitutional to outlaw private health care for patients who can pay.
A Montreal doctor and a patient, who waited almost a year for a hip replacement, argued that waiting lists in the publicly funded system have become so long, they violate the Charter of Rights' guarantee to life, liberty and security of the person."
At the heart of the controversial case -- heard in court one year ago -- is whether it is unconstitutional to outlaw private health care for patients who can pay.
A Montreal doctor and a patient, who waited almost a year for a hip replacement, argued that waiting lists in the publicly funded system have become so long, they violate the Charter of Rights' guarantee to life, liberty and security of the person."
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor
Thats a lot of Taxes -$10000 a month
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor: "Hotel deal for downtown scuttled by lack of city funding: developer
Expositor Staff
By Michelle Ruby
Local News - Thursday, June 02, 2005 @ 01:00 "
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor: "Hotel deal for downtown scuttled by lack of city funding: developer
Expositor Staff
By Michelle Ruby
Local News - Thursday, June 02, 2005 @ 01:00 "
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Report slammed for approving competitive bidding in home care
Right make the whole system change for the better? QJ
Hamilton
Hamilton
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Winnipeg Sun Letters: Letters
Winnipeg Sun Letters: Letters: "Winning by treachery
Canada now has its very own Benedict Arnold in Belinda Stronach.
Stephen Harper is right when he says that this has nothing to do with principles. She walked right into a high-profile cabinet position, in spite of her relative inexperience. Essentially, she was bought off. She's a traitor to the fight against corruption in Canada and, ironically enough, she's been put in charge of sorting through the Gomery commission's findings when they are released.
Reg Alcock should be eating his words, since he claimed that Conservatives were not being enticed to cross the floor with plum positions in the Liberal party. He has shown himself either comically ignorant or a bald-faced liar. Knowing the Liberals, I'd say the latter is true. Here's hoping electoral justice is served on him as well.
Liberals have indeed been actively enticing Conservative party members in yet another underhanded attempt to manipulate the balance of power in their favour. They'll win through all this treachery and then proudly proclaim that this was 'what Canadians wanted.' If this rape of democracy is what Canadians want, then I'm on the side of western separation.
Kevin Ranville
Winnipeg "
Canada now has its very own Benedict Arnold in Belinda Stronach.
Stephen Harper is right when he says that this has nothing to do with principles. She walked right into a high-profile cabinet position, in spite of her relative inexperience. Essentially, she was bought off. She's a traitor to the fight against corruption in Canada and, ironically enough, she's been put in charge of sorting through the Gomery commission's findings when they are released.
Reg Alcock should be eating his words, since he claimed that Conservatives were not being enticed to cross the floor with plum positions in the Liberal party. He has shown himself either comically ignorant or a bald-faced liar. Knowing the Liberals, I'd say the latter is true. Here's hoping electoral justice is served on him as well.
Liberals have indeed been actively enticing Conservative party members in yet another underhanded attempt to manipulate the balance of power in their favour. They'll win through all this treachery and then proudly proclaim that this was 'what Canadians wanted.' If this rape of democracy is what Canadians want, then I'm on the side of western separation.
Kevin Ranville
Winnipeg "
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Grit gives refreshing health-care reality
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Grit gives refreshing health-care reality: "Kirby, chairman of a 2002 Senate report on reforming health care, said what really ails Canada's medicare system is that it operates as a monopoly, producing inefficient and over-priced patient services.
His prescription for change is for procedures such as hip replacements and cataract surgeries to be tendered out to a marketplace of health-care providers, usually free-standing clinics that offer greater 'productivity' than large, bureaucratic-heavy hospitals. "
His prescription for change is for procedures such as hip replacements and cataract surgeries to be tendered out to a marketplace of health-care providers, usually free-standing clinics that offer greater 'productivity' than large, bureaucratic-heavy hospitals. "
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Health-care hypocrisy
A scred cows that does not work efficiently should be changed -right! Improve it or lose it QJ
Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Health-care hypocrisy
Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Health-care hypocrisy
Saturday, May 07, 2005
National Post Medical Vacations
Why stand in line -with all the alternatives that are out there? OJ
National Post: "NATIONAL POST
Latest News
Getting a knee up
Where can you get a luxurious beach holiday and a surgical procedure all for under $20,000? India"
National Post: "NATIONAL POST
Latest News
Getting a knee up
Where can you get a luxurious beach holiday and a surgical procedure all for under $20,000? India"
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Innovative thinking or status Quo justification
Hamilton: "Private-public partnerships flawed: Health watchdog"
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - 'Ideological' roadblock
We wanted the government to get off its rear end and talk to us," Copeman told The Sun yesterday. "We have some very honest concerns about the waiting lists here. We thought this would be one way to help them clear away any ideological differences."
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - 'Ideological' roadblock: "'Ideological' roadblock"
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - 'Ideological' roadblock: "'Ideological' roadblock"
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
National Post The health Care debate
Is Canada a democracy? If the 53% majority want private care options why are they not allowed to have them? The Noblese oblige public health care systemor monopoly gas got to learn how to compete. Q-J
National Post: "In the new Leger Marketing poll, the national average was 52% in favour of allowing 'those who wish to pay for health care in the private sector to have speedier access to this type of care while still maintaining the current free and universal health care system.' Forty-two per cent were opposed, and 5% had no opinion"
National Post: "In the new Leger Marketing poll, the national average was 52% in favour of allowing 'those who wish to pay for health care in the private sector to have speedier access to this type of care while still maintaining the current free and universal health care system.' Forty-two per cent were opposed, and 5% had no opinion"
Monday, April 25, 2005
CBS News | Vacation, Adventure And Surgery? | April 25, 2005�10:33:16
This is a very informed article from 60 minutes about medical tourism.
We started Q-jumpers to let people know about medical alternatives to the existing options -expensive, long waiting ques,less then stellar or excuse riddled service often faced by those that need help now. WE WILL HELP YOU -CONTACT US QJCBS News | Vacation, Adventure And Surgery? | April 25, 2005�10:33:16: "A growing number of tourists are doing just that: combining holidays with health care. And that�s because a growing number of countries are offering first-rate medical care at third-world prices. Many of these medical tourists can�t afford health care at home; the 40 million uninsured Americans, for example. Others are going for procedures not covered by their insurance: cosmetic surgery, infertility treatment.
And the hospitals in these faraway countries are glad to have these medical tourists. In fact, they are courting their business, trying to get more people to outsource their own health care. Correspondent Bob Simon reports."
We started Q-jumpers to let people know about medical alternatives to the existing options -expensive, long waiting ques,less then stellar or excuse riddled service often faced by those that need help now. WE WILL HELP YOU -CONTACT US QJCBS News | Vacation, Adventure And Surgery? | April 25, 2005�10:33:16: "A growing number of tourists are doing just that: combining holidays with health care. And that�s because a growing number of countries are offering first-rate medical care at third-world prices. Many of these medical tourists can�t afford health care at home; the 40 million uninsured Americans, for example. Others are going for procedures not covered by their insurance: cosmetic surgery, infertility treatment.
And the hospitals in these faraway countries are glad to have these medical tourists. In fact, they are courting their business, trying to get more people to outsource their own health care. Correspondent Bob Simon reports."
Friday, April 22, 2005
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - 'Seamless transition'
More on the state of caring for those in need -this time from Manitoba- So when is it going to stop - what happened to accountability for the tax dollars spent?Q-J
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - 'Seamless transition': "'Other than embarrassment, there doesn't seem to be any retribution or punishment for their treatment of tax dollars intended for vulnerable persons,' he said. 'It would appear (the province) left far too much money on the table.'
Melnick conceded yesterday that a lengthy period had elapsed since her department was first made aware of Hydra House's financial improprieties. "
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - 'Seamless transition': "'Other than embarrassment, there doesn't seem to be any retribution or punishment for their treatment of tax dollars intended for vulnerable persons,' he said. 'It would appear (the province) left far too much money on the table.'
Melnick conceded yesterday that a lengthy period had elapsed since her department was first made aware of Hydra House's financial improprieties. "
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Facing the people
Nothing wrong in listening to what the PM has to say . It should be interesting ! PR
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Facing the people: "Facing the people
By Sun Media"
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Facing the people: "Facing the people
By Sun Media"
Hamilton Keep Gov't institution open?
What do you think - are you getting value for your money ? I bet that If you gave the money to the family members you would see better results. It is hard to believe that the cost of care for one resident is higher then the average income of four families. It is frightening that more money is needed to maintain this infrastructure. Be creative -reduce the restrictions to care -there are lots of alternatives . Break the monopoly of care -including the sister organizations-the Community living franchises - $140,000 per resident is obscene. QJ
Hamilton: "Sayer said it costs $103,000 per year for a person to live at Huronia, and noted group homes for the disabled cannot care for residents without more funding. "
Hamilton: "Sayer said it costs $103,000 per year for a person to live at Huronia, and noted group homes for the disabled cannot care for residents without more funding. "
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Canada far behind in Medical Services
So you think we have the best medical system in the world. Why not read the facts and be informed . It is true that we have the most expensive medical system -but certainly not the best . We are getting very poor value for the money that we spend.
It is not more money -it is a better system that we really need, A new system of competitive care that is permitted to respond to patients and allow practitioners to do their job without the existing top heavy administration and protectionist overregulation that prevails today Q-J
It is not more money -it is a better system that we really need, A new system of competitive care that is permitted to respond to patients and allow practitioners to do their job without the existing top heavy administration and protectionist overregulation that prevails today Q-J
Saturday, April 16, 2005
Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Too hot to handle( Health)
One is starting to get the feeling that the term Ministry of Health is a misnomer. The true label should be the Ministry of Anti-Health and Misinformation. Q-J
Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Too hot to handle: "Far from advocating the death of medicare, they sensibly point out that private-sector choices are available in every other country that offers universal health care -- including socialistic ones like Sweden and France.
What's more, while Canada spends more per capita than nearly every other comparable country on health, it lags far behind in every major ranking of quality of care -- from availability of doctors and MRIs to mortality rates. "
Winnipeg Sun Editorial: Too hot to handle: "Far from advocating the death of medicare, they sensibly point out that private-sector choices are available in every other country that offers universal health care -- including socialistic ones like Sweden and France.
What's more, while Canada spends more per capita than nearly every other comparable country on health, it lags far behind in every major ranking of quality of care -- from availability of doctors and MRIs to mortality rates. "
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor City desparate for a MRI
This is a good review of a public need that is not being met by the current Health administration. The truth and reality is informative.The facts are that this necessary service was easy to deliver and could have been in place last year. A proposal and plan was presented to the Ministry of Health and died a slow amd agonizing death. The report commissioned by a government representative is a worthwhile and enlightening read ,could still be actioned without fuss and the numerous public grovelling pleas to the entrenched Ministry representatives. Ask the MPP D. Levac for the December 2004- Hollecrest report to shed some light on this murky but critical health issue in the southern health catchment basin . Q.J
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor: "City desperate for MRI
By Susan Gamble
Local News - Saturday, April 16, 2005 @ 01:00 "
Osprey Media Group Inc. - Brantford Expositor: "City desperate for MRI
By Susan Gamble
Local News - Saturday, April 16, 2005 @ 01:00 "
Friday, April 15, 2005
BUSINESS WIRE: The Global Leader in News Distribution a solution?
BUSINESS WIRE: The Global Leader in News Distribution: "According to a recent study (Arch Neurol 2003; 60: 1119-1122), there are 4.5 million people with Alzheimer's disease in the United States alone; by 2050 this number is projected to increase almost three times to 13.2 million. Worldwide estimates of the current number of people with Alzheimer's disease range from 15 to 20 million. The annual national direct and indirect costs of caring for Alzheimer patients in the U.S. alone is estimated at $100 billion. The human toll on patients, families and caregivers is incalculable. "
Thursday, April 14, 2005
BUSINESS WIRE: New record keeping in Europe
BUSINESS WIRE: The Global Leader in News Distribution: "VisualMED and Partners Set to Begin Installing Pilot Hospitals
MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2005--VisualMED Clinical Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: VMCS)(OTCBB: VMCS)
France Steps Up Adoption of Electronic Patient Record
Brussels Report Deplores Low IT Spending in European Hospitals and Calls for Reforms "
MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2005--VisualMED Clinical Solutions Corp. (NASDAQ: VMCS)(OTCBB: VMCS)
France Steps Up Adoption of Electronic Patient Record
Brussels Report Deplores Low IT Spending in European Hospitals and Calls for Reforms "
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca 25% of Canadians die of cancer
Sympatico / MSN : News : CTV.ca: "Aging population to set off cancer crisis
CTV.ca News Staff
While survival rates for many major cancers continue to improve, Canada's aging baby-boomers and the growing population are creating a cancer crisis, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
In its 2005 cancer statistics, released Tuesday, the Canadian Cancer Society projects that there will be 149,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed this year and 69,500 people will died of the disease in 2005. That is 3,500 more new cases and 1,200 deaths over last year."
CTV.ca News Staff
While survival rates for many major cancers continue to improve, Canada's aging baby-boomers and the growing population are creating a cancer crisis, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.
In its 2005 cancer statistics, released Tuesday, the Canadian Cancer Society projects that there will be 149,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed this year and 69,500 people will died of the disease in 2005. That is 3,500 more new cases and 1,200 deaths over last year."
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Boston.com / Business / Study urges steps to fast-track new diabetes monitor
Boston.com / Business / Study urges steps to fast-track new diabetes monitor: "Study urges steps to fast-track new diabetes monitor
By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe Staff | March 25, 2005
Devices to continuously monitor the blood-sugar levels of diabetes patients are still largely in research labs, but the New England Healthcare Institute says it's high time to figure out how to get the machines approved by regulators and paid for by insurance companies."
By Jeffrey Krasner, Globe Staff | March 25, 2005
Devices to continuously monitor the blood-sugar levels of diabetes patients are still largely in research labs, but the New England Healthcare Institute says it's high time to figure out how to get the machines approved by regulators and paid for by insurance companies."
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Hasty hospitals forget needles
The service just keep getting better in our "healthy" system Q.J
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Hasty hospitals forget needles: " 95-year-old woman was released from Concordia Hospital on March 31 with an IV catheter still in her vein. The day before, Agnes Alexander, 72, was discharged from Concordia with an intravenous instrument in her arm. "
Winnipeg Sun: NEWS - Hasty hospitals forget needles: " 95-year-old woman was released from Concordia Hospital on March 31 with an IV catheter still in her vein. The day before, Agnes Alexander, 72, was discharged from Concordia with an intravenous instrument in her arm. "
Friday, April 08, 2005
Healthcare Industry Deploying Wireless Broadband
tele medicine might be an answer to improve service . QJ
Healthcare Industry Deploying Wireless Broadband: "Accomplishing the Savings through Telemedicine
Telemedicine refers to the use of hi-speed broadband connectivity to make diagnoses, treat patients and gain access to information in the medical system through the use of two-way voice, video and data transmission. It also refers to the patient-consumer's ability to access information, acquire knowledge and training and make purchases of medical equipment and supplies and fill e-prescriptions. "
Healthcare Industry Deploying Wireless Broadband: "Accomplishing the Savings through Telemedicine
Telemedicine refers to the use of hi-speed broadband connectivity to make diagnoses, treat patients and gain access to information in the medical system through the use of two-way voice, video and data transmission. It also refers to the patient-consumer's ability to access information, acquire knowledge and training and make purchases of medical equipment and supplies and fill e-prescriptions. "
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Hamilton -More liberal service improvements -ie do not talk to the customers!
Hamilton: "Martel used Access to Information legislation to obtain a copy of the memo, which was sent to all Liberal members and their staff. The note directs them to forward all calls from parents of autistic children to a new policy analyst ''to minimize (well eliminate actually) the chances of your MPP finding themselves in a difficult situation.''
Children's Services Minister Marie Bountrogianni said the government wasn't trying to avoid meeting with parents, but simply wanted to ensure all their questions were answered by a new adviser who understood Liberal policy.
''This was a 2004 memo, and it was to ensure that parents got accurate and very specific information when they called,'' Bountrogianni said. ''That was the intent of the e-mail.'' "
Children's Services Minister Marie Bountrogianni said the government wasn't trying to avoid meeting with parents, but simply wanted to ensure all their questions were answered by a new adviser who understood Liberal policy.
''This was a 2004 memo, and it was to ensure that parents got accurate and very specific information when they called,'' Bountrogianni said. ''That was the intent of the e-mail.'' "
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Outrageous salaries for minimal results - where is the reality?
Hamilton: "Rein in hospital exec salaries: CUPE
Gillian Livingston
Canadian Press
April 2, 2005
ADVERTISEMENT
TORONTO -- Ontario's health minister must address high salaries for hospital executives given that hospitals are pleading for more money and laying off staff to balance their books, the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees said Friday"
Gillian Livingston
Canadian Press
April 2, 2005
ADVERTISEMENT
TORONTO -- Ontario's health minister must address high salaries for hospital executives given that hospitals are pleading for more money and laying off staff to balance their books, the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees said Friday"
Yahoo! News - Computer Helps Detect Small Breast Cancers
Yahoo! News - Computer Helps Detect Small Breast Cancers: "Computer Helps Detect Small Breast Cancers"
Friday, April 01, 2005
Another Case Entirely
Another Case Entirely: "TECH'S POSTER BOY. Wellness -- the New Age buzzword for everything from spa treatments to organic food -- and resorts because Case believes in the next two decades they will move from the province of the elite to the mainstream, as aging baby boomers seek their comforts. These are in combo with health care because when his older brother, Daniel Case III, was diagnosed with what proved to be a fatal brain cancer, he saw for himself just how difficult it is for even the privileged to make well-informed decisions about their care. Case will spend about half of that $500 million on companies that help patients take a more active role in their treatment."
Monday, March 28, 2005
Solutions to the care crisis from the Frontier centre
Friday, March 25, 2005
More health news from Ontario - Beware of Toronto Hospitals
Hamilton: "Deadly virus found in Ontario hospitals
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Wednesday, March 23, 2005
CTV.ca | Ethical debate surrounds Mtl. kidney transplant
CTV.ca | Ethical debate surrounds Mtl. kidney transplant: "They're playing God,' Jacobovici, who will be at Tuesday's news conference, said in an interview from Los Angeles.
'They're sentencing hundreds of Canadians, thousands of Canadians, to death every year.
'Right now, if you give blood in Canada, you're a hero. And if you want to give a kidney, you're suspect.' "
'They're sentencing hundreds of Canadians, thousands of Canadians, to death every year.
'Right now, if you give blood in Canada, you're a hero. And if you want to give a kidney, you're suspect.' "
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Macleans.ca | Canada Switchboard | Columnists | Diagnosis: critical
Macleans.ca | Canada Switchboard | Columnists | Diagnosis: critical: "Diagnosis: critical
Our health-care delivery system is ailing, but there is a prescription that might work
MARY JANIGAN
In the end, it is the patients and their kin who will ensure health-care delivery is reformed -- despite lingering resistance within the medical establishment. Hospitals have become too dangerous for casual use: the ailing should be able to avoid them whenever possible. A"
Our health-care delivery system is ailing, but there is a prescription that might work
MARY JANIGAN
In the end, it is the patients and their kin who will ensure health-care delivery is reformed -- despite lingering resistance within the medical establishment. Hospitals have become too dangerous for casual use: the ailing should be able to avoid them whenever possible. A"
Doctor's have a problem
Hamilton
The Ontario Medical Association has estimated that 1.2 million Ontarians in both rural and urban areas don't have access to a family physician. The Health Ministry considers 142 communities medically underserviced.
On Monday, the specialist coalition said Health Minister George Smitherman needs to dig deeper.
''We're in very serious danger in Ontario of the whole system collapsing, sooner than later,'' said Hughes. ''There has to be some ability to get more money into the system and Smitherman needs to figure out how to do that.''
The contract, which goes to the OMA's 24,000 members for a non-binding telephone referendum starting Tuesday, will put at least another $2.4 billion in doctors' pockets.
The Ontario Medical Association has estimated that 1.2 million Ontarians in both rural and urban areas don't have access to a family physician. The Health Ministry considers 142 communities medically underserviced.
On Monday, the specialist coalition said Health Minister George Smitherman needs to dig deeper.
''We're in very serious danger in Ontario of the whole system collapsing, sooner than later,'' said Hughes. ''There has to be some ability to get more money into the system and Smitherman needs to figure out how to do that.''
The contract, which goes to the OMA's 24,000 members for a non-binding telephone referendum starting Tuesday, will put at least another $2.4 billion in doctors' pockets.
Friday, March 18, 2005
The Tech Guru: Dr. Gerard Burns
Hi Tech is the answer to the challenge More business week
The Tech Guru: Dr. Gerard Burns
The Tech Guru: Dr. Gerard Burns
The Digital Hospital
This Business Week article is truly inspiring and could be a blueprint of the future.
Do we have the will to do it in Canada? This is a positive challenge for Canadians. QJ
The Digital Hospital
Do we have the will to do it in Canada? This is a positive challenge for Canadians. QJ
The Digital Hospital
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Anti-obesity pill promising: second study
Wed Mar 9,12:09 PM ET Health - AFP
ORLANDO, United States (AFP) - A European study appears to confirm earlier results of tests on an experimental pill against obesity from French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventi, researchers said.
Use of the drug saw average weight loss of 7.2 kilos after nearly two years' treatment, compared with 2.5 kilos in a placebo group, said diabetologist Luc Van Gaal.
Presenting conclusions from the study he led at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting, Van Gaal said: "The majority of the weight that was lost at one year is still maintained after two years" with "only a slight increase" during the second year.
Van Gaal, the department head and professor of medicine in the department of Diabetology, Metabolism and Clinical Nutrition at the University Hospital in Antwerp, Belgium led the study in Europe of 1,507 significantly obese people.
The girth size in people in the study group shrank an average 8.5 centimeters after one year. On average, one year later, they had gained one centimeter on the waist.
0519
ORLANDO, United States (AFP) - A European study appears to confirm earlier results of tests on an experimental pill against obesity from French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventi, researchers said.
Use of the drug saw average weight loss of 7.2 kilos after nearly two years' treatment, compared with 2.5 kilos in a placebo group, said diabetologist Luc Van Gaal.
Presenting conclusions from the study he led at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting, Van Gaal said: "The majority of the weight that was lost at one year is still maintained after two years" with "only a slight increase" during the second year.
Van Gaal, the department head and professor of medicine in the department of Diabetology, Metabolism and Clinical Nutrition at the University Hospital in Antwerp, Belgium led the study in Europe of 1,507 significantly obese people.
The girth size in people in the study group shrank an average 8.5 centimeters after one year. On average, one year later, they had gained one centimeter on the waist.
0519
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Thursday, March 03, 2005
To your better health- use fruit and vegtables
MSN Hotmail - Message: "SOME BROCCOLI EACH DAY KEEPS SERIOUS TROUBLES AWAY
The buzzwords several years ago were 'functional foods,' referring to the health benefits derived from certain foods. What a concept -- food as 'medicine.' In particular, entries on the 'food-is-good-for-you' list include apples and cruciferous vegetables -- broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy and kale. According to several new studies (as well as some older ones), these foods are particularly helpful for fighting certain types of cancer.
AN APPLE A DAY
Did you know that apples -- those delicious, versatile, beautiful fruits -- actually are 'natural born cancer cell killers' and more, too? Researchers at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Strasbourg exposed cancer cells to apple antioxidants. They found that one type of antioxidant that is prominent in apples, procyanidins, was particularly effective in triggering cancer cell deaths. The French team then did a second-stage study for which they exposed laboratory rats to colon-cancer-causing substances and then fed one of two groups of rats the apple procyanidins for six weeks. The rats that fed on the antioxidant developed half as many precancerous lesions as the group on regular feed.
An earlier cell culture study at Cornell University also demonstrated that apple extract inhibited colon cancer cells, but this study reports that the effectiveness seems to come from not just one, but all antioxidants contained in apples, especially those in the skin. A recent Cornell review of the literature on apple research showed that apples also are protective against several other types of cancer, "
The buzzwords several years ago were 'functional foods,' referring to the health benefits derived from certain foods. What a concept -- food as 'medicine.' In particular, entries on the 'food-is-good-for-you' list include apples and cruciferous vegetables -- broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy and kale. According to several new studies (as well as some older ones), these foods are particularly helpful for fighting certain types of cancer.
AN APPLE A DAY
Did you know that apples -- those delicious, versatile, beautiful fruits -- actually are 'natural born cancer cell killers' and more, too? Researchers at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Strasbourg exposed cancer cells to apple antioxidants. They found that one type of antioxidant that is prominent in apples, procyanidins, was particularly effective in triggering cancer cell deaths. The French team then did a second-stage study for which they exposed laboratory rats to colon-cancer-causing substances and then fed one of two groups of rats the apple procyanidins for six weeks. The rats that fed on the antioxidant developed half as many precancerous lesions as the group on regular feed.
An earlier cell culture study at Cornell University also demonstrated that apple extract inhibited colon cancer cells, but this study reports that the effectiveness seems to come from not just one, but all antioxidants contained in apples, especially those in the skin. A recent Cornell review of the literature on apple research showed that apples also are protective against several other types of cancer, "
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
SmokeOutHypocrisy.com Manitoba's Provincial Smoking Restriction Is Bad Public Policy
This is a real treat and laugh and shows that some people do not like getting "screwed" by "their" government officials that they pay with their hard earned taxes. Smoke out hypocrisy is a refresing , original joy to read from the West. Enjoy the link -it will make you laugh, satire or provocative otherwise , this is definately a good read -pure primative wit yet effective. ( Not one politically correct or publically funded tree was used in producing their effective rant-chuckle)
SmokeOutHypocrisy.com Manitoba's Provincial Smoking Restriction Is Bad Public Policy: "Aren't you mad at the Government too. YOU BET The NDP should have had the courage to stand up to these special interest groups and tell them that the province cannot afford this legislation. They should have told the province the truth about healthcare funding and put people's lives ahead of politics. We need politicians who are compasses - not weathervanes.
Who else is getting screwed by this legislation?
HEALTH INSPECTORS These poor guys don't want any part of this. Do you think that they want to go into a bar on a Friday night that is full of farmers - who have had a bad crop - and are half-cut and give them all tickets for smoking. These folks wanted to protect our food and water supply, they didn't sign on to be lifestyle cops.
Who is getting screwed the worst?
CANCER PATIENTS If I were a cancer patient I would be enraged. Every year cancer becomes a more treatable disease. But the drugs and technology to fight this disease need money. So why are the groups that are supposed to be looking after cancer patients doing everything they can to take money out of healthcare? For example, did you know that:
The Manitoba Division of the Canadian Cancer Society spent over $"
SmokeOutHypocrisy.com Manitoba's Provincial Smoking Restriction Is Bad Public Policy: "Aren't you mad at the Government too. YOU BET The NDP should have had the courage to stand up to these special interest groups and tell them that the province cannot afford this legislation. They should have told the province the truth about healthcare funding and put people's lives ahead of politics. We need politicians who are compasses - not weathervanes.
Who else is getting screwed by this legislation?
HEALTH INSPECTORS These poor guys don't want any part of this. Do you think that they want to go into a bar on a Friday night that is full of farmers - who have had a bad crop - and are half-cut and give them all tickets for smoking. These folks wanted to protect our food and water supply, they didn't sign on to be lifestyle cops.
Who is getting screwed the worst?
CANCER PATIENTS If I were a cancer patient I would be enraged. Every year cancer becomes a more treatable disease. But the drugs and technology to fight this disease need money. So why are the groups that are supposed to be looking after cancer patients doing everything they can to take money out of healthcare? For example, did you know that:
The Manitoba Division of the Canadian Cancer Society spent over $"
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Medical advocacy ( Medical overmedication )
MSN Hotmail - Message: "Never assume that a hospital or a nursing staff or a doctor's office will do any coordinating of the big picture. Patients with complicated health challenges need an advocate to help do that for them. " from the Health Gain Forum and Health Science Institute
Sometimes you need someone in your corner.
In an Internet Broadcasting Systems (IBS) article titled "Over- Medication Sickens Seniors," geriatrician Dr. Mary Cohan discusses several problems that I've addressed in previous e- Alerts. For instance, many elderly patients require the care of specialists and end up visiting more than one doctor on a regular basis. When several doctors prescribe different medications, the chances for adverse drug interactions increase, along with the risk of side effects.
And here's the disturbing result of that trend:A recent survey revealed that older patients suffering from side effects or adverse interactions account for 20 percent of all emergency room visits.
A friend of mine named Jan experienced this very situation with her father who had multiple health problems. In deep frustration, Jan and her family wondered why all of the specialists couldn't get on the same page. It slowly dawned on her that the doctors had no motivation to do so; to each of them her father was just one of many patients who required attention for a few brief minutes at a time.
Finally, she and some family members organized and insisted on a joint conference between four different specialists. It was quite difficult to match up their schedules, so the family had to be persistent in scheduling and rescheduling. When the meeting finally took place, two of the doctors realized that some of their prescribed drug therapies needed immediate adjustment.
Obviously, her father couldn't have handled this situation on his own. Which brings us to this simple health care tip: Get an advocate.
Many patients - especially those who are elderly or who have multiple health problems - need someone to step forward and coordinate their health care. That advocate doesn't need to be a health care professional, they just need to be diligent in asking hard questions, following up on the answers, and making sure that all of the doctors involved are aware of the entire scope of diagnoses, tests, prescriptions, dietary recommendations, etc.
Never assume that a hospital or a nursing staff or a doctor's office will do any coordinating of the big picture. Patients with complicated health challenges need an advocate to help do that for them.
Sometimes you need someone in your corner.
In an Internet Broadcasting Systems (IBS) article titled "Over- Medication Sickens Seniors," geriatrician Dr. Mary Cohan discusses several problems that I've addressed in previous e- Alerts. For instance, many elderly patients require the care of specialists and end up visiting more than one doctor on a regular basis. When several doctors prescribe different medications, the chances for adverse drug interactions increase, along with the risk of side effects.
And here's the disturbing result of that trend:A recent survey revealed that older patients suffering from side effects or adverse interactions account for 20 percent of all emergency room visits.
A friend of mine named Jan experienced this very situation with her father who had multiple health problems. In deep frustration, Jan and her family wondered why all of the specialists couldn't get on the same page. It slowly dawned on her that the doctors had no motivation to do so; to each of them her father was just one of many patients who required attention for a few brief minutes at a time.
Finally, she and some family members organized and insisted on a joint conference between four different specialists. It was quite difficult to match up their schedules, so the family had to be persistent in scheduling and rescheduling. When the meeting finally took place, two of the doctors realized that some of their prescribed drug therapies needed immediate adjustment.
Obviously, her father couldn't have handled this situation on his own. Which brings us to this simple health care tip: Get an advocate.
Many patients - especially those who are elderly or who have multiple health problems - need someone to step forward and coordinate their health care. That advocate doesn't need to be a health care professional, they just need to be diligent in asking hard questions, following up on the answers, and making sure that all of the doctors involved are aware of the entire scope of diagnoses, tests, prescriptions, dietary recommendations, etc.
Never assume that a hospital or a nursing staff or a doctor's office will do any coordinating of the big picture. Patients with complicated health challenges need an advocate to help do that for them.
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