In the internet age there is an unprecedented amount of information available to anyone with access to the web. In health care, this is slowly shifting power dynamics, with patients taking increased responsibility and ownership of their health. What needs to be done so a health care system built in the 20th century can address …
On June 12, 2012, the OMA announced its intention to launch a constitutional challenge to the Ontario Government’s decision to reduce physician fees for 37 procedures and services. No doubt the OMA’s decision to attempt to shift the locus of its dispute with the government from the bargaining table to the courts was motivated by …
Here’s a startling but true story. In 2008, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care paid about 10 million dollars for 13 million blood sugar test strips. They were used by 49,000 Ontarians aged 65 or older who had diabetes. What’s so startling about that? The people who used the strips were not receiving …
Telehomecare programs offer remote monitoring for people living with chronic diseases, linking patients to providers without requiring an in-person visit. Ontario is currently developing a number of large-scale telehomecare programs with the promise that they are patient centred, cost effective approaches to care. While there is great enthusiasm for telehomecare programs from patients, providers and …
The thought of the annual Pap smear causes me as much discomfort as it does any young woman. When I read the new guidelines for cervical cancer screening in Ontario, reported in last month’s issue of Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Canada, I was slightly relieved at the recommendations being put forth. Rather than …
A recent Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Report obscurely titled Health Indicators 2012 revisits the topic of the impact of prevention on reduced mortality which was first profiled in the 1974 Lalonde Report – A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians. This caused me to go back and reread the 38 year old …
Changes to the fee structure of Ontario’s Docs are stoking a fiery dispute between the Ontario government and physicians. But the current standoff takes the momentum out of physician-centred reforms with durable opportunities for cost savings in the health sector – such as having doctors commission care on behalf of their patients. Getting better value …
By all accounts, Kaiser Permanente (a non-profit healthcare insurer and provider in the United States) is one of the best performing health care systems in the world. Shouldn’t it follow then, that its health plan members fare better as a population in terms of their health status? Not quite. A few weeks ago, Kaiser Permanente …
The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) has developed a model of medical education to address the needs of people living in northern Ontario. NOSM was founded in 2005 with mandate of social accountability to the communities of the region. As the first NOSM graduates begin to enter practice, there are hopes that this school …
The fiscal health of the province should not be cured by detrimental changes to the health of Ontarians. The rhetoric of rising health care costs and a population aging ‘crisis’ are a means by government, health service providers, and even the consumer to obscure reality. The main crisis facing Ontario is a debt crisis. The …
When I present my research, a question I often get asked is “When will Canada support the pharmaceutical industry?” What do they mean? With sales of $41.3 billion in 2009 and net revenues of $1.3 billion, the industry would in all accounts appear healthy. Furthermore, employment in the pharmaceutical industry has increased by 12% in …
If I harm a pt by making poor surgical decision for which evid was available to guide me;there is recourse. How is gov’t different? #onpoli — Dr. Shady Ashamalla (@AshamallaMD) June 1, 2012 Evidence-based policy. For those of us in the healthcare field, it resonates as an ideal. What better way to allocate resources than …
The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and Ministry of Health and Long Term Care negotiate fee schedules on a four year basis. This year, the process has garnered a great deal of attention as negotiations broke down, and the Ministry of Health unilaterally imposed fee reductions in some areas. Understanding the history of bargaining between doctors …
A recent article in a scientific journal has stimulated an interesting debate about the make up of advisory boards in health care, and what constitutes a conflict of interest. Dr. Barry Rubin is a vascular surgeon in Toronto and a member of an Expert Panel of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) that is …
I’d like to talk to you a little bit about fear. As many who visit this site are no doubt aware, the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and the provincial government are in the midst of a fee dispute. The government has decreed that the total physician services budget will be frozen. This means that physicians …