For the other side of this debate, see Marnie Escaff & Nizar Mahomed’s Caring for international patients improves care for Canadians Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto has recently been in the news for its new method of revenue generation: offering care to wealthy foreign patients – aka “medical tourists” – who are able to pay out-of-pocket for …
Setting targets has long been a mechanism in industrial psychology to motivate managers and workers to achieve specific organizational objectives. In the last decade, targets have become important methods of driving performance improvement in health care. However, deciding where and when to set targets is a challenge facing health care decision makers. Politics of performance …
There is a prescription opioid crisis in Canada. While these drugs are effective in treating acute pain, and pain near the end of life, the evidence to support long-term use in patients with chronic pain is weak, and for many people the harms exceed the benefits. Prescription opioids are also highly addictive and easily misused. …
Health care system governance is important. CEOs of health care organizations need to report to someone and health care boards fulfill this oversight role. Besides recruiting and hiring a CEO, boards also hold CEOs accountable for achieving outcomes, act as mentors and support CEOs when necessary in taking the heat from the unhappy segments of …
Informed consent to medical treatment is one of the foundational pillars of Canadian medical law and the practice of medicine. Before administering a course of treatment, health care professionals are expected to ensure that their patients understand the benefits and risks of each option and that they voluntarily agree to undergo the chosen therapy. In …
Amid the uproar over crack in Toronto, a very different story about the complexities of addiction and the need for compassion is playing out in Vancouver: celebrated litigator Joseph Arvay is again advocating for addicts in one of Canada’s poorest neighbourhoods, Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. However, this new legal challenge should not be necessary. In 2011, …
Like many Ontarians, I have been moved by the request of Kimm Fletcher to have the Ontario government pay for the drug Avastin to treat her recurrent brain cancer. Ms. Fletcher is 41 years old and the mother of two young children. It sounds like her brain cancer is growing aggressively despite the best treatments …
Health spending in Canada grew by only 2.6% this year, according to the Canada Institute for Health Information (CIHI). That’s a far cry from the 7% annual spending increases between 2000 and 2010. This is the fifth straight decline in the growth rate and the third year that per capita health spending has dropped in …
This is the second of a two-part series on Alberta’s health care restructuring. This article examines the impact of constant change at the highest levels of administration on those who work within the health care system. Alberta Health Services (AHS) is the largest health care delivery organization in Canada. AHS provides health care to nearly …
Alberta Health Services has had a tumultuous summer. There have been major changes at the highest levels of administration and governance of the province’s health system. A review of the recent history of restructuring in Alberta’s health system might be helpful to understand the recent changes. Moving towards health regions Alberta was part of the …
In a surprising move, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta has challenged financial barriers to medical imaging. While some believe that regulatory colleges should limit themselves to individual physician discipline, the Canadian public should support the growing willingness of Colleges to move beyond disciplinary issues to act as a voice for the public …
Lately I have found myself on a few health care boards in both Alberta and Ontario. I have been impressed by the dedication of the board members, and the depth and breadth of expertise they provide. I am also convinced that having many board members who are not health care insiders provides an exceptionally important …
During her campaign for reelection in 2012, Alberta premier Alison Redford promised to create 140 Family Care Clinics (FCCs) over three years. She articulated a vision of primary care that would be one-stop, with many different health care providers under one roof. These clinics would have expanded hours to improve patient access, and would focus …
Last month, after the publication of an open letter by a large group of health professional organizations and health care advocates, former Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq re-opened consultation on the contentious issue of whether Health Canada should approve clinics where people can sell their plasma to a for-profit corporation. Canadian Doctors for Medicare – the …
“Pay-at-risk” became a political flash point in Alberta last month when Health Minister Fred Horne fired the Alberta Health Services board when it didn’t agree to withhold the at-risk part of the compensation package for about 100 executives. Alberta Health Services (AHS) had introduced pay-at-risk for health care executives in 2009. With pay-at-risk — also …
Ritika Goel’s recent commentary on Healthy Debate about the pharmaceutical industry’s influence on physicians got me thinking about other kinds of conflict of interest within the health care system, particularly related to health services researchers. There is a great need for researchers to be independent when conducting their work, and to be able to speak …
In late March, Alberta Health Services (AHS) discontinued maternity services in Banff’s Mountain Springs Hospital. This decision fell out of a regional planning process. It resulted in public outcry, demonstrations, media attention and a pending judicial challenge; it prompted both a Healthy Debate article and webchat. The economic impact of this decision on the AHS …
As a former member of the Alberta Health Services Board who had my own disagreement with the previous Minister of Health, the news about the recent dismissal of the entire AHS Board over a dispute about pay-at-risk for senior executives had emotional resonance. Some of those who were fired are my friends and have served …
On June 6, the federal government introduced Bill C-65 entitled the “Respect for Communities Act” which sets out in legislation the requirements for operating supervised injection sites. Such sites are facilities where individuals can consume illicitly obtained drugs under supervision from a health professional and without being prosecuted. There is currently only one supervised injection …
British Columbia First Nations are making history by undertaking a transformative process to change the way health care is delivered to their children, families and communities. The Tripartite First Nations Health process underway in BC is a case study in the power of many Nations coming together and speaking with a common voice to find …