After the pandemic: Form good habits now to save local clinics
private vs. public
Private dental care fails millions in Ontario
Avoidable infection in private clinics: in search of transparency and effective prevention
Ontario’s decision to move more hospital-based services to the community is a sensible and laudable policy that has to be backed up with appropriate safety and quality regulation, as well as reimbursement practices. In the last couple of years, in the face of clear, published evidence of quality problems in at least some private clinics …
Cord blood banking in Canada
Minutes after giving birth, blood from the umbilical cord is collected and sent off to a central cord blood bank to be cryogenically frozen. Years later this cord blood could be used to cure some cancers and treat rare diseases. While to some this sounds like the stuff of science fiction, the use of cord …
Alberta regulatory body makes important move to address private MRIs
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 …
“Private” is not a curse word in medicine
As physicians, we hope to not only improve quality of life for our patients, but also help them live longer. Colorectal cancer deaths are widely agreed to be up to 90% preventable by regular screening with colonoscopy. A major barrier is getting people to participate in screening programs. Now that awareness is increasing, another limiting …
Shouldice Hospital sale should be rejected
Last week, the family that owns Shouldice Hospital announced that it would like to sell its facility to Centric Health, a for-profit company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Shouldice, a facility renowned for its care of patients with hernias, was founded by a surgeon in the 1940s and allowed to continue as a private …
The good and the bad – retirement homes have stepped into the gap to provide long-term care
My parents (86 years old, married 61 years) have only rarely been separated in the last 20 years. They have dementia and osteoporosis and additional health concerns. Three years ago their problems became acute, Dad was on the verge of burn-out as caregiver and it became clear they couldn’t manage at home any longer. I …
Why we need to change the revenue model for health care
There are three options when a service or product costs more or is perceived to cost more than it should – agree to pay more, find a similar product for lesser cost, or refuse to purchase. All of these options are valid in health care, including the last one – with funders deciding that some …
Charging patients for services: much confusion, little consensus
The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) does not cover all health services that can be provided by a doctor. These “uninsured” services include telephone renewal of prescriptions, writing sick notes for work or school and transferring medical records. Doctors can offer patients the option of paying for a set of uninsured services with a single …
Public and private payment for health care in Canada
It is inaccurate to say that Canada has an entirely publicly funded health care system. While often described as a publicly-funded system, only about 70% of health care costs are paid for publicly, with the remaining 30% paid for privately. In Ontario, medically necessary hospital and physician costs are entirely covered by the public health care system. …