Heart Institute Co-founder Hosts Musical Comedy Gala

 Photos courtesy of Stone Fence Theatre. One of the founders of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute is hosting a unique dinner theatre fund-raiser featuring a musical comedy that celebrates the Institute and Canadian health care. Dr. Donald S. Beanlands, now an Honorary Associate of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and

Ten Medical Expenses You Didn’t Know Were Eligible for the Medical Tax Credit

 As Canadians we like to take pride in our publicly funded healthcare system, but the truth is many of us – especially those with or caring for someone with disabilities or chronic conditions – pay out of pocket for a wide range of essential health services.  Studies show Canadians pay

Are we finally in a health election campaign?

 Why more affordable medications for Canadians should be an all-party priority in this federal election. It's become almost a matter of faith: health and health care are perennially among the top priorities for Canadians, but are nearly invisible in election platforms and debates. This observation has led health care providers, health care

It Shouldn’t Matter Where You Go To School, But For Kids With Diabetes, It Does

 Provinces, school districts need to adopt comprehensive diabetes policies now Summer is a time to put thoughts of school aside, but some families are already worrying about September.  For parents of kids with diabetes, the beginning of each new school year brings not only the usual preparations, but also fears

Provincial Health Ministers Right to Push for National Pharmacare Program–But What Kind?

 Quebec’s outdated drug coverage policies should not be model for rest of Canada In spite of very high expenditures for drug coverage, one in 10 Canadians cannot afford to fill their prescriptions. The current patchwork of public and private plans across the country means that Canadians are covered for their

Canadians Care About Healthcare—So Why Don’t We See More Health Policy Coverage in the News?

 For the last 30 years or so, Canadians have repeatedly flagged healthcare as the most important national concern and the issue they want their political leaders to prioritize. Surveys and studies and polls and panels—there have been plenty—all come up with the same finding: Canadians care about healthcare. That doesn’t mean

The Other Drug Problem in Canada’s Cities

 How Canada’s piecemeal pharmaceutical drug insurance coverage costs Canadian cities—and taxpayers—plenty Canada's cities face a number of problems: traffic, housing, crime, infrastructure—the list goes on. Prescription drugs are one of these problems—one that is costing local governments as much as $500 million every year. How so? Municipalities, like most employers,

Pharmacare is Good for Business

 Repeatedly over the past 50 years, national commissions and inquiries have recommended that Canadian medicare include universal, public coverage of prescription drugs. So far, no government has acted on this, creating profound inequities and inefficiencies in our health care system. But more than that: the lack of universal pharmacare is

How to Make the Social Determinants of Health Matter

 An Interview with Sir Michael Marmot Recently, I was fortunate to attend the Global Symposium on the Role of Physicians and National Medical Associations in Addressing Health Equity and the Social Determinants of Health held in London, England. The meeting was organized by the Canadian, British and World Medical Associations

Ambulance Fees are an Obstacle on the Road to Care

 Imagine you’re a physician seeing a six month old child in clinic. She has a fever and cough, she’s working hard to breathe and her oxygen levels are falling. You know she needs assessment in the emergency room and requires transportation in an ambulance in case her condition worsens en route.

Time for Improved Transparency and Openness in Pharmaceutical Drug Regulation

 Prescription pharmaceuticals have saved and improved many lives, but they can also be deadly. How can we make sure Canadians get the prescription drugs they need without causing unnecessary harm? The federal government plays a vital role in pharmaceutical drug regulation. We have many reasons to be proud of the

Getting a Grip on the Risks of Vaccination

 Every day when I see patients in my surgical clinic, some are offered a procedure to help them feel better. Whether it is a minor surgery like a tonsillectomy, or something larger scale such as tumor resection, I have a full discussion with the patient regarding the benefits and risks

Compulsory insurance does not create affordable access to prescription drugs

 By Steve Morgan New Brunswick has opportunity to reduce pharmaceutical drug prices dramatically with a single payer system. The Liberal government of New Brunswick appears to be stepping back from the brink of mandatory prescription drug insurance. And so they should. The Conservatives had pitched the drug plan as a

Why One of Canada’s Big Banks is Calling for Greater Income Equality

 Studies finds public investments in childhood education, health and affordable housing good for the economy. A moneylender sees the light, discovering a spirit of giving and generosity. It’s a classic Christmas tale of redemption – and redistribution ­­– but this year the convert in question appears to be one of

Canadians want Patient Online Healthcare Options: So What’s the Hold Up?

 Eight in 10 Canadian adults want online access to their own health information yet fewer than one in 10 currently have it, so says a new study published in Healthcare Papers. The gap is just as wide for other patient online services, such as booking appointments, e-visits, or requesting prescription

Seniors are not the Wealthy Generation Despite Recent Media Hype

 Why we need to invest in affordable housing, homecare and long-term care for seniors Working as an advocate for seniors’ issues can feel like pushing water uphill. Yet, after a challenging few years which has seen headlines of flood and fire, bad food, bed sores and a chronic shortage of

Prescription Drug Costs Hurting Canadians: Why the Public Health System Needs to Evolve

 This week, health ministers from across Canada will gather in Banff to discuss issues of common interest and explore opportunities to work together. Pharmacare--a program that would see all prescription drug costs covered through a publicly funded system instead of out-of-pocket--will almost certainly be on the agenda. Decision makers often

The Importance of Follow-Up Care After An Emergency Room Visit

 Why Too Many Canadians Are Falling Through The Cracks Television shows have popularized the theatrical entrance into the hospital emergency room: patients racing down hallways on gurneys with worried doctors and nurses running alongside--great drama. How most patients leave the emergency room isn’t quite as dramatic, but the facts tell

Why Canada Shouldn’t Compete with the U.S. for the Worst Performing Health System in the Developed World

 B.C. Court Challenge Looming The latest Commonwealth Study ranked Canada’s health care system a dismal second to last in a list of 11 major industrialized countries. We had the dubious distinction of beating out only the Americans. This latest poor result is already being used by those bent on further

Why our Health System Works for Canada

 The Future of Medicare Depends on our Ability to Change In the past 18 months I have required two major, but unrelated surgeries, experiencing first hand Ontario’s version of Medicare. The two interventions necessitated down-time and an enforced idleness for reflection on life and what it means to be Canadian.

What Problem Do We Believe Private Health Insurance is Going to Fix?

 Canada is about to face its second court challenge over restrictions on private health insurance when Dr. Brian Day’s case appears before the courts in September 2014.  It is true that there are examples of jurisdictions that value universal health insurance coverage and also allow private insurance – the UK

Building a Better Canada

 Welcome to 2014. This issue marks the beginning of our series on Building a Better Canada. Ottawa is where politicians and senior civil servants make the key decisions that directly impact the type of country we want Canada to be. How do we improve health care by making it more

What the Future of American Health Care Means for Canada

 Will Obamacare impact Canadian health care policy? It’s among the many questions that were posed to Trudy Lieberman, past president of the Association of Health Care Journalists and press critic for the Columbia Journalism Review. Lieberman recently completed a cross-Canada public speaking tour, as a Fulbright Scholar and guest of the Evidence

A Partnership for Prevention

 The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and Brampton Civic Hospital partner to explore preventative and integrative models in Canada. Health care is the Ontario government’s single biggest spending program. In 2010-2011, the province spent $44.77 billion on health, 40.3 per cent of its total spending on programs. With an aging

An ever-aging population and its challenges for Canada’s health care system

 ABOVE:  Wendy Nicklin, RN, BN, MSc(A), CHE, FACHE is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Accreditation Canada No society is static and Canada is no exception to this rule. As is the case in other countries, the makeup of Canada’s population is changing with time. Canadian are getting older