Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
Is paying out-of-pocket for medically necessary care allowed? Doctors and nurses say patients need to know now
Wednesday, November 20th, 2024
… Canada has seen a rise of for-profit medical care in which patients pay out-of-pocket to access primary care through private clinics, virtual platforms or nurse practitioners, who are not covered by provincial health plans… the Canada Health Act’s silence regarding non-physician health-care providers creates a loophole “that certain health-care providers and their clinics are taking advantage of, knowing there is no legal consequence or risk of getting shut down.”
Tags: budget, Health, jurisdiction, privatization
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
These doctors can help tackle Ontario’s shortage. They just need a licence
Wednesday, November 20th, 2024
… medical residencies should have a different stream for foreign-born doctors that more accurately assesses their qualifications… the expansion of supervised clinical positions in family health teams and Indigenous health centres where these doctors could gain clinical experience while meeting the needs of underserved communities… In the short term… the government could lower barriers to licensure by waiving exam fees — which can quickly run up to thousands of dollars — and funding additional residency positions.
Tags: Health, ideology, immigration, jurisdiction, multiculturalism
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Pharmacare and Access to Medicines in Canada: Is Bill C-64 a Step in the Right Direction?
Friday, November 8th, 2024
After years of change and advancement in healthcare for Canadian citizens, Bill C-64 still might fall short of providing at adequately and fairly providing pharmacare in Canada… because of the vague language of the bill and because of the unrelentless lobbying of commercial stakeholders, these first steps can very well end up even further entrenching the current inefficient, inequitable and wasteful mishmash of drug plans that has characterized Canadian drug coverage since the 1960s.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health History | No Comments »
The Nurse Practitioner Answer to the Primary Care Crisis
Sunday, October 27th, 2024
Another factor [to explain Canadians’ seemingly sudden disenchantment with their healthcare system]may be the reluctance of provincial governments to undertake major institutional reforms. Since the 1990s, when serious budget deficits necessitated action, most provinces have been reluctant to provoke opposition from powerful interest groups, in particular physicians’ associations… As a result of this opposition, some NPs are underemployed in rural and remote communities or underutilized in urban hospitals…
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, participation
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Why it is urgent that Ontario share health data with Ottawa
Sunday, October 27th, 2024
… every province and territory closely guard their residents’ health from the federal public health agency to varying degrees, but what’s done in the name of protecting individual privacy comes at the cost of blinding the Public Health Agency of Canada to a fuller understanding of the health of Canadians… Timely and accurate data inform sound public health policies. Their absence does the opposite, including leaving risk management to the most vulnerable.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, mental Health, rights
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Province Appoints Dr. Jane Philpott as Chair of New Primary Care Action Team
Thursday, October 24th, 2024
Dr. Philpott will oversee… the connection of every Ontarian with primary care services within the next five years… with input from other primary health care leaders across the province, she will provide and implement an action plan ensuring the Minister of Health can further expand team-based primary health care across the province… This plan will ensure better service on weekends and after-hours, reducing the significant administrative burden on family doctors and other primary care professionals and improving connections to specialists and digital tools.
Tags: featured, Health, jurisdiction, mental Health, participation
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Canada’s getting national pharmacare. Here’s what it means for you
Wednesday, October 23rd, 2024
With the Liberal government’s pharmacare plan enacted earlier this month, the government only needs to sign individual deals with the provinces to realize widespread access to diabetes medication, like insulin, and a broad array of contraceptives… “informal” talks have already been ongoing… Ottawa can sign deals with all provinces by next spring… Ontario’s government, however, is still mulling over the fine print of the program.
Tags: budget, featured, Health, jurisdiction, participation, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
6.5 million Canadians lack a family doctor. The solution is already here
Tuesday, October 15th, 2024
In a report released this month, [three of Canada’s senators] suggest the following: accelerate a pathway for the many internationally trained doctors who are currently unable to practise in Canada…. Hundreds of ITPs currently compete for each residency spot available to them, a situation which is clearly untenable… Practice Ready Assessment[s] consist[s] of a 3-month assessment of a doctor’s competency to practise, assessed by licensed doctors in Canada while they see patients, usually in a rural or remote setting.
Tags: Health, immigration, jurisdiction
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
Foreign doctors won’t solve our family physician crisis. Here’s what might
Monday, October 14th, 2024
Expand and reform medical education… increase capacity and tailor programs to meet current needs, especially in family medicine… Reform selection processes to attract medical students who are committed and suited for specialties in need, particularly family medicine… Embrace community-based training… Incentivize family medicine… Integrate technology… Promote team-based approaches that maximize and effectively integrate the skills of various health professionals, improving patient care and physician satisfaction.
Tags: featured, Health, participation, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Ford’s bungling of Ontario’s nursing shortage is aimed at undermining public health care
Thursday, October 3rd, 2024
… staff shortages and long wait-lists in Ontario are problems that were greatly exacerbated by Ford’s mishandling of the nursing crisis. Could it be that the dissatisfaction with our health-care system may be best solved — not by introducing a lot of private, profit-making clinics — but simply by paying nurses good wages within the public system?
Tags: budget, Health, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
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