Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
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The Ford government gets it wrong on drugs
Wednesday, September 4th, 2024
… on what basis has the government concluded that these sites are doing more to aggravate than to mitigate the drug crisis? On what basis has it concluded that public use is more likely to fall and public safety to rise as these sites close? What, other than the political mood or the premier’s oft-stated personal distaste, led it to this decision? The answers to these questions are not apparent either in the government’s announcement or in the available evidence.
Tags: crime prevention, Health, ideology, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Pierre Poilievre’s attack on me is a symptom of a larger problem
Wednesday, September 4th, 2024
Poilievre’s referring to these sites as “drug dens” is callous and deceptive. These sites offer a lifeline to those struggling with substance use. The very same harm reduction programs that some leaders are targeting don’t only save lives; they also open the door to treatment and recovery… Instead of mocking, Poilievre and his team could benefit from experts to understand the evidence on the importance of supervised consumption sites as an essential pillar of a multi-pronged approach to address this public health crisis and to make our communities safer for all.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Dementia risk factors identified in new global report are all preventable – addressing them could reduce dementia rates by 45%
Sunday, August 18th, 2024
… our team proposed an ambitious program for preventing dementia that could be implemented at the individual, community and policy levels and across the life span… The key points include: In early life, improving general education. In midlife, addressing hearing loss, high LDL cholesterol, depression, traumatic brain injury, physical inactivity, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, obesity and excessive alcohol. In later life, reducing social isolation, air pollution and vision loss.
Tags: mental Health, participation, Seniors, standard of living
Posted in Health Debates | No Comments »
Are private health care providers breaking the law? Four doctors speak out on for-profit care in Canada
Saturday, August 10th, 2024
… the Canada Health Act, which specifies that medically necessary care pertains to care provided by a physician or in a hospital in order for provinces to receive their full Canada Health Transfer payments. The Act, which became law in 1984, is understandably silent on other health-care providers, such as nurse practitioners, or technological platforms that have emerged in the ensuing years… “… it’s absolutely horrible that people are being asked to pay for primary care especially when we see such a lack of support for physicians working in primary care through the publicly funded route.”
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Many more dentists on board to provide care under dental-care program: Holland
Wednesday, August 7th, 2024
… the increase is probably thanks to a change last month that allowed providers to participate on a claim-by-claim basis rather than registering in advance… If the program is to succeed, the government doesn’t just need all current dental-care providers to be ready to sign up. More professionals will also be needed to serve the nine million or so patients Ottawa expects will be eligible for the program before the end of next year.
Tags: Health, poverty, Seniors, standard of living, youth
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Canada has a hospital wait-time crisis. Other countries with universal health-care don’t. We should follow their lead
Tuesday, August 6th, 2024
In Canada, hospitals are primarily funded through what is called block funding… Under this system, any patient coming in is a cost to the hospital, which is then incentivized to ration care through long wait times… In European health-care systems, hospitals are primarily funded through an activity-based funding model… As every act of care is tied to a direct source of revenue, hospitals are encouraged to see and treat more patients
Tags: budget, Health, jurisdiction
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Nearly half of dementia cases can be prevented or delayed, a major new study suggests. Here’s how
Friday, August 2nd, 2024
We need policymakers to take a “population health approach” to preventing dementia… That includes ensuring equitable access to community services, such as group exercise programs, and medical devices… hearing aids, for example… Livingston’s team outlined 13 population-level recommendations for policymakers, addressing each of dementia’s 14 modifiable risk factors.
Tags: disabilities, economy, Health, mental Health, Seniors, standard of living
Posted in Health Policy Context | No Comments »
As for-profit health care expands across Canada, doctors are fighting back
Friday, August 2nd, 2024
… the Canadian Medical Association is calling on governments across the country to ensure medically necessary care is based on need and not on the ability to pay. This includes enforcing a provision in the Canada Health Act that bans making patients pay fees as a condition of receiving publicly insured health services, a practice employed by some private medical clinics.
Tags: Health, ideology, participation, privatization
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
I’m an emergency physician. I’ve seen what a functioning health care system needs and it’s not more downloading to pharmacies
Friday, August 2nd, 2024
Rather than focus on episodic care in a way that further fragments the health-care system, a “bold and innovative” government would address the major source of health-care rot — the lack of primary-care providers. It would reorder incentives and invest in strategies to ensure that every Ontario resident has a primary care provider to manage their episodic and complex medical needs… not a pharmacist to manage their sore throats and warts.
Tags: Health, ideology, privatization, standard of living
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
Ontario considering expanding pharmacists’ powers to treat more common ailments
Thursday, August 1st, 2024
… the province is consulting with the industry on treating 14 more common ailments, such as a sore throat, shingles, and some sleep disorders… the government is also looking at allowing pharmacists to order and perform tests for strep throat and to administer additional vaccines for tetanus, diphtheria, pneumococcal, and shingles… [and] giving pharmacy technicians the power to administer vaccines for hepatitis, rabies, and meningitis.
Tags: Health, ideology, jurisdiction, pharmaceutical
Posted in Health Delivery System | No Comments »
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