Have scalpel, will travel: Alberta surgeons operate abroad to bypass wait times
Patient pays $40,000 to get knee replacement in Turks and Caicos. Retired nurse Marlene Driscoll spent the holiday season celebrating a different kind of gift: a brand new knee, delivered by her Calgary surgeon at a private hospital in the Caribbean. The December surgery came with a hefty price tag of about $40,000 for the […]
MDs Fear Pressure to OK Pot Use
Use of medical marijuana expected to explode with rule changes The organization that regulates physicians in Manitoba is worried recent federal rule changes governing medical marijuana will place more pressure on doctors to authorize its use. The province’s MDs have generally been resistant to helping patients become registered to legally use a drug most see […]
Concerned about the Future of Healthcare in Canada, Toronto Doctors Create Mywebhealthreport to Empower Consumers
BusinessWire · Jan. 9, 2014 | Last Updated: Jan. 9, 2014 2:01 PM ET With up to 85% of total healthcare spending consumed within the last few years of life, treating the growing epidemic of chronic diseases will increase the risk of overburdening the Canadian healthcare system as the baby boomer generation gets older and sicker. Canada’s […]
International Physician Job Market Changes Hitting Home in Canada
Starting in 2013, some graduating Canadian Sub-Specialists found themselves competing for jobs in an apparent decreasing job market, particularly in Canada’s major urban centres of Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. Consequently, some are now seeking jobs, both permanent and locum, in Canadian tertiary hospitals in smaller urban centres, the USA and overseas. At the same time, […]
NHS England ‘almost burying head in the sand’ on GP workforce crisis, admits director
The deputy medical director for NHS England, Dr Mike Bewick, has admitted that they are ‘burying their heads in the sand’ on the GP workforce crisis. Speaking at an NHS England ‘Call to Action’ event organised by Newham CCG and the London area team, Dr Bewick said the GP workforce problem was probably ‘the most pressing issue’ […]
In Hansard … Rural emergency services in Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Saskatchewan Last Thursday, on the last day of the fall session of the Saskatchewan legislature, the government was asked about reduced emergency services at a number of small rural hospitals, and Premier Brad Wall alluded to the two Collaborative Emergency Centres the government has opened, adopting the Nova Scotia model. “I think rural Saskatchewan and […]
HealthForceOntario strategy falling short, AG says
Ontario has not met its goal of having the right number, mix and distribution of health-care professionals to meet its needs, Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk said in her 2013 annual report released this week. This is despite $3.5 billion being spent on the government’s HealthForceOntario Strategy over the last six years. The lion’s share of […]
Medical mistake registry coming in Nova Scotia – Health authorities will have to report mistakes within 12 hours
The Nova Scotia government is moving closer to a province-wide system of reporting medical mistakes. Currently, each health authority collects its own information in its own way, making it difficult to get a clear picture of the magnitude of the problem. Beginning Dec. 22, all nine of the province’s health authorities will be required to […]
Saskatchewan ED docs get new contract
The emergency department at Regina’s Pasqua Hospital is staying open around the clock. The health region had announced that the ED would be closed as of last Thursday during the overnight hours due to a persistent and serious shortage of resuscitation-capable physicians. However, a last-minute deal was reached in which physicians agreed to work extra […]
Emergency Department issues flare up across Canada
Emergency department issues were a hot topic in three provinces this past week, coming on the heels of a warning in a recent position paper from the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) that ED overcrowding is worsening and constitutes a “public health crisis.” In Newfoundland and Labrador Tuesday, the St. John’s Telegram reported that […]
