Healthcare Waste Archives - Page 19 of 25

Health care: more isn’t always better

May 2, 2017

Each year, at least one million unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures are done in Canadian health-care settings. This means hundreds of thousands of Canadians are exposed to potential harm by unnecessary care.

Unnecessary care could be a prescription drug, a diagnostic test or a medical procedure that doesn’t improve a patient’s health outcomes and isn’t backed by the best available evidence. It may also involve risks and harmful side-effects.

In other words, this medical care offers no value to patients and strains resources.

A recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information, in partnership with Choosing Wisely Canada, demonstrates how pervasive unnecessary care is across the country and highlights several key examples where changes could benefit patients and the health system.

Financial hurdles halt lawsuit against Canada’s health-care system

April 28, 2017

The constitutional challenge of Canada’s public health-care system has adjourned until September, with the plaintiffs arguing they have run out of money for the case and accusing the British Columbia government of stall tactics.

But the province offered no apologies for “vigorously” defending the public system and said the plaintiffs have not been sufficiently organized, accusing them of abuse of process.

The adjournment further delays a landmark case that began more than seven months ago, to significant attention, but which has since slowed to a crawl.

The matter, which is being heard in B.C. Supreme Court, had been expected to take six months but the plaintiffs are only halfway through their case and the province has not yet begun its submission.

Canadian health care struggles to find a cure for hallway medicine

April 26, 2017

Jack Webb died in a Halifax hospital on Feb. 1, after sitting in a chilly emergency room hallway for six hours and being bumped from a room by another dying patient during his five-day stay.

“I believe Jack was terrified. … He wanted to go home,” his wife, Kim D’Arcy, said.

His story isn’t unique. Over the last few months, there have been a flurry of stories from patients across Canada, complaining that they were kept in hospital hallways because of overcrowding.
A woman from Surrey, B.C. recently spent three days in the hallway, after being admitted for internal bleeding.

“When my doctor came to see me, there were people standing around and he was talking about my private, personal information about the treatment I was about to go through,” the woman, Karen Sidhu, told Global News.

“He couldn’t help it. It was really unacceptable.”

How Much Health Care Is Too Much?

April 26, 2017

Each year, there are at least one million unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures done in Canadian health care settings. This means that hundreds of thousands of Canadians are exposed to potential harm by unnecessary care.

What constitutes ‘unnecessary care’?

Unnecessary care could be a prescription drug, a diagnostic test or a medical procedure that does not improve a patient’s health outcomes and is not backed by the best available evidence. It may also involve risks and harmful side-effects.

In other words, this is medical care that offers no value to patients and strains health care resources.

Outspoken doc not impressed by Health Canada announcement

April 19, 2017

A general practitioner who works with Indigenous patients is skeptical about a new Health Canada policy that allows travel companions for pregnant Status Indian and Inuit women.

Dr. Mike Kirlew, a Sioux Lookout, Ont. doctor told APTN Investigates he believes the policy is just another band aid on a system that needs major surgery.

He wonders if the policy is something the federal government really feels is innovative.

“Do we honestly think that this would win a health care innovation award,” he said.

APTN Investigates is digging into Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) and First Nations healthcare as part of a report called Surviving Bureaucracy airing Friday April 21.

Should the wealthy be allowed to buy their way to faster health care at private clinics?

March 18, 2017

A growing number of boutique medical clinics is establishing a second tier of health services that critics say encroaches on Ontario’s public health system by charging as much as $4,500 in annual fees for services such as no wait times, genetic analysis and added testing that isn’t always medically necessary.

A Toronto Star/Ryerson School of Journalism investigation documents a hybrid health-care regime that markets to a clientele who can access public health care while paying for services that reach beyond what is covered by OHIP, including 24/7 access to health-care professionals, fast-tracking of MRIs and a range of annual tests and lifestyle assessments.

Ontario doctors push back against changes to discipline process

March 2, 2017

The association that represents Ontario’s doctors is fighting back against the government’s proposal to change the law around discipline for health professionals, which would see the health minister being granted a larger role in the process.

“These changes, taken together, paint a troubling picture,” Ontario Medical Association spokesperson Dr. Rachel Forman said in a statement issued to the Star.

“If the bill is passed in its current form, there is a very real risk that physicians could cease performing certain medical acts to avoid any potential they would be subjected to unjust processes.”

Bill 87, which Health Minister Eric Hoskins presented in the legislature last December, contains amendments to the Regulated Health Professions Act that stem from a Star investigation into doctors still practising after being found to have sexually abused their patients.

Source: Ontario doctors push back against changes to discipline process | Toronto Star

Alberta’s freewheeling Mental Health Review Panel earns Teddy Award nomination

February 28, 2017

If there’s a lesson the province can learn from this luxury-limousine-sized embarrassment, it’s that language counts.

Language like “quit it”. “Stop, or you’re fired.” “No more chauffeurs.”

Pretty much anything direct and to the point might have worked — after all, strong unwavering words sure had an instantaneous effect last October, when the provincial government finally read the bureaucratic riot act to Marilyn Smith, chair of the Calgary and South Mental Health Review Panel.

By then, Smith had managed to spend another $12,000 dollars on chauffeured limousine rides between Calgary and hearings in town like Canmore, Claresholm, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, where mental health cases were discussed.

“When it became clear that town car usage had continued after this initially came up, the minister made it clear to our officials that town car usage is unacceptable to Alberta taxpayers,” said Alberta’s health ministry, in a written statement.

Ontario doctors ‘distressed’ over wave of bullying, infighting

February 27, 2017

A damaging wave of cyberbullying and intimidation is sweeping through the ranks of Ontario doctors, complete with obscene emails, threats against each other’s medical careers and refusals to take patient referrals from adversaries.

Although experts say bullying has always been a problem in medicine, in Ontario it has escalated since last summer’s failed ratification vote over a proposed deal between the government and Ontario Medical Association, which represents the province’s 34,000 doctors and medical students.

The problem has grown even harsher since the sudden decision by the OMA executive to resign en masse following a vote of non-confidence by the group’s 260-member elected council last month.

Source: Ontario doctors ‘distressed’ over wave of bullying, infighting | Toronto Star

Our Healthcare System Has Some Of The Longest Wait Times In The World

February 22, 2017

It looks as though Canadians have some of the best healthcare in the world–provided they live long enough to actually see a doctor.

A new survey of 11 developed countries shows that Canada was in last place for wait times (tied with Norway) and also scored quite poorly on the availability of doctors during nights and weekends. This means that Canadians have the highest rate of emergency room usage out of the 11 countries surveyed.

As it turns out, these numbers are actually an improvement since the last time the survey was conducted.