Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse
The harms to individuals, health-care systems and society from Canada’s opioid crisis are so grave that some physicians and lawyers are calling for criminal prosecution of OxyContin’s drugmaker.
As part of a Canada-wide settlement announced in May following a class-action lawsuit, Purdue Pharma (Canada) agreed to pay $20 million — including $2 million to provincial health plans — over how the company marketed and sold its pain medications OxyContin and OxyNEO.
Read more at CBC News
The union representing nurses and long-term care workers at Ottawa’s 17 facilities says “many tragic stories” could be avoided if Ontario increased its funding.
CUPE staged a rally at the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre on Thursday, urging support for Bill 33, a private member’s bill calling for higher levels of daily resident care, along with four hours minimum daily hands-on care.
Read more at ottawasun.com
Canadians take great comfort in the belief that our health care system — a key part of our national identity — is world class.
But an unsettling report ranking Canada near the bottom in a comparison of health care in 11 developed nations raises questions about the quality of care we’re actually receiving. It highlights the need for improvements – particularly making sure patients have better access to doctors – that Ottawa and the provinces must make to guarantee healthcare remains a source of pride for all Canadians.
Read more at thestar.com
In the 15 months he has been Manitoba’s health minister, Kelvin Goertzen has demonstrated a clear and profound disdain for sacred cows.
The past 90 days alone, Goertzen unveiled plans to close and repurpose three Winnipeg hospital emergency rooms, shutter two dozen rural Emergency Medical Services stations, and cut tens of millions of dollars in operating funds from regional health authorities.
Read more at winnipegfreepress.com
Provincial health-care systems are struggling to place Canadians in the appropriate continuing-care settings they need, potentially adding to wait times and barriers to care, according to a new report.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) report found one in five seniors who have lower-priority needs could have delayed or even avoided admission to residential care and instead received care in their own home or in home-like settings.
Read more at theglobeandmail.com
A staggering number of people with mental health conditions are prescribed opioids, according to a new study.
Researchers from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the University of Michigan found that 51 percent of painkiller prescriptions are distributed to those who have also been diagnosed with depression and anxiety.
This article was sent to us by the author, Ijaz Rauf, President at Eminent Tech Corporation and an Adjunct Professor of Physics, School of Graduate Studies at York University.
Growing evidence of problems in the level of quality and safety of care across healthcare organizations, along with public awareness, has made the quality of health care the talk of town. This has drawn significant government and regulatory attention to healthcare systems across the country. Health Quality Ontario (HQO) was established with the mandate to monitor and report on healthcare performance in Ontario and the mission to bring about meaningful improvement in health care. Besides reporting on the key performance indicators, HQO holds quality rounds to share knowledge and best practices. Recently, I attended one of HQO’s quality rounds, and I left with the impression that quality in health care is not considering the right measures, using the right experts or measuring the right data.
read more at cmajblogs.com
If you live in the United States, you can easily find out if your doctor receives payments from drug companies. Ditto if you live in Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and many other European countries.
But not Canada.
This country is seen as an international “laggard” when it comes to transparency about financial ties between the pharmaceutical industry and physicians.
Read more at thestar.com
Personal care home employee raised alarm bells in 2011 about financial mismanagement.
A whistleblower who sounded the alarm about financial mismanagement, nepotism and fraud at a West St. Paul personal care home is suing the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and three lawyers after the person’s identity was allegedly revealed in court documents.
Read more at cbc.ca
An inquest into the death of a youth in custody will be held later this month in Saskatoon.
Timothy Unger was a resident at Kilburn Hall Youth Centre, a secure custody youth facility in Saskatoon, when he died on July 30, 2015. In the early morning hours he was taken to Royal University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Read more at cbc.ca