Edmonton hospital part of project to shorten ER waits
By Jodie Sinnema, edmontonjournal.com February 26, 2010
— A new 12-to 16-bed medical assessment unit is expected to open at the Royal Alexandra Hospital this May, dedicated to patients currently filling up emergency department stretchers while awaiting admission or needing longer-term care.
A similar 12-bed unit is already open at Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary as part of the province's efforts to bring down wait times and improve access to hospital beds.
Each unit will cost about $1.75 million to operate each year and will have approximately 15 staff, including nurses, pharmacists, social workers, physiotherapists and occupational therapists, as well as general internists who specialize in care for chronic conditions instead of emergencies.
People heading to emergency wards will still have to wait in hospital waiting rooms for help. But once they see an emergency doctor, that doctor will decide which patients who need admission should be diverted to the new units, freeing up emergency department stretchers.
The new unit team will diagnose and treat those patients more quickly than if they stayed in the emergency ward, then will find the most appropriate bed in other hospital units for specialized care.
"We do this now, as its embedded all through emergency, but we don't do it well," said Dr. Bill Dickout, medical director at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Emergency room doctors, for instance, might not always have the expertise to know what ward can best care for a patient with diabetes who also has heart and liver problems. While physiotherapists or pharmacists are sometimes available, their hours are currently patchy.
"The efficiency of that should improve with a dedicated team and then ultimately a dedicated space."
A physiotherapist and pharmacist, for example, may be better equipped to set up a treatment plan that could keep some seniors from being admitted, reducing lengths of stay and allowing people to move back into the community more quickly, Dickout said.
"(Alberta Health Services and Alberta Health and Wellness are) looking for some place to demonstrate if this, in fact, is going to be a significantly added value to our problem," Dickout said, referring to ballooning wait times for emergency care.
A recent report by the Health Quality Council of Alberta showed that half of all patients admitted to hospital in 2009 waited 14.4 hours, up from 11.1 hours in 2007.
"It's just another way to improve a complicated system. ... So it's not going to be one golden bullet that will fix this, but the (medical assessment units) may be an important component of this."
Stephen Duckett, CEO of Alberta Health Services, said these units are only part of a plan to bring down emergency wait times. The health authority has also made plans to build more assisted-living and community beds so seniors currently waiting in hospital will no longer block access.
"This is not the answer. There's no simple solution, but it's one part of the solution," Duckett said. "It's extra capacity, so there are more places to put patients."
Over the next year, similar units are expected to be opened at other hospitals in Alberta as a way to help Alberta Health Services' reach its three-year goal to get wait times for 90 per cent of admitted patients down to eight hours from the current 16 hours. Less complex patients should wait four hours, down from the current 5.6-hour wait.
Dr. John Cowell, chief executive of the Health Quality Council of Alberta, said he's cautiously optimistic such units can help. He lauds the move to create co-ordinated care teams so that emergency physicians can draw on the expertise of others when it comes to treatment and admission decisions. And new beds -- even transition ones -- are always good.
But in the end, Cowell said patients will continue to block beds -- either those in emergency or in the new assessment units -- if there aren't available acute-care beds on other wards.
"This is an experiment of sorts," Cowell said. "The bed blocking situation, when you have made the decision to admit, is still going to be there. Until an acute-care bed is available, people may still end up stacking up in the medical assessment unit."
David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare, agreed.
"This will only help if they address the short age of acute-care beds," Eggen said. He said Alberta has half as many hospital beds as it did 20 years ago.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Units target ER waits
1 of 2 new medical centres to open at Rockyview General
KRISTA SYLVESTER
METRO CALGARY
February 26, 2010
As part of an ongoing strategy to reduce hospital emergency wait times, the province announced a new 12-unit Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) at the city’s Rockyview General Hospital.
Set to open this summer, the centre will cost $1.75 million annually and will be staffed by approximately 15 nurses, doctors and other health staff, according to Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky.
“After visiting several emergency departments across the province ... I saw the challenges they are facing and this should help to address some of those challenges,” he said.
A similar 12-to-16 bed MAU is also set to open at an Edmonton hospital in May.
The unit will provide space for patients who need longer care or to be admitted into the hospital, easing wait times in emergency waiting rooms, said Stephen Duckett, CEO of Alberta Health Services.
“This is not the only answer; it’s not that simple. But this is definitely part of the solution and a first of its kind in Alberta,” Duckett said of the Australian-modelled plan.
The province aims to reduce wait times in the next three years for complex cases from 16 hours to eight hours, and 5.6 hours to four for less-complex cases, according to the health minister, but he added it won’t happen overnight.
“We have a congested system,” Zwozdesky said.
Friends of Medicare’s David Eggen finds the province’s plan interesting but said the real issue is a shortage of acute-care beds.
“It’s a good idea to reduce wait times, but really they should be creating more acute-care beds. They are not really solving the problem,” he said.
1 of 2 new medical centres to open at Rockyview General
KRISTA SYLVESTER
METRO CALGARY
February 26, 2010
As part of an ongoing strategy to reduce hospital emergency wait times, the province announced a new 12-unit Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) at the city’s Rockyview General Hospital.
Set to open this summer, the centre will cost $1.75 million annually and will be staffed by approximately 15 nurses, doctors and other health staff, according to Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky.
“After visiting several emergency departments across the province ... I saw the challenges they are facing and this should help to address some of those challenges,” he said.
A similar 12-to-16 bed MAU is also set to open at an Edmonton hospital in May.
The unit will provide space for patients who need longer care or to be admitted into the hospital, easing wait times in emergency waiting rooms, said Stephen Duckett, CEO of Alberta Health Services.
“This is not the only answer; it’s not that simple. But this is definitely part of the solution and a first of its kind in Alberta,” Duckett said of the Australian-modelled plan.
The province aims to reduce wait times in the next three years for complex cases from 16 hours to eight hours, and 5.6 hours to four for less-complex cases, according to the health minister, but he added it won’t happen overnight.
“We have a congested system,” Zwozdesky said.
Friends of Medicare’s David Eggen finds the province’s plan interesting but said the real issue is a shortage of acute-care beds.
“It’s a good idea to reduce wait times, but really they should be creating more acute-care beds. They are not really solving the problem,” he said.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Profs tout private health-care option
By Eva Ferguson, Calgary HeraldFebruary 18, 2010Comments (3)
•Story•Photos ( 1 )
Canada's public health-care system won't be sustainable in years to come as this country deals with an aging population, say two professors of economics who argue in a new paper that governments must look at allowing private payment for some procedures.Photograph by: Pierre Obendrauf, Gazette file photoCALGARY — Canada's public health-care system won't be sustainable in years to come as this country deals with an aging population, say two professors of economics who argue in a new paper that governments must look at allowing private payment for some procedures.
In their paper, Herb Emery and Ron Kneebone of the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary point to skyrocketing health-care costs. They argue there would be some merit in changing the Canada Health Act to allow the wealthy to pay for certain procedures and that doing so wouldn't have any impact on the public health system.
"There's nothing wrong with allowing the wealthy to spend their money on their health, particularly aging baby-boomers, who are retired, who have money, and who are very concerned about their health and who would want to pay for that," Kneebone said.
"It sounds like it's not equal. But what is also not equal is the huge debt we're building on the backs of future generations, the young, who will have to pay for it."
Kneebone added that although private payment may allow the wealthy to jump ahead in line, the scenario wouldn't be much different than what is already happening today, where the wealthy are paying for private procedures south of the border.
But just because Canadians are already accessing private care in the United States doesn't make it right to allow it in Canada, argued David Eggen, executive director for the Friends of Medicare, an advocacy group for public health care.
Most importantly, he added, allowing doctors here to do procedures privately takes their time away from the public system.
"In Calgary, 200,000 people already don't have doctors. Allowing the doctors we do have to do private procedures means they and their expertise will only be taken away from the public system," Eggen said.
Eggen, who read through the University of Calgary paper Thursday, said it's full of "faulty logic, deeply misleading," and void of any new ideas.
"This paper is highly political and highly biased in favour of private health care."
But Kneebone and Emery stressed their paper is not just about the idea of allowing some private health care. It also discusses other innovative ways to reduce rising health care costs.
Along with increasing federal transfer payments to provinces and re-examining the tax system, they suggest doctors create more team-oriented practices employing nurses, dietitians, nutritionists and other health-care practitioners to deal with minor health issues, and provide more preventive care.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Profs+tout+private+health+care+option/2583159/story.html#ixzz0g1KjRIvP
By Eva Ferguson, Calgary HeraldFebruary 18, 2010Comments (3)
•Story•Photos ( 1 )
Canada's public health-care system won't be sustainable in years to come as this country deals with an aging population, say two professors of economics who argue in a new paper that governments must look at allowing private payment for some procedures.Photograph by: Pierre Obendrauf, Gazette file photoCALGARY — Canada's public health-care system won't be sustainable in years to come as this country deals with an aging population, say two professors of economics who argue in a new paper that governments must look at allowing private payment for some procedures.
In their paper, Herb Emery and Ron Kneebone of the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary point to skyrocketing health-care costs. They argue there would be some merit in changing the Canada Health Act to allow the wealthy to pay for certain procedures and that doing so wouldn't have any impact on the public health system.
"There's nothing wrong with allowing the wealthy to spend their money on their health, particularly aging baby-boomers, who are retired, who have money, and who are very concerned about their health and who would want to pay for that," Kneebone said.
"It sounds like it's not equal. But what is also not equal is the huge debt we're building on the backs of future generations, the young, who will have to pay for it."
Kneebone added that although private payment may allow the wealthy to jump ahead in line, the scenario wouldn't be much different than what is already happening today, where the wealthy are paying for private procedures south of the border.
But just because Canadians are already accessing private care in the United States doesn't make it right to allow it in Canada, argued David Eggen, executive director for the Friends of Medicare, an advocacy group for public health care.
Most importantly, he added, allowing doctors here to do procedures privately takes their time away from the public system.
"In Calgary, 200,000 people already don't have doctors. Allowing the doctors we do have to do private procedures means they and their expertise will only be taken away from the public system," Eggen said.
Eggen, who read through the University of Calgary paper Thursday, said it's full of "faulty logic, deeply misleading," and void of any new ideas.
"This paper is highly political and highly biased in favour of private health care."
But Kneebone and Emery stressed their paper is not just about the idea of allowing some private health care. It also discusses other innovative ways to reduce rising health care costs.
Along with increasing federal transfer payments to provinces and re-examining the tax system, they suggest doctors create more team-oriented practices employing nurses, dietitians, nutritionists and other health-care practitioners to deal with minor health issues, and provide more preventive care.
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Profs+tout+private+health+care+option/2583159/story.html#ixzz0g1KjRIvP
Boost to surgeries simply political survival
By FRANK LANDRY
Last Updated: February 19, 2010 2:00am
Just like that, with a wave of the magic money wand, Albertans will have access to an additional 2,230 surgeries and non-surgical procedures over the next six weeks.
The government says it’s acting on the wishes of Albertans.
But why the change of heart? And why now? After all, for months, Alberta Health Services (AHS) has focused on trimming costs, including threats of bed closures and job cuts.
If it was so easy to add hundreds of additional procedures — and free up the $8 million this will eat up in weeks — why wasn’t it done sooner?
It’s a query Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky doesn’t like.
“Of course, it’s a question, but it’s not the best question to ask in my view,” he said.
He answers it anyway.
Zwozdesky says it comes down to money. The provincial economy is turning around. A decision was made in last week’s budget to slay the accumulated deficit of AHS, which also saves the agency from paying interest costs.
As well, funding to AHS has been ramped up in a five-year plan, which Zwozdesky said “has changed the entire landscape for health services going forward.”
Presto! More surgeries.
“That’s all positive news,” said Zwozdesky.
Critics, however, say it boils down to political survival — that the Tories are doing whatever they can to slow, and turn around, a slide in the polls.
“That’s the one message they’ve been getting, that they’re sliding in the polls … and they’re responding to it,” said Wildrose Alliance MLA Paul Hinman, whose party has been gaining support at the expense of the Tories, recent polls have suggested.
“It’s like if you’re selling three-wheel cars, and everyone else is going with four-wheel cars, you’re going to switch and make a four-wheel car, aren’t you?”
David Eggen, with Friends of Medicare, says it’s as much a “political reaction” as a “health reaction.”
“I think the government has read the writing on the wall,” Eggen said. “Albertans fought long and hard to ensure that their health-care system can become improved and not dismantled like it has been over this last year and a half.
“This government is responding to popular outrage and that’s a good thing. It’s a good step for democracy.”
It’s expected 2,230 more surgeries and non-surgical procedures will be performed prior to March 31 in areas where there are long wait lists. That includes urgent cancer surgery, hip and knee replacements, heart surgery, cataract surgery and others.
In all, it represents about a 5% boost.
There will also be another 3,500 MRI and CT scans. Increases in non-surgical services, like endoscopies, are also underway.
Zwozdesky says the idea is to also perform more surgeries and procedures in April, May and June — as more surgical teams and operating rooms become available — and carry that over the long term.
Those details will be announced later. And the devil is often in the details.
Critics have already asked where AHS will find the doctors and nurses to perform the procedures.
To address this, at least in part, we know AHS plans to increase the hours of existing staff, either through more shifts or overtime.
But will that be enough?
The Liberals have got their backs up against a wall over the fact some of the work will be contracted out to private health clinics.
But the work will get done, Zwozdesky vowed.
Whatever the motivation, this may provide at least some comfort to those who have been left on wait lists for far too long.
frank.landry@sunmedia.ca
By FRANK LANDRY
Last Updated: February 19, 2010 2:00am
Just like that, with a wave of the magic money wand, Albertans will have access to an additional 2,230 surgeries and non-surgical procedures over the next six weeks.
The government says it’s acting on the wishes of Albertans.
But why the change of heart? And why now? After all, for months, Alberta Health Services (AHS) has focused on trimming costs, including threats of bed closures and job cuts.
If it was so easy to add hundreds of additional procedures — and free up the $8 million this will eat up in weeks — why wasn’t it done sooner?
It’s a query Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky doesn’t like.
“Of course, it’s a question, but it’s not the best question to ask in my view,” he said.
He answers it anyway.
Zwozdesky says it comes down to money. The provincial economy is turning around. A decision was made in last week’s budget to slay the accumulated deficit of AHS, which also saves the agency from paying interest costs.
As well, funding to AHS has been ramped up in a five-year plan, which Zwozdesky said “has changed the entire landscape for health services going forward.”
Presto! More surgeries.
“That’s all positive news,” said Zwozdesky.
Critics, however, say it boils down to political survival — that the Tories are doing whatever they can to slow, and turn around, a slide in the polls.
“That’s the one message they’ve been getting, that they’re sliding in the polls … and they’re responding to it,” said Wildrose Alliance MLA Paul Hinman, whose party has been gaining support at the expense of the Tories, recent polls have suggested.
“It’s like if you’re selling three-wheel cars, and everyone else is going with four-wheel cars, you’re going to switch and make a four-wheel car, aren’t you?”
David Eggen, with Friends of Medicare, says it’s as much a “political reaction” as a “health reaction.”
“I think the government has read the writing on the wall,” Eggen said. “Albertans fought long and hard to ensure that their health-care system can become improved and not dismantled like it has been over this last year and a half.
“This government is responding to popular outrage and that’s a good thing. It’s a good step for democracy.”
It’s expected 2,230 more surgeries and non-surgical procedures will be performed prior to March 31 in areas where there are long wait lists. That includes urgent cancer surgery, hip and knee replacements, heart surgery, cataract surgery and others.
In all, it represents about a 5% boost.
There will also be another 3,500 MRI and CT scans. Increases in non-surgical services, like endoscopies, are also underway.
Zwozdesky says the idea is to also perform more surgeries and procedures in April, May and June — as more surgical teams and operating rooms become available — and carry that over the long term.
Those details will be announced later. And the devil is often in the details.
Critics have already asked where AHS will find the doctors and nurses to perform the procedures.
To address this, at least in part, we know AHS plans to increase the hours of existing staff, either through more shifts or overtime.
But will that be enough?
The Liberals have got their backs up against a wall over the fact some of the work will be contracted out to private health clinics.
But the work will get done, Zwozdesky vowed.
Whatever the motivation, this may provide at least some comfort to those who have been left on wait lists for far too long.
frank.landry@sunmedia.ca
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Alberta OK's more surgeries to cut wait times
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 | 7:45 PM ET Comments72Recommend38CBC News
Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky announces an $8-million injection in health care to cut down surgical waiting lists. (CBC)Alberta said it will reduce surgery wait lists, starting with approval for 2,230 additional surgeries and non-surgical procedures between now and the end of March.
Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky and Alberta Health Services president Stephen Duckett made the announcement Tuesday at the University of Alberta Hospital.
"This is just the beginning of a much longer and larger longer-term plan over the next several months," Zwozdesky said.
Procedures will include urgent cancer surgery, orthopedic surgery (including hip and knee replacements), neurosurgery, heart surgery and cataract surgery.
In addition, 3,500 more MRI and CT scans will be added immediately.
"The new budget announced last week allows us to change the way we've been doing things," said Duckett. "Because, for example, we don't have to focus on the deficit repayment, we are now able to act immediately to ramp up [procedures]."
'Bold goal'
Alberta Health Services has set itself the "bold goal" of trying to increase the number of surgical procedures by 10 per cent over the year, Duckett said.
"We're doing this, in a sense 'blitz,' to start moving quickly," he said. "But what we've got to do is make sure we put in additional capacity so that we can actually make sure that we deal with the flow over time."
The initial 2,230 increase in surgeries and non-surgical procedures will not eliminate the wait list, Duckett said. It is expected to cost $8 million. Officials did not provide financial estimates for subsequent increases in surgeries.
"This is the news we'd all been hoping and waiting for," said Dr. Bill Johnston, co-site medical director at Edmonton's University Hospital, adding the wait list for procedures like hip and knee surgeries had grown significantly in recent months.
'People in agony'
"The list is now over six months and in some cases nine months, and that is too long when you see these people in agony. It's too long."
The number of surgeries would increase in April, May and June as more surgical capacity becomes available, including more operating room time and increased availability of surgeons and surgical teams.
AHS officials said they will compile wait time and wait list information that will be publicly reported annually.
"We are not spending monies we don't have," Zwozdesky said, referring to the five-year funding plan for Alberta Health Services. "We are spending monies that were in the Sustainability Fund."
Last week's provincial budget projected a record $4.7-billion deficit with cuts in many departments, while at the same time promising a 16.6 per cent increase in health-care spending.
'This government is responding to popular outrage, and that's a good thing.'
—David Eggen, Friends of MedicareThe lobby group Friends of Medicare applauds the move, but David Eggen, the group's executive director, said it should have come sooner.
"This government is responding to popular outrage, and that's a good thing, a good step for democracy," Eggen said. "But it shouldn't have to be that level of protest that obliges a government to do the responsible thing."
The strategy does not address the chronic shortage of beds in Alberta, Eggen said, nor the fact so many Albertans can't find a family doctor.
Liberal health critic Kevin Taft said Tuesday's announcement continues what he believes is the government's move to more privately-delivered health care.
"I think the strategy here has been — to the extent that there's been one — has been to squeeze the public system to the breaking point and then open the door to private investors to pick up the pieces," Taft said.
"If you're sitting in pain because your hip replacement has been put off for the last year, then this is going to feel like relief and it will be relief. But it's lousy management, and in the long term it's going to give us, I believe, a worse system."
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 | 7:45 PM ET Comments72Recommend38CBC News
Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky announces an $8-million injection in health care to cut down surgical waiting lists. (CBC)Alberta said it will reduce surgery wait lists, starting with approval for 2,230 additional surgeries and non-surgical procedures between now and the end of March.
Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky and Alberta Health Services president Stephen Duckett made the announcement Tuesday at the University of Alberta Hospital.
"This is just the beginning of a much longer and larger longer-term plan over the next several months," Zwozdesky said.
Procedures will include urgent cancer surgery, orthopedic surgery (including hip and knee replacements), neurosurgery, heart surgery and cataract surgery.
In addition, 3,500 more MRI and CT scans will be added immediately.
"The new budget announced last week allows us to change the way we've been doing things," said Duckett. "Because, for example, we don't have to focus on the deficit repayment, we are now able to act immediately to ramp up [procedures]."
'Bold goal'
Alberta Health Services has set itself the "bold goal" of trying to increase the number of surgical procedures by 10 per cent over the year, Duckett said.
"We're doing this, in a sense 'blitz,' to start moving quickly," he said. "But what we've got to do is make sure we put in additional capacity so that we can actually make sure that we deal with the flow over time."
The initial 2,230 increase in surgeries and non-surgical procedures will not eliminate the wait list, Duckett said. It is expected to cost $8 million. Officials did not provide financial estimates for subsequent increases in surgeries.
"This is the news we'd all been hoping and waiting for," said Dr. Bill Johnston, co-site medical director at Edmonton's University Hospital, adding the wait list for procedures like hip and knee surgeries had grown significantly in recent months.
'People in agony'
"The list is now over six months and in some cases nine months, and that is too long when you see these people in agony. It's too long."
The number of surgeries would increase in April, May and June as more surgical capacity becomes available, including more operating room time and increased availability of surgeons and surgical teams.
AHS officials said they will compile wait time and wait list information that will be publicly reported annually.
"We are not spending monies we don't have," Zwozdesky said, referring to the five-year funding plan for Alberta Health Services. "We are spending monies that were in the Sustainability Fund."
Last week's provincial budget projected a record $4.7-billion deficit with cuts in many departments, while at the same time promising a 16.6 per cent increase in health-care spending.
'This government is responding to popular outrage, and that's a good thing.'
—David Eggen, Friends of MedicareThe lobby group Friends of Medicare applauds the move, but David Eggen, the group's executive director, said it should have come sooner.
"This government is responding to popular outrage, and that's a good thing, a good step for democracy," Eggen said. "But it shouldn't have to be that level of protest that obliges a government to do the responsible thing."
The strategy does not address the chronic shortage of beds in Alberta, Eggen said, nor the fact so many Albertans can't find a family doctor.
Liberal health critic Kevin Taft said Tuesday's announcement continues what he believes is the government's move to more privately-delivered health care.
"I think the strategy here has been — to the extent that there's been one — has been to squeeze the public system to the breaking point and then open the door to private investors to pick up the pieces," Taft said.
"If you're sitting in pain because your hip replacement has been put off for the last year, then this is going to feel like relief and it will be relief. But it's lousy management, and in the long term it's going to give us, I believe, a worse system."
Alberta's major boost in health spending will fund more heart, cancer surgeries
By Jim Macdonald (CP) – 23 hours ago
EDMONTON — Alberta plans to clear up a backlog of urgent cancer and heart surgeries as it starts to spend the largest injection of health care cash in its history.
The government also plans to reduce long waiting lists for hip and knee replacements, neurosurgery and cataract surgery. In all 2,230 more procedures will be performed over the next six weeks, as well as 3,500 additional MRI and CT scans.
Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky said the blitz is needed but won't change the fact that Canada's most expensive health care system still needs a long-term fix to make it sustainable.
"That's what Albertans have told us they want, is something immediate," Zwozdesky said Tuesday.
"But the size of the investment we are making in health care, which is the largest per-capita anywhere in Canada, must begin to better mirror what patients and users are telling us is missing."
Reaction to the move was mixed, with a medicare lobby group praising the government for listening to public concerns about health care. Others were more skeptical.
NDP Leader Brian Mason called the announcement a short-term fix that has more to do with healing the government's popularity than the health system's flaws.
"It gives the new health minister a chance to appear as a hero, but it is not fixing the health care system," Mason said.
Alberta's Progressive Conservative government responded to a dramatic slide in recent polls with a $2-billion increase in health spending in last week's provincial budget.
This represents a whopping 17 per cent increase over the previous year, bringing annual health spending to nearly $15 billion.
A large chunk of the new money was used to wipe out the health superboard's $1-billion operating deficit. The board, known as Alberta Health Services, will also get a six per cent funding increase in each of the next three years.
The increase in surgeries will cost $8 million.
Alberta Health CEO Stephen Duckett said the board recognizes that wait times in Alberta are too long. Now the money is there to fix the problem.
"Let's get on and do something straight away while we are working at what we're going to do for the long term," Duckett told a news conference held in an empty ward at the University of Alberta Hospital.
"What we're announcing today is a down payment. What we can do quickly. Over the next few weeks, we're going to be planning what we're going to do for the long term under a five-year funding agreement."
The government said more surgeries will be added through the spring as more hospital and operating room capacity becomes available.
The province will then evaluate how the extra spending affects waiting times and waiting lists.
"We've had a global recession that we're all suffering from and Alberta is experiencing about a $7-billion shortage in revenues," Zwozdesky says.
"But we now have a rallying point and it's called a five-year funding plan for health care."
One of the government's harshest critics on health care welcomed the news.
David Eggen, with Friends of Medicare, said the province took action after the public spoke out about closed hospital beds, cancelled surgeries and a nursing shortage.
"I hope this is a signal that the government is going to stop playing games with public health care," Eggen said.
"We have half as many beds as we did 20 years ago for acute care in this province. Maybe this is a signal that they admit that they're wrong."
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Alberta’s health system gets 17 per cent hike
By Jodie Sinnema, edmontonjournal.comFebruary 9, 2010 10:25 PMComments (11)
StoryPhotos ( 1 )
Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky.Photograph by: Ed Kaiser, edmontonjournal.comEDMONTON — Alberta’s health system received a mass infusion of cash in Tuesday’s budget that will cover the $1.3-billion accumulated deficit of the new health superboard and is expected to eliminate any foreseeable deficits into the future.
Alberta Health Services reaped cost savings found through cuts to 14 other government departments, and ultimately received a 17-per-cent increase to its operating budget this year. That’s more than double the 7.5-per-cent increase the health authority received last fiscal year, when the government cut coverage for chiropractic services and gender reassignment surgery.
With this budget, the government for the first time introduced a five-year funding plan, intended to provide predictable operating increases for Alberta Health Services, allowing the health authority — and other ministries — to plan for the long term.
“Albertans have told us consistently that public health care is their highest priority and it’s clearly the No. 1 priority of this budget,” said Finance Minister Ted Morton. “If you really look at all the new spending, it’s all into health care. That’s what Albertans want.”
This year’s budget gives Alberta Health Services $812 million more to top up its original 2009-10 $7.7-billion operating budget, plus $512 million in additional cash for 2010-11, bringing the total operating budget to $9 billion.
Overall, that’s a budget increase of $1.3 billion, or 17-per-cent, an amount Liberal Leader David Swann doesn’t support.
“They’re simply covering their asses. This is not responsible,” said Swann, who will be calling an inquiry or audit into health-care spending in the budget. “This is clearly out of line with what Albertans wishes are. We want responsible spending, good value for money. We have said the health-care system is not something to simply throw money at.”
Wildrose Alliance Leader Danielle Smith also questioned the increase, which includes a $759 million one-time cash infusion to cover Alberta Health Services’ forecast deficit for 2009-10. Another $343 million will cover the 2008-09 deficit.
“I think what we see with the way our system is completely broken, the more money we put into it, the worse results we actually get,” Smith said. “What we need to see is major structural changes. We need to push the decision making down to the level of the local hospital. The superboard has clearly been an absolute failure.”
The funding increase will relieve the pressure on Alberta Health Services to find significant cost savings above the annual $700 million it has already found by leaving vacant health-care staff positions open and consolidating the payroll and other administrative departments of the former 12 health boards.
Stephen Duckett, CEO of the health board, said there is a chance some of the vacant positions could now be filled.
“We’re looking carefully at everything as we proceed,” said Duckett, who offered no numbers in terms of nursing hires. “There are still going to be challenges. In the past, health-care expenditures went up at 10 per cent per annum, so we’ve still got to be very tight.”
The next two fiscal years will bring six-per-cent increases each year for Alberta Health Services, then a 4.5-per-cent increase each year in the final two years of the five-year plan.
That’s enough for the health authority to stay in the black, promised Ken Hughes, board chairman of Alberta Health Services, and Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky.
“The days of deficits are gone,” Zwozdesky said. “We have to give the health services board a fresh start. … What this means for Albertans is they’re going to have a very stable, secure, and predictable health-care system, the likes of which we haven’t seen for a while in Alberta.”
The five-year plan also provides some stability to other government departments, said Treasury Board president Lloyd Snelgrove.
“The health care budget increases over the past years have been the elephant in the room, where all departments are somewhat uneasy about how they will be affected by the ongoing work we’ve tried to do to maintain what is simply one of the best health care systems in the world but with an insatiable appetite for funding,” Snelgrove said. Health takes in the biggest portion of the government budget, with the overall health budget now sitting at $14.3 billion, including capital and operational funding.
“By providing them with significant long-term funding, we believe all government will be able to do the work they need to do without being overly concerned about health eating their lunch,” Snelgrove said.
NDP Leader Brian Mason took some credit for the renewed focus on health.
“I think they’re getting the message on health care from Albertans that Albertans do not want health-care privatized or cut,” Mason said.
David Eggen, executive director with Friends of Medicare, said the budget reflects the power of Albertans to persuade the government to change its spending direction.
“Albertans have been saying more health cuts have been wrong and I think you see this budget reflecting this finally,” Eggen said. “We’ve had years and years of cuts, so finally we’re seeing some acknowledgment of the devastation of those cuts.”
He said now that the government has paid the outstanding repair bill, it’s up to Albertans to make sure the health board begins to hire more staff, open more beds and improve accessibility.
“This is a big turnaround for the province and you need to have boots on the ground, first and foremost,” he said.
Heather Smith, president of the United Nurses of Alberta, said she was initially positive about the budget’s potential to boost nursing positions, but became unsure after a brief chat with Duckett brought no guarantees.
Alberta Health Services is set to go into contract negotiations with registered nurses, whose current contract expires March 31.
“I believe there is a deal that is respectful of nurses and our desire to see an expansion of health services, provided employers aren’t looking to use this fiscal environment to move us backward,” said Smith. She said its up to her members to decide if a wage freeze is acceptable.
The budget also includes:
-the same $597 million to fund the program for persons with developmental disabilities. The program receives no cuts but no increases.
-$2 billion for health-related construction. However, Alberta Health and Wellness has yet to announce which projects will go ahead after Alberta Health Services did a full-year review. Plans for a hospital in Sherwood Park or a long-term-care centre in Fort McMurray, for instance, are still up in the air. Decisions could come in April.
-$148 million for the H1N1 vaccination rollout.
-plans to hook the five-year funding plan into performance measures currently being developed.
-$3.3-billion for physician compensation and education, an increase of $253 million or 8.2 per cent.
jsinnema@thejournal.canwest.com
By Jodie Sinnema, edmontonjournal.comFebruary 9, 2010 10:25 PMComments (11)
StoryPhotos ( 1 )
Alberta Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky.Photograph by: Ed Kaiser, edmontonjournal.comEDMONTON — Alberta’s health system received a mass infusion of cash in Tuesday’s budget that will cover the $1.3-billion accumulated deficit of the new health superboard and is expected to eliminate any foreseeable deficits into the future.
Alberta Health Services reaped cost savings found through cuts to 14 other government departments, and ultimately received a 17-per-cent increase to its operating budget this year. That’s more than double the 7.5-per-cent increase the health authority received last fiscal year, when the government cut coverage for chiropractic services and gender reassignment surgery.
With this budget, the government for the first time introduced a five-year funding plan, intended to provide predictable operating increases for Alberta Health Services, allowing the health authority — and other ministries — to plan for the long term.
“Albertans have told us consistently that public health care is their highest priority and it’s clearly the No. 1 priority of this budget,” said Finance Minister Ted Morton. “If you really look at all the new spending, it’s all into health care. That’s what Albertans want.”
This year’s budget gives Alberta Health Services $812 million more to top up its original 2009-10 $7.7-billion operating budget, plus $512 million in additional cash for 2010-11, bringing the total operating budget to $9 billion.
Overall, that’s a budget increase of $1.3 billion, or 17-per-cent, an amount Liberal Leader David Swann doesn’t support.
“They’re simply covering their asses. This is not responsible,” said Swann, who will be calling an inquiry or audit into health-care spending in the budget. “This is clearly out of line with what Albertans wishes are. We want responsible spending, good value for money. We have said the health-care system is not something to simply throw money at.”
Wildrose Alliance Leader Danielle Smith also questioned the increase, which includes a $759 million one-time cash infusion to cover Alberta Health Services’ forecast deficit for 2009-10. Another $343 million will cover the 2008-09 deficit.
“I think what we see with the way our system is completely broken, the more money we put into it, the worse results we actually get,” Smith said. “What we need to see is major structural changes. We need to push the decision making down to the level of the local hospital. The superboard has clearly been an absolute failure.”
The funding increase will relieve the pressure on Alberta Health Services to find significant cost savings above the annual $700 million it has already found by leaving vacant health-care staff positions open and consolidating the payroll and other administrative departments of the former 12 health boards.
Stephen Duckett, CEO of the health board, said there is a chance some of the vacant positions could now be filled.
“We’re looking carefully at everything as we proceed,” said Duckett, who offered no numbers in terms of nursing hires. “There are still going to be challenges. In the past, health-care expenditures went up at 10 per cent per annum, so we’ve still got to be very tight.”
The next two fiscal years will bring six-per-cent increases each year for Alberta Health Services, then a 4.5-per-cent increase each year in the final two years of the five-year plan.
That’s enough for the health authority to stay in the black, promised Ken Hughes, board chairman of Alberta Health Services, and Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky.
“The days of deficits are gone,” Zwozdesky said. “We have to give the health services board a fresh start. … What this means for Albertans is they’re going to have a very stable, secure, and predictable health-care system, the likes of which we haven’t seen for a while in Alberta.”
The five-year plan also provides some stability to other government departments, said Treasury Board president Lloyd Snelgrove.
“The health care budget increases over the past years have been the elephant in the room, where all departments are somewhat uneasy about how they will be affected by the ongoing work we’ve tried to do to maintain what is simply one of the best health care systems in the world but with an insatiable appetite for funding,” Snelgrove said. Health takes in the biggest portion of the government budget, with the overall health budget now sitting at $14.3 billion, including capital and operational funding.
“By providing them with significant long-term funding, we believe all government will be able to do the work they need to do without being overly concerned about health eating their lunch,” Snelgrove said.
NDP Leader Brian Mason took some credit for the renewed focus on health.
“I think they’re getting the message on health care from Albertans that Albertans do not want health-care privatized or cut,” Mason said.
David Eggen, executive director with Friends of Medicare, said the budget reflects the power of Albertans to persuade the government to change its spending direction.
“Albertans have been saying more health cuts have been wrong and I think you see this budget reflecting this finally,” Eggen said. “We’ve had years and years of cuts, so finally we’re seeing some acknowledgment of the devastation of those cuts.”
He said now that the government has paid the outstanding repair bill, it’s up to Albertans to make sure the health board begins to hire more staff, open more beds and improve accessibility.
“This is a big turnaround for the province and you need to have boots on the ground, first and foremost,” he said.
Heather Smith, president of the United Nurses of Alberta, said she was initially positive about the budget’s potential to boost nursing positions, but became unsure after a brief chat with Duckett brought no guarantees.
Alberta Health Services is set to go into contract negotiations with registered nurses, whose current contract expires March 31.
“I believe there is a deal that is respectful of nurses and our desire to see an expansion of health services, provided employers aren’t looking to use this fiscal environment to move us backward,” said Smith. She said its up to her members to decide if a wage freeze is acceptable.
The budget also includes:
-the same $597 million to fund the program for persons with developmental disabilities. The program receives no cuts but no increases.
-$2 billion for health-related construction. However, Alberta Health and Wellness has yet to announce which projects will go ahead after Alberta Health Services did a full-year review. Plans for a hospital in Sherwood Park or a long-term-care centre in Fort McMurray, for instance, are still up in the air. Decisions could come in April.
-$148 million for the H1N1 vaccination rollout.
-plans to hook the five-year funding plan into performance measures currently being developed.
-$3.3-billion for physician compensation and education, an increase of $253 million or 8.2 per cent.
jsinnema@thejournal.canwest.com
Monday, February 8, 2010
Calgary Sun
Critics call Stelmach government far from compassionate
Warn about cuts in Tuesday's budget
By SHAWN LOGAN, Calgary Sun
Last Updated: 7th February 2010, 11:56pm
As the provincial budget looms, some are skeptical that planned cuts won’t leave a deep scar.
Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove told the Sunday Sun despite $2 billion slated to be carved out of the 2010 budget, it still will reflect a “compassionate conservative” balance sheet that won’t disrupt crucial provincial agencies.
But while the reassurances are appreciated, those who rely on the provincial purse are worried that any cuts will do further damage to social programs that have already gone under the knife.
“I think Albertans would have another word instead of compassionate — the catastrophic conservatives, maybe,” said David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare.
“Unless there’s an escape clause built into the budget where the cuts will be cancelled, we’re preparing to do battle.”
Eggen said his group will be holding rallies in a half dozen cities on Tuesday as the budget is announced to ensure health care concerns aren’t ignored.
Advocates for people with developmental disabilities are also worried about looming cuts after already being warned of a $3-million claw back in budgets for city agencies.
Ryan Geake, executive director of the Calgary Scope Society, which provides support for as many as 400 developmentally disabled, said his group and other social agencies will meet Monday with Mary Anne Jablonski, minister of seniors and community supports, in hopes of curbing cuts.
“We’ll be suggesting a year moratorium in cuts so they can do a provincial review,” he said.
“We’re just saying this is an area where it’s probably no the best place to find a bunch of money.”
Geake noted even a status quo budget would have a serious impact on services for the developmentally disabled so the idea of cuts its disconcerting.
Liberal leader David Swann said it seems the Tories are more worried about shoring up their right flank to stave off a challenge from the fledgling Wildrose Alliance Party than committing to funding social services.
“We are not optimistic about the budget — you’re going to see cuts to health care, education seniors, all of which are fundamental to a healthy society,” he said.
“I think everybody is expecting significant cuts across the system.”
Swann said there are better ways for the government to be frugal, including slashing its $8 billion capital budget in half and extend road construction and other projects over a longer period.
Warn about cuts in Tuesday's budget
By SHAWN LOGAN, Calgary Sun
Last Updated: 7th February 2010, 11:56pm
As the provincial budget looms, some are skeptical that planned cuts won’t leave a deep scar.
Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove told the Sunday Sun despite $2 billion slated to be carved out of the 2010 budget, it still will reflect a “compassionate conservative” balance sheet that won’t disrupt crucial provincial agencies.
But while the reassurances are appreciated, those who rely on the provincial purse are worried that any cuts will do further damage to social programs that have already gone under the knife.
“I think Albertans would have another word instead of compassionate — the catastrophic conservatives, maybe,” said David Eggen, executive director of Friends of Medicare.
“Unless there’s an escape clause built into the budget where the cuts will be cancelled, we’re preparing to do battle.”
Eggen said his group will be holding rallies in a half dozen cities on Tuesday as the budget is announced to ensure health care concerns aren’t ignored.
Advocates for people with developmental disabilities are also worried about looming cuts after already being warned of a $3-million claw back in budgets for city agencies.
Ryan Geake, executive director of the Calgary Scope Society, which provides support for as many as 400 developmentally disabled, said his group and other social agencies will meet Monday with Mary Anne Jablonski, minister of seniors and community supports, in hopes of curbing cuts.
“We’ll be suggesting a year moratorium in cuts so they can do a provincial review,” he said.
“We’re just saying this is an area where it’s probably no the best place to find a bunch of money.”
Geake noted even a status quo budget would have a serious impact on services for the developmentally disabled so the idea of cuts its disconcerting.
Liberal leader David Swann said it seems the Tories are more worried about shoring up their right flank to stave off a challenge from the fledgling Wildrose Alliance Party than committing to funding social services.
“We are not optimistic about the budget — you’re going to see cuts to health care, education seniors, all of which are fundamental to a healthy society,” he said.
“I think everybody is expecting significant cuts across the system.”
Swann said there are better ways for the government to be frugal, including slashing its $8 billion capital budget in half and extend road construction and other projects over a longer period.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Alberta's Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky speaks to media on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010.
Province welcomes widespread consultation to help improve health care
Updated: Fri Feb. 05 2010 17:28:14
ctvedmonton.ca
Alberta's health minister is responding to some recommendations outlined in a report geared to provide a solution for what's been called an Alberta health care system in bad shape.
The 4- page report titled, a Foundation for Alberta's Health Care System, reflected four major recommendations for the province.
The most important note being that Alberta should draft its own health act to reflect the input of Albertans.
"Albertans want greater certainty in how the public health care system will function and they want the complete assurance they will have a meaningful say in its development. I can assure you that we will provide those opportunities," said Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky.
Zwozdesky also appointed Fred Horne, co-chair of the minister's advisory committee on health, to expand the consultation phase of the process to ensure Albertans have their say.
"We need to have a discussion about what Albertans are looking for," said Horne.
But Friends of Medicare want to know exactly how the province plans to fix an ailing health care system that is currently a billion dollars in debt.
"We have half as many beds in this province than we did 20 years ago and we have a million more people living in the province then we did 20 years ago," said David Eggen, Friends of Medicare president.
The feedback received will be presented to the minister this September with the new Alberta Health Act legislation being introduced this fall.
"We want made in Alberta principles and we believe they deserve enough stature to be in their own legislation," said Horne.
The provincial budget is set to be unveiled Tuesday. Zwozdesky won't reveal details, only saying the government has a five-year plan to fund the health care system.
"By giving predictable and stable funding to help get it done, that's what's the exciting part," he said.
The report findings came from the minister's advisory committee on health, which surveyed more that 3,100 people -- everyone from health care providers to unions to Alberta patients.
With files from Laura Tupper
Province welcomes widespread consultation to help improve health care
Updated: Fri Feb. 05 2010 17:28:14
ctvedmonton.ca
Alberta's health minister is responding to some recommendations outlined in a report geared to provide a solution for what's been called an Alberta health care system in bad shape.
The 4- page report titled, a Foundation for Alberta's Health Care System, reflected four major recommendations for the province.
The most important note being that Alberta should draft its own health act to reflect the input of Albertans.
"Albertans want greater certainty in how the public health care system will function and they want the complete assurance they will have a meaningful say in its development. I can assure you that we will provide those opportunities," said Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky.
Zwozdesky also appointed Fred Horne, co-chair of the minister's advisory committee on health, to expand the consultation phase of the process to ensure Albertans have their say.
"We need to have a discussion about what Albertans are looking for," said Horne.
But Friends of Medicare want to know exactly how the province plans to fix an ailing health care system that is currently a billion dollars in debt.
"We have half as many beds in this province than we did 20 years ago and we have a million more people living in the province then we did 20 years ago," said David Eggen, Friends of Medicare president.
The feedback received will be presented to the minister this September with the new Alberta Health Act legislation being introduced this fall.
"We want made in Alberta principles and we believe they deserve enough stature to be in their own legislation," said Horne.
The provincial budget is set to be unveiled Tuesday. Zwozdesky won't reveal details, only saying the government has a five-year plan to fund the health care system.
"By giving predictable and stable funding to help get it done, that's what's the exciting part," he said.
The report findings came from the minister's advisory committee on health, which surveyed more that 3,100 people -- everyone from health care providers to unions to Alberta patients.
With files from Laura Tupper
Woman finally finds orthopedic doc
By ALYSSA NOEL, Edmonton Sun
Dianne Kirsh, seen in her northside Edmonton home with her dog Maggie, was finally able to find a local orthopedic surgeon to treat her foot injury after repeated attempts. (EDMONTON SUN FILE PHOTO) A city woman who faced an indefinite wait time for ankle surgery recently had three orthopedic surgeons personally call her to offer help.
Two weeks ago, Dianne Kirsh, 61, told the Edmonton Sun her doctor had tried repeatedly to find an available surgeon, but every local doctor had a full patient list.
She was encouraged to look for help in Calgary, but said she couldn’t afford the trip.
Just one day after the story was published, three surgeons called her at home to say they had space for her.
She snapped up the first offer. “Mentally, it took a lot off my brain,” Kirsh said. “I was very grateful ... to actually have three doctors phone you at home, that really surprised me.”
Her ordeal began more than four months ago when she slipped while getting out of the tub and smacked her ankle against the toilet. She broke it and was put in a cast. After the bone supposedly healed, the cast was taken off.
But five days later, it “snapped” again, Kirsh said.
She has been in a cast ever since and endured two foot infections.
“Each (doctor who called) said, ‘There (are) 37 of us. There’s no such thing as not taking new patients, especially when you’re in a cast for so long,’” she said.
Friends of Medicare executive director David Eggen said there have been similar incidents around the province, likely a result of too few doctors coupled with a health-care system running at full capacity.
“All health care is time management,” Eggen said. “If you fail to get treated in a timely manner, it only gets worse.”
Kirsh’s new surgeon at the Misericordia Hospital told her she might not need surgery after all.
She has an appointment scheduled in the coming weeks for another X-ray and final assessment.
“In three weeks when he X-rays it, if it’s not (fixed), I will definitely (have the operation) and have a plate and pins put in,” she explained.
For now, she’s just grateful to have a surgeon willing to help.
“He’ll keep an eye on things,” she said. “I can rely on him to do what he has to do.”
alyssa.noel@sunmedia.ca
By ALYSSA NOEL, Edmonton Sun
Dianne Kirsh, seen in her northside Edmonton home with her dog Maggie, was finally able to find a local orthopedic surgeon to treat her foot injury after repeated attempts. (EDMONTON SUN FILE PHOTO) A city woman who faced an indefinite wait time for ankle surgery recently had three orthopedic surgeons personally call her to offer help.
Two weeks ago, Dianne Kirsh, 61, told the Edmonton Sun her doctor had tried repeatedly to find an available surgeon, but every local doctor had a full patient list.
She was encouraged to look for help in Calgary, but said she couldn’t afford the trip.
Just one day after the story was published, three surgeons called her at home to say they had space for her.
She snapped up the first offer. “Mentally, it took a lot off my brain,” Kirsh said. “I was very grateful ... to actually have three doctors phone you at home, that really surprised me.”
Her ordeal began more than four months ago when she slipped while getting out of the tub and smacked her ankle against the toilet. She broke it and was put in a cast. After the bone supposedly healed, the cast was taken off.
But five days later, it “snapped” again, Kirsh said.
She has been in a cast ever since and endured two foot infections.
“Each (doctor who called) said, ‘There (are) 37 of us. There’s no such thing as not taking new patients, especially when you’re in a cast for so long,’” she said.
Friends of Medicare executive director David Eggen said there have been similar incidents around the province, likely a result of too few doctors coupled with a health-care system running at full capacity.
“All health care is time management,” Eggen said. “If you fail to get treated in a timely manner, it only gets worse.”
Kirsh’s new surgeon at the Misericordia Hospital told her she might not need surgery after all.
She has an appointment scheduled in the coming weeks for another X-ray and final assessment.
“In three weeks when he X-rays it, if it’s not (fixed), I will definitely (have the operation) and have a plate and pins put in,” she explained.
For now, she’s just grateful to have a surgeon willing to help.
“He’ll keep an eye on things,” she said. “I can rely on him to do what he has to do.”
alyssa.noel@sunmedia.ca
Minister pushes for more public input
By Trish Audette, edmontonjournal.comFebruary 6,
Premier Ed Stelmach's government plans to do months of public consultation before launching its renewed health act in the fall.
On Friday, Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky said he accepts the recommendations of a health care advisory committee, such as developing clear guidelines for health care programs and policies, but he wants to see still more public input.
"We want to act quickly on taking the next steps. We have enough reports, (we) never have enough consultation, however," Zwozdesky said.
One of the recommendations in the 48-page Minister's Advisory Committee on Health report, submitted last month, was ongoing citizen engagement.
The report also suggested a patients' charter outlining the rights, responsibilities and roles of patients and medical professionals.
Edmonton-Rutherford Conservative Fred Horne, who led the advisory committee, is now charged with consulting Albertans further.
How he will go about getting public input has yet to be determined, but Horne said he will reach out to health care professionals and reaffirm the province's relationship with the Canada Health Act.
"What we're trying to do is position the health system for continuous improvement," Horne said.
Ultimately, Horne's work will lead to another report, due in September.
"We have to start with a clearer understanding of what our values are," Zwozdesky said.
Edmonton-Riverview Liberal MLA Kevin Taft called the efforts a "red herring," while the executive director of the Friends of Medicare urged Albertans to participate in the consultations for fear of what a revamped health law could look like.
"Albertans should pay very close attention to the fact they want to open up the law again," David Eggen said.
He pointed to the province's last major effort to overhaul health legislation, the widely-protested Bill 11, which critics in 2000 said opened the door to private health care in Alberta.
Taft said tinkering with laws falls short of dealing with hospital bed shortfalls, for example.
"Changing the legislation isn't going to fix the system," he said.
There was no indication Friday how the province would proceed with another of the committee's recommendations, establishing an independent body to decide what health services should be covered by the province.
taudette@thejournal.canwest.com
By Trish Audette, edmontonjournal.comFebruary 6,
Premier Ed Stelmach's government plans to do months of public consultation before launching its renewed health act in the fall.
On Friday, Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky said he accepts the recommendations of a health care advisory committee, such as developing clear guidelines for health care programs and policies, but he wants to see still more public input.
"We want to act quickly on taking the next steps. We have enough reports, (we) never have enough consultation, however," Zwozdesky said.
One of the recommendations in the 48-page Minister's Advisory Committee on Health report, submitted last month, was ongoing citizen engagement.
The report also suggested a patients' charter outlining the rights, responsibilities and roles of patients and medical professionals.
Edmonton-Rutherford Conservative Fred Horne, who led the advisory committee, is now charged with consulting Albertans further.
How he will go about getting public input has yet to be determined, but Horne said he will reach out to health care professionals and reaffirm the province's relationship with the Canada Health Act.
"What we're trying to do is position the health system for continuous improvement," Horne said.
Ultimately, Horne's work will lead to another report, due in September.
"We have to start with a clearer understanding of what our values are," Zwozdesky said.
Edmonton-Riverview Liberal MLA Kevin Taft called the efforts a "red herring," while the executive director of the Friends of Medicare urged Albertans to participate in the consultations for fear of what a revamped health law could look like.
"Albertans should pay very close attention to the fact they want to open up the law again," David Eggen said.
He pointed to the province's last major effort to overhaul health legislation, the widely-protested Bill 11, which critics in 2000 said opened the door to private health care in Alberta.
Taft said tinkering with laws falls short of dealing with hospital bed shortfalls, for example.
"Changing the legislation isn't going to fix the system," he said.
There was no indication Friday how the province would proceed with another of the committee's recommendations, establishing an independent body to decide what health services should be covered by the province.
taudette@thejournal.canwest.com
Zwozdesky changes Liepert's game plan
Creation of new health act moves away from top-down approach of year's past
By Sheila Pratt, Edmonton JournalFebruary 6, 2010
Two years ago, then-health minister Ron Liepert abruptly disbanded regional health authorities and announced the system would be better run by business executives behind closed doors.
Public consultation? Not necessary, Liepert said.
"How far did that get Ralph Klein?" the pugnacious Calgary minister asked at the time, declining to give details of his plans for reform.
But faced with rising dissatisfaction over the top-down, secretive handling of health-care reform, cutbacks and bed closures, this week the provincial government made a major adjustment in its game plan and style of play.
There will be a firm commitment to public consultation on reforms, starting with a new law, an Alberta health act, that will embody the principles of the Canada Health Act, Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky announced Friday, the day after the legislature opened.
The government will consider other principles it would like to see in the act, such as sustainability and accountability.
It's all about a "new foundation for health," said Zwozdesky, who last month reversed contentious bed closures announced by Alberta Health Services, the arm's-length bureaucracy headed by CEO Stephen Duckett.
Zwozdesky said he accepts all the recommendations of the minister's health advisory committee, which was emphatic in its report about the growing public distrust of the way Alberta Health Services and the department were handling health care.
Edmonton Conservative MLA Fred Horne, who was co-chairman of that advisory committee, will also be in charge of running the consultation on the proposed Alberta health act starting next month.
The government got the message, Horne said. "People clearly want to be engaged. I especially want to engage those who work in the health-care system."
Horne also committed to releasing a white paper for public discussion on the proposed new health act by Sept. 30.
While critics welcomed the commitment to consultation, they say it's still unclear what directions reforms will take.
The Horne committee, as it develops the new health act, will open up for revision key pieces of legislation that set in law the standards of care for the health system, and that could mean lower standards, they say.
Under the new plan, the government will "consolidate" five key pieces of legislation -- the Hospitals Act, the Nursing Home Act, Health Care Protection Act, Health Insurance Premium Act and the Health Care Insurance Act -- into principles contained in the proposed health act.
These laws are out of date, "confusing" and "contradictory," and inhibit the "flexibility" the government needs to respond to health reform issues, Horne said. And there will be plenty of protections for consumers built into the system, he vowed.
Dave Eggen of Friends of Medicare said he's skeptical.
"They want to go back to the spirit of the Canada Health Act because they know that's where the spirit of Alberta lies. They're starting to realize how wrong they've been. But what the government also wants to do is open up all these laws and that should raise the alarm bells," he said.
"People put in those standards for good reason."
The proposed Alberta health act will be enabling legislation rather than the prescriptive legislation now on the books, Horne said.
That means it will be a statement of principles, not detailed regulation. It will modify laws that, for example, define the care hospitals must provide.
Any change in regulations will be made in cabinet, he said, not in the legislature.
That's a major concern for Wendy Armstrong, a health policy analyst and former head of the Alberta chapter of the Consumers' Association of Canada.
"Would the government change the care requirements in nursing homes away from public view?" she asked.
The government has not hesitated in the past to make changes by cabinet decree, she said.
For example, Bill 11, passed in 2000, was initially aimed at opening the door to private hospitals and allowing contracting out of surgery to private surgical suites.
The consumers' association fought for and won limits on how much private operators and hospitals could charge for extras or enhanced services such as cataract surgery.
But those protections were quietly removed by cabinet order in council in July 2005, Armstrong said.
But Horne said there are other ways to protect consumers. "There are plenty of checks and balances in the system," he said.
A key tool will be the patient's bill of rights, which will likely provide waiting time guarantees and outline responsibilities of health-care providers and individuals.
Also, the new approach requires "evidence-based decision-making," Horne said. That means any policy changes must be grounded in evidence of best practices and backed by research by an independent, yet to be named agency.
There would, for instance, be no more ad hoc decisions about bed closures, such as the once-proposed closure of 246 beds at Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Horne said.
The new blueprint will include a more clearly defined role for AHS as the agency for implementing policy, while development of policy will be left with the department of health.
Also, there's a need to provide "clear lines of accountability" for AHS, but Horne did not elaborate.
AHS currently reports directly to the minister of health, not the department.
Armstrong said the statement of principles in a proposed Alberta health act will provide some comfort, but it's also important to note that principles can mean different things.
Under the Canada Health Act, some medical procedures and services have been moved out of hospitals, and the costs -- including drugs -- are downloaded onto patients when they are sent home for recovery.
Armstrong noted the advisory committee advocates shifting more health care services outside hospitals to pharmacies, primary care networks and other venues.
Eggen said the government may not change direction even with a new Alberta health act.
"They want more private delivery with public money, and is that the best use of our tax dollars?
"Usually contracting out costs more and you get less, and there's less transparency," he said.
Steve Buick, former director of communications for the now defunct Capital Health Authority, was hired this week by Zwozdesky as a special policy adviser.
"It's a fresh start for me in a new system with a new minister," said Buick, who will act as a bridge between the minister's office and the department.
The five principles of the Canada Health Act that cover medically necessary procedures are: public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability and accessibility.
spratt@thejournal.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
Creation of new health act moves away from top-down approach of year's past
By Sheila Pratt, Edmonton JournalFebruary 6, 2010
Two years ago, then-health minister Ron Liepert abruptly disbanded regional health authorities and announced the system would be better run by business executives behind closed doors.
Public consultation? Not necessary, Liepert said.
"How far did that get Ralph Klein?" the pugnacious Calgary minister asked at the time, declining to give details of his plans for reform.
But faced with rising dissatisfaction over the top-down, secretive handling of health-care reform, cutbacks and bed closures, this week the provincial government made a major adjustment in its game plan and style of play.
There will be a firm commitment to public consultation on reforms, starting with a new law, an Alberta health act, that will embody the principles of the Canada Health Act, Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky announced Friday, the day after the legislature opened.
The government will consider other principles it would like to see in the act, such as sustainability and accountability.
It's all about a "new foundation for health," said Zwozdesky, who last month reversed contentious bed closures announced by Alberta Health Services, the arm's-length bureaucracy headed by CEO Stephen Duckett.
Zwozdesky said he accepts all the recommendations of the minister's health advisory committee, which was emphatic in its report about the growing public distrust of the way Alberta Health Services and the department were handling health care.
Edmonton Conservative MLA Fred Horne, who was co-chairman of that advisory committee, will also be in charge of running the consultation on the proposed Alberta health act starting next month.
The government got the message, Horne said. "People clearly want to be engaged. I especially want to engage those who work in the health-care system."
Horne also committed to releasing a white paper for public discussion on the proposed new health act by Sept. 30.
While critics welcomed the commitment to consultation, they say it's still unclear what directions reforms will take.
The Horne committee, as it develops the new health act, will open up for revision key pieces of legislation that set in law the standards of care for the health system, and that could mean lower standards, they say.
Under the new plan, the government will "consolidate" five key pieces of legislation -- the Hospitals Act, the Nursing Home Act, Health Care Protection Act, Health Insurance Premium Act and the Health Care Insurance Act -- into principles contained in the proposed health act.
These laws are out of date, "confusing" and "contradictory," and inhibit the "flexibility" the government needs to respond to health reform issues, Horne said. And there will be plenty of protections for consumers built into the system, he vowed.
Dave Eggen of Friends of Medicare said he's skeptical.
"They want to go back to the spirit of the Canada Health Act because they know that's where the spirit of Alberta lies. They're starting to realize how wrong they've been. But what the government also wants to do is open up all these laws and that should raise the alarm bells," he said.
"People put in those standards for good reason."
The proposed Alberta health act will be enabling legislation rather than the prescriptive legislation now on the books, Horne said.
That means it will be a statement of principles, not detailed regulation. It will modify laws that, for example, define the care hospitals must provide.
Any change in regulations will be made in cabinet, he said, not in the legislature.
That's a major concern for Wendy Armstrong, a health policy analyst and former head of the Alberta chapter of the Consumers' Association of Canada.
"Would the government change the care requirements in nursing homes away from public view?" she asked.
The government has not hesitated in the past to make changes by cabinet decree, she said.
For example, Bill 11, passed in 2000, was initially aimed at opening the door to private hospitals and allowing contracting out of surgery to private surgical suites.
The consumers' association fought for and won limits on how much private operators and hospitals could charge for extras or enhanced services such as cataract surgery.
But those protections were quietly removed by cabinet order in council in July 2005, Armstrong said.
But Horne said there are other ways to protect consumers. "There are plenty of checks and balances in the system," he said.
A key tool will be the patient's bill of rights, which will likely provide waiting time guarantees and outline responsibilities of health-care providers and individuals.
Also, the new approach requires "evidence-based decision-making," Horne said. That means any policy changes must be grounded in evidence of best practices and backed by research by an independent, yet to be named agency.
There would, for instance, be no more ad hoc decisions about bed closures, such as the once-proposed closure of 246 beds at Alberta Hospital in Edmonton, Horne said.
The new blueprint will include a more clearly defined role for AHS as the agency for implementing policy, while development of policy will be left with the department of health.
Also, there's a need to provide "clear lines of accountability" for AHS, but Horne did not elaborate.
AHS currently reports directly to the minister of health, not the department.
Armstrong said the statement of principles in a proposed Alberta health act will provide some comfort, but it's also important to note that principles can mean different things.
Under the Canada Health Act, some medical procedures and services have been moved out of hospitals, and the costs -- including drugs -- are downloaded onto patients when they are sent home for recovery.
Armstrong noted the advisory committee advocates shifting more health care services outside hospitals to pharmacies, primary care networks and other venues.
Eggen said the government may not change direction even with a new Alberta health act.
"They want more private delivery with public money, and is that the best use of our tax dollars?
"Usually contracting out costs more and you get less, and there's less transparency," he said.
Steve Buick, former director of communications for the now defunct Capital Health Authority, was hired this week by Zwozdesky as a special policy adviser.
"It's a fresh start for me in a new system with a new minister," said Buick, who will act as a bridge between the minister's office and the department.
The five principles of the Canada Health Act that cover medically necessary procedures are: public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability and accessibility.
spratt@thejournal.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
Friday, February 5, 2010
Game on
EDMONTON — Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky accepted the recommendations of a health care advisory committee Friday, but wants to see still more consultation done with the public before the province unveils its renewed Health Act later this year.
“We want to act quickly on taking the next steps. We have enough reports, (we) never have enough consultation, however,” Zwozdesky said.
Last month, the Minister’s Advisory Committee on Health released a 48-page report focused on four key recommendations:
— “articulate a set of principles” for Alberta’s health care system
— legislate an Alberta Health Act
— ensure ongoing citizen engagement
— develop clear directions to guide programs, policies and regulations.
Edmonton-Rutherford Conservative Fred Horne, who led the advisory committee, is now charged with consulting Albertans further.
“What we’re trying to do is position the health system for continuous improvement,” Horne said.
Ultimately, Horne’s work will lead to another report, due in September, and an outlining of patients’ and medical professionals’ rights, roles and responsibilities.
“We have to start with a clearer understanding of what our values are as a public,” Zwozdesky said.
David Eggen, the executive director of the Friends of Medicare, cautioned Albertans to participate in the consultations.
“Albertans should pay very close attention to the fact they want to open up the law again,” he said.
He pointed to the province’s last major effort to overhaul health legislation, the widely-protested Bill 11, which critics in 2000 said opened the door wide to private health care in Alberta.
“We just hope the government has the wherewithal to listen to what Albertans (want),” Eggen said.
Edmonton-Riverview Liberal Kevin Taft called the efforts a “red herring.”
“Changing the legislation isn’t going to fix the system,” he said.
taudette@thejournal.canwest.com
“We want to act quickly on taking the next steps. We have enough reports, (we) never have enough consultation, however,” Zwozdesky said.
Last month, the Minister’s Advisory Committee on Health released a 48-page report focused on four key recommendations:
— “articulate a set of principles” for Alberta’s health care system
— legislate an Alberta Health Act
— ensure ongoing citizen engagement
— develop clear directions to guide programs, policies and regulations.
Edmonton-Rutherford Conservative Fred Horne, who led the advisory committee, is now charged with consulting Albertans further.
“What we’re trying to do is position the health system for continuous improvement,” Horne said.
Ultimately, Horne’s work will lead to another report, due in September, and an outlining of patients’ and medical professionals’ rights, roles and responsibilities.
“We have to start with a clearer understanding of what our values are as a public,” Zwozdesky said.
David Eggen, the executive director of the Friends of Medicare, cautioned Albertans to participate in the consultations.
“Albertans should pay very close attention to the fact they want to open up the law again,” he said.
He pointed to the province’s last major effort to overhaul health legislation, the widely-protested Bill 11, which critics in 2000 said opened the door wide to private health care in Alberta.
“We just hope the government has the wherewithal to listen to what Albertans (want),” Eggen said.
Edmonton-Riverview Liberal Kevin Taft called the efforts a “red herring.”
“Changing the legislation isn’t going to fix the system,” he said.
taudette@thejournal.canwest.com
Danielle Smith Interviews Ron Liepert (really!)
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Calgary Herald
To read the letters to the editor about Health Minister Ron Liepert -- particularly the anti-reform letter-writing campaign that's been raging for weeks in the Edmonton Journal -- you'd think he was planning to tear the health system down brick by brick. He isn't. Not by a long shot.
I had a chance to sit down with the health minister a couple of weeks ago to talk about his planned reforms. He wants to make some important changes, to be sure, but the system is in no danger.
If you want a clue about the kind of minister Liepert is, all you have to do is look at how he managed the education portfolio. As he saw it, the province was about to hit a wall on three issues: the teachers' unfunded pension liability, a looming provincewide teachers' strike, and a massive shortfall in the number of new schools. What did he do?
He linked the resolution of the unfunded liability to long-term labour peace, and launched an aggressive plan to build 18 new schools through a public-private partnership. He's been justifiably criticized for spending too much money in the process -- assuming the unfunded liability ate up $2 billion in taxpayer money -- but he got results.
Liepert is surprisingly practical: he seems to like to identify a handful of things that need to be fixed, and then take steps to fix them.
The special interest groups won't be with him, but the public probably will. When CFIB members were polled on health reform options last fall, 92 per cent said they supported reforms that would improve efficiency. Liepert has already identified five major areas that need an efficiency boost.
For starters, everyone knows our hospitals are jammed with patients and filled to overflowing. We are experiencing yellow alerts on a frequent basis as ambulances queue up at hospital emergency rooms.
Part of the problem is there are too many patients that are bed-blocking. Patients that should be in long-term care facilities are in acute care beds -- the most expensive type of treatment money can buy. The solution? Bring more long-term care beds onstream.
He also thinks there is a problem in the way ambulance services are funded. The way the system is set up, the only way for the ambulance to bill is by taking the patient to the hospital. He thinks paramedics should be allowed to decide the best way to treat a patient, which may be on-site or, in the case of the late-night party crowd, the drunk tank. The solution? Sign contracts for EMS services that don't depend on hospital trips for payment.
The third problem is there are too many underemployed nurses in the system. Only about one-quarter of nurses work full-time, while the rest are part-time or casual. If every part-time or casual nurse worked one additional shift per week, Liepert wonders if we would still have a predicted shortfall of 10,000 nurses. The solution? Have more nursing staff work full-time.
The fourth problem is the rigid line that has been drawn between health care professions. If a dentist had to do all the work in his office, including taking x-rays, cleaning teeth and applying fluoride, it would be much less efficient. The solution? Give paramedics, pharmacists, LPNs, RNs, dieticians, nutritionists and other health-care professionals the training they need to perform a broader range of services.
The fifth problem is how patient care is funded -- bureaucrats are deciding what should be funded, which has lead to a bloated bureaucracy and not enough money spent on essential services. Liepert likes the concept of the Crowfoot Clinic, which receives funding directly from the province based on the number of patients it has on its roster. He also likes the idea individual medical savings accounts, which would give funding directly to patients to choose their own treatment, including currently uncovered areas such as physiotherapy, acupuncture or naturopathy. The solution? Give doctors and patients more choice over how health-care dollars are spent.
If all these changes were made, one might think the efficiencies gained would allow the province to cut back year-over-year spending increases to a more sustainable level.
Unfortunately, the minister said he thinks double-digit increases in health spending are going to continue for the foreseeable future.
Judging from his previous portfolio, Liepert isn't all that concerned about spending taxpayer money in a big way to address problems. That's the bad news.
The good news is, for those who have been reading the criticism with growing alarm, there is nothing Liepert is contemplating that is the least bit scary. In fact, he's off to a pretty good start.
Danielle Smith is the Alberta Director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. She can be reached at danielle.smith@cfib.ca.
© The Calgary Herald 2008
Calgary Herald
To read the letters to the editor about Health Minister Ron Liepert -- particularly the anti-reform letter-writing campaign that's been raging for weeks in the Edmonton Journal -- you'd think he was planning to tear the health system down brick by brick. He isn't. Not by a long shot.
I had a chance to sit down with the health minister a couple of weeks ago to talk about his planned reforms. He wants to make some important changes, to be sure, but the system is in no danger.
If you want a clue about the kind of minister Liepert is, all you have to do is look at how he managed the education portfolio. As he saw it, the province was about to hit a wall on three issues: the teachers' unfunded pension liability, a looming provincewide teachers' strike, and a massive shortfall in the number of new schools. What did he do?
He linked the resolution of the unfunded liability to long-term labour peace, and launched an aggressive plan to build 18 new schools through a public-private partnership. He's been justifiably criticized for spending too much money in the process -- assuming the unfunded liability ate up $2 billion in taxpayer money -- but he got results.
Liepert is surprisingly practical: he seems to like to identify a handful of things that need to be fixed, and then take steps to fix them.
The special interest groups won't be with him, but the public probably will. When CFIB members were polled on health reform options last fall, 92 per cent said they supported reforms that would improve efficiency. Liepert has already identified five major areas that need an efficiency boost.
For starters, everyone knows our hospitals are jammed with patients and filled to overflowing. We are experiencing yellow alerts on a frequent basis as ambulances queue up at hospital emergency rooms.
Part of the problem is there are too many patients that are bed-blocking. Patients that should be in long-term care facilities are in acute care beds -- the most expensive type of treatment money can buy. The solution? Bring more long-term care beds onstream.
He also thinks there is a problem in the way ambulance services are funded. The way the system is set up, the only way for the ambulance to bill is by taking the patient to the hospital. He thinks paramedics should be allowed to decide the best way to treat a patient, which may be on-site or, in the case of the late-night party crowd, the drunk tank. The solution? Sign contracts for EMS services that don't depend on hospital trips for payment.
The third problem is there are too many underemployed nurses in the system. Only about one-quarter of nurses work full-time, while the rest are part-time or casual. If every part-time or casual nurse worked one additional shift per week, Liepert wonders if we would still have a predicted shortfall of 10,000 nurses. The solution? Have more nursing staff work full-time.
The fourth problem is the rigid line that has been drawn between health care professions. If a dentist had to do all the work in his office, including taking x-rays, cleaning teeth and applying fluoride, it would be much less efficient. The solution? Give paramedics, pharmacists, LPNs, RNs, dieticians, nutritionists and other health-care professionals the training they need to perform a broader range of services.
The fifth problem is how patient care is funded -- bureaucrats are deciding what should be funded, which has lead to a bloated bureaucracy and not enough money spent on essential services. Liepert likes the concept of the Crowfoot Clinic, which receives funding directly from the province based on the number of patients it has on its roster. He also likes the idea individual medical savings accounts, which would give funding directly to patients to choose their own treatment, including currently uncovered areas such as physiotherapy, acupuncture or naturopathy. The solution? Give doctors and patients more choice over how health-care dollars are spent.
If all these changes were made, one might think the efficiencies gained would allow the province to cut back year-over-year spending increases to a more sustainable level.
Unfortunately, the minister said he thinks double-digit increases in health spending are going to continue for the foreseeable future.
Judging from his previous portfolio, Liepert isn't all that concerned about spending taxpayer money in a big way to address problems. That's the bad news.
The good news is, for those who have been reading the criticism with growing alarm, there is nothing Liepert is contemplating that is the least bit scary. In fact, he's off to a pretty good start.
Danielle Smith is the Alberta Director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. She can be reached at danielle.smith@cfib.ca.
© The Calgary Herald 2008
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Medicare attack dogs barking up wrong tree
February 04, 2010
Michael Rachlis
On Tuesday morning Newfoundland and Labrador's deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale announced that Premier Danny Williams would be receiving heart surgery in the U.S. later this week. There was no information on the exact diagnosis of the premier's health problem or what type of surgery was planned.
Within minutes, right-wing groups in Canada and the U.S. claimed that the premier's trip was proof positive of medicare's inadequacies.
The Americans for Prosperity Foundation has poured millions into beating back President Barack Obama's mild health-care reforms. They concluded that Williams's trip highlighted the shortcomings of Canada's single-payer system.
The Vancouver-based Fraser Institute went even further.
Spokesperson Nadeem Esmail said Williams's exit showed that Canadian health care was not up to standard. Esmail plugged the institute's recent survey alleging that thousands of other Canadians go to the United States every year for health care they can't get in Canada.
But did Premier Williams really need to leave Canada for care? Do lots of Canadians go to the U.S.? And what does this debate say about medicare?
Dunderdale did say that the procedure was not available in Newfoundland and Labrador. Although we don't know Williams's exact condition, Canadian doctors have been unanimous that it is highly unlikely he had to leave Canada for his procedure.
University Health Network director of cardiovascular surgery Chris Feindel claimed that he is aware of only one non-experimental cardiac procedure available in the U.S. but not Canada: the repair of complex aortic aneurysms.
Ontario usually sends one or two such patients a year to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. On the other hand, Feindel notes that several U.S. patients a year come to the University Health Network for the valve surgery for which Toronto is world famous.
Ottawa Heart Institute president Robert Roberts was previously Baylor's chief of cardiology and he said that Canadian heart care was as good as the best centres in the U.S. And data from the Ontario Cardiac Care Registry confirms that Ontario's patient outcomes are as good as, or better, than anywhere in the world.
Conservative senator and heart surgeon Wilbert Keon went even further, saying he was convinced Williams could have had his procedure in this country. The former director of the Ottawa Heart Institute added that Williams will have to admit that fact when he recovers.
The Fraser Institute would have us believe that many Canadians go to the U.S. for health care. But the facts show few Canadian patients go south, especially for elective care.
A 2002 study by American and Canadian academics found that one out of 500 Canadian hospitalizations occurred in the U.S. and 80 per cent of these were for pregnancy-related conditions. In other words, women precipitously going into labour while travelling.
Another 10 per cent were for other emergency conditions, meaning that about one in every 5,000 Canadian hospitalizations were for patients deliberating seeking elective care, presumably like Williams.
What does this debate say about Canadian health care?
First, Williams's case reveals medicare's cross-border attack dogs are ever vigilant for potential bad news. They will broadcast it far and wide before we know any facts.
There's billions of dollars at stake for Canada's growing private health-care providers. And, there's hundreds of billions at risk if our American friends ever decide to join the rest of the civilized world and enact public health insurance.
Second, when the facts are revealed, Canadian hospital care is as good as anywhere in the world. Of course it has problems. Like other countries, we need to pay more attention to quality and safety.
But Canadians facing heart surgery shouldn't feel that they are getting anything less than world-class care.
Finally, we do need to adopt one American political value – transparency about our politicians' health care.
I wish Williams a successful surgery and a swift recovery. And we don't need to know the details of his case. But, when a provincial premier leaves the country for health care, Canadians deserve to know why.
Michael Rachlis is a health policy analyst and an associate professor at the University of Toronto.
February 04, 2010
Michael Rachlis
On Tuesday morning Newfoundland and Labrador's deputy premier Kathy Dunderdale announced that Premier Danny Williams would be receiving heart surgery in the U.S. later this week. There was no information on the exact diagnosis of the premier's health problem or what type of surgery was planned.
Within minutes, right-wing groups in Canada and the U.S. claimed that the premier's trip was proof positive of medicare's inadequacies.
The Americans for Prosperity Foundation has poured millions into beating back President Barack Obama's mild health-care reforms. They concluded that Williams's trip highlighted the shortcomings of Canada's single-payer system.
The Vancouver-based Fraser Institute went even further.
Spokesperson Nadeem Esmail said Williams's exit showed that Canadian health care was not up to standard. Esmail plugged the institute's recent survey alleging that thousands of other Canadians go to the United States every year for health care they can't get in Canada.
But did Premier Williams really need to leave Canada for care? Do lots of Canadians go to the U.S.? And what does this debate say about medicare?
Dunderdale did say that the procedure was not available in Newfoundland and Labrador. Although we don't know Williams's exact condition, Canadian doctors have been unanimous that it is highly unlikely he had to leave Canada for his procedure.
University Health Network director of cardiovascular surgery Chris Feindel claimed that he is aware of only one non-experimental cardiac procedure available in the U.S. but not Canada: the repair of complex aortic aneurysms.
Ontario usually sends one or two such patients a year to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. On the other hand, Feindel notes that several U.S. patients a year come to the University Health Network for the valve surgery for which Toronto is world famous.
Ottawa Heart Institute president Robert Roberts was previously Baylor's chief of cardiology and he said that Canadian heart care was as good as the best centres in the U.S. And data from the Ontario Cardiac Care Registry confirms that Ontario's patient outcomes are as good as, or better, than anywhere in the world.
Conservative senator and heart surgeon Wilbert Keon went even further, saying he was convinced Williams could have had his procedure in this country. The former director of the Ottawa Heart Institute added that Williams will have to admit that fact when he recovers.
The Fraser Institute would have us believe that many Canadians go to the U.S. for health care. But the facts show few Canadian patients go south, especially for elective care.
A 2002 study by American and Canadian academics found that one out of 500 Canadian hospitalizations occurred in the U.S. and 80 per cent of these were for pregnancy-related conditions. In other words, women precipitously going into labour while travelling.
Another 10 per cent were for other emergency conditions, meaning that about one in every 5,000 Canadian hospitalizations were for patients deliberating seeking elective care, presumably like Williams.
What does this debate say about Canadian health care?
First, Williams's case reveals medicare's cross-border attack dogs are ever vigilant for potential bad news. They will broadcast it far and wide before we know any facts.
There's billions of dollars at stake for Canada's growing private health-care providers. And, there's hundreds of billions at risk if our American friends ever decide to join the rest of the civilized world and enact public health insurance.
Second, when the facts are revealed, Canadian hospital care is as good as anywhere in the world. Of course it has problems. Like other countries, we need to pay more attention to quality and safety.
But Canadians facing heart surgery shouldn't feel that they are getting anything less than world-class care.
Finally, we do need to adopt one American political value – transparency about our politicians' health care.
I wish Williams a successful surgery and a swift recovery. And we don't need to know the details of his case. But, when a provincial premier leaves the country for health care, Canadians deserve to know why.
Michael Rachlis is a health policy analyst and an associate professor at the University of Toronto.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.JPG)
