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British Columbia
Corruption
alleged in EHR contract
VANCOUVER
— The BC
Health Ministry is under fire over an alleged lack of
transparency and accountability in giving health contracts
worth millions of dollars. An internal audit of the
ministry found a $10,000 cheque sent from a physician,
Dr Jonathan Burns, who owns a medical software company,
to a deputy minister of health. The two men sat on the
steering committee for the province's EHR system together.
Dr Burns's company wasn't awarded any contracts. Health
Minister George Abbott claims the audit found the contract
selection process "clean." LD
Terry
Fox legacy keeps running
CHILLIWACK —
The Terry Fox Foundation officially launched the Terry
Fox Research Institute (TFRI), an innovative cancer
research institute which will bring together clinical
and scientific researchers from across the country.
"This level of cooperation and collaboration is unprecedented,"
said Dr Victor Ling, Scientific Director of TFRI, to
reporters. "Our vision... is to improve significantly
the outcomes for the patient by having teams of academic
and clinical researchers work in concert with one another."
LD
Alberta
Acne med offers
hope for MS
CALGARY —
Researchers at the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss
Brain Institute are hopeful that a common acne medicine
can delay the crippling effects of multiple sclerosis.
The acne medication, minocycline, which has been on
the market for 30 years, has contributed to positive
early treatment results. "It's not the magic pill that
ends MS," said MS Society of Canada national vice-president
Jon Temme to the Calgary Sun. "Micocycline has
the potential to enable people to live with less disability
over time… [and] it is a potential treatment option
at the earliest stage of MS." GE
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Saskatchewan
Help wanted: Saskatchewan
MDs
REGINA —
Saskatchewan has the second fewest family physicians
per capita in Canada, eclipsed only by Ontario, according
to the latest annual study by the Canadian Institute
for Health Information (CIHI). "The total number of
doctors in Saskatchewan increased by 0.7 per cent over
the last five years. That's less than the national average
increase of about five percent," John-David Stanway,
a senior CIHI analyst, told the Leader-Post.
Mr Stanway blamed international and interprovincial
migration, which tend to benefit the US as well as Alberta
and BC, as well as the retirement of many older physicians.
TJ
Manitoba
Jehovah's Witness
fights back
WINNIPEG —
The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear the case
of the 14-year-old Jehovah's Witness girl who made headlines
in April for refusing blood transfusions at a Winnipeg
hospital. At the time, a judge ruled she was in danger
of serious harm and allowed doctors to treat her. The
girl, who suffers from Crohn's disease, is now seeking
a court order to designate her a "mature teen," in charge
of her own decisions. The case questions the constitutionality
of the Manitoba Child and Family Services Act as it
applies to intervening in the treatment of children
under sixteen. HA
Hot
Spot
Ontario
College targets
mountebanks
TORONTO —
Prompted by the tragic death last September of 32-year-old
Krista Stryland, whose heart stopped beating during
liposuction surgery performed by family physician Behnaz
Yazdanfar, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Ontario recently mailed out a stern letter and mandatory
questionnaire to about 400 cosmetic surgery providers.
The letter demands doctors prove they have the necessary
skills, knowledge and training to perform high-risk
surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures. To read
more on the issue, see "Liposuction
death exposes regulation gaps" (Oct 15, Vol 4, No
17). JJM
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