|
British Columbia
VANCOUVER -- Time to go on a drug diet A recent BC throne speech prodding slothful residents to eat their veggies instead of popping so many meds has been the 'mock' of the town, spoofed relentlessly by the local media. But the jokers may have to eat crow, after a recent government study found that one in 25 British Columbians was given in excess of the recommended annual maximum of drugs required. There is evidence that many residents have become so used to taking pills that they consume them for every conceivable ailment, however minor. The BC health ministry hopes to trim its $830 million drug budget. LD
Hot Spot
VANCOUVER -- 'Oops! We meant gay as in happy' BC health ministry officials are seeing red over an anachronism in provincial paperwork that allows doctors to bill the Medical Services Plan for treating homosexuality as a mental disorder. The blunder was discovered, says Health Ministry spokeswoman Michelle Stewart, when a curious reader saw the classification listed on the government's website. An apologetic Health Services Minister Shirley Bond said she hoped to have the billing code removed as soon as possible. LD
Alberta
EDMONTON -- Shaping up at the office There has been much talk about Premier Ralph Klein's healthcare proposals, and now it seems Alberta's new Health and Wellness minister, Iris Evans, is leaking some interesting details. Minister Evans has already publicly bandied about an idea similar to one British Prime Minister Tony Blair has also considered: rewarding individuals with tax breaks for joining fitness clubs, quitting smoking, cutting back on their chocolate intake, etc. Now she has announced that Alberta is also looking to up the ante by rewarding businesses with unspecified 'incentives' with the intention of getting people to shape up and hopefully see their doc a little less. GE
Saskatchewan
REGINA -- Preparing for Alzheimer's The tragedy of Alzheimer's disease has touched 18,000 Saskatchewanians. The province has the highest number of seniors in the country, and according to Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan spokesperson Elyse Fisher, the incidence of the disease is expected to triple in the next 30 years. Saskatchewan Health has released a strategy to improve the well-being of people living with Alzheimer's and dementia. The strategy will focus on seven areas, including public education, diagnosis and treatment, support for caregivers, and research. TJ
|
Manitoba
WINNIPEG -- Not in my back medicine cabinet The cross-border drug reimportation debate has heated up again following Federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh's denunciation of the practice, which is largely centred in Manitoba. Concerned representatives of Canadian patients, seniors and pharmacist groups, who want to stop the flow of prescription meds to the US, have requested a meeting with the six US governors who are lobbying Canada to maintain and increase the cross-border trade. The governors of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Maine, Utah and Kansas wrote to Prime Minister Paul Martin in January requesting that the "free flow of prescription drugs" to the US from Canada be allowed to continue. HA
Ontario
TORONTO -- Talks like a turtle The NHL strike isn't the only protracted strike in town. The painfully drawn out contract talks between Ontario's doctors and Health Minister George Smitherman are moving along at a snail's pace. The ever-controversial Minister Smitherman, however, has firmly stated that the slow-moving talks won't derail his plans to group physicians, nurses and other practitioners into family-health teams -- or any of his other healthcare plans for that matter. OMA President Dr John Rapin is very disappointed that the government is again sending a message that they will unilaterally move on with change, with or without the doctors' input. JJM
TORONTO -- Hospital helper The government of Ontario has come up with a scheme to free up expensive beds needed for surgery while at the same time allowing people who aren't quite ready to go home the chance to stay in hospital for the care they need. The province will spend $29 million to create hundreds of convalescent and long-term beds, announced Minister Smitherman, proclaiming, "For far too long in this province, hospitals have been forced to shoulder much too much of the healthcare burden." JJM
Contributors: Hector Andrews, Simon Biggar, Donna Byers, Lance Davies, Geoff Everett, Jane George, Brian Hoyle, Thane Jenkins, Julie J. Mercier, Deana Stokes Sullivan
|
