As the nation's leading cardiologists gather for the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2004, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Se
The United States Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging Americans to learn about their families' health histories as a way of promoting personal health and preventing disease. "Wi
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced today a series of initiatives designed to help Americans quit smoking. The initiatives include the opening of a national quitline number (1-800-QUITNOW) that puts users in touch with
New research published today (Wednesday 8 December 2004) by DPP: Developing Patient Partnerships shows that high quality care and good access to health professionals are key concerns for both patients and GPs.In Scotland, more than eight out of
Editorial by Dr Ebrahim Malick Samba*The last century witnessed unparalleled improvements in the health indicators of many countries in the African Region, particularly reductions in child mortality. Available evidence indicates t
The Wisconsin Hospital Association expressed disappointment with the Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision yesterday that allows Dane County and other counties to impose yet another hidden tax on health care
UNISON, the UK's largest health union, has welcomed new figures showing improvements to standards of hospital cleanliness, but said that for most patients - "seeing is believing".UNISON Gene
The number of lives saved by medical advances over the last 10 years is far outdistanced by the number of lives lost to racial disparities in health status, according to a Virginia Commonwealth University
Patients prefer to wait nine months for orthopaedic operations rather than be treated within ten weeks by a new independent treatment centre, a referral centre has found.When patient advisers at the referral centre, run on behalf of four primar
The Mental Capacity Bill is going to report stage tomorrow in the House of Commons. There have been articles in the press incorrectly linking this Bill to euthanasia. The primary focus of the Mental Capacity Bill is to protect patients who have lost th
The private health group plans to open clinics in Ottawa, London and Toronto.
The clinics will charge Ontario Health Insurance (OHIP) and will also expect patients to pay additional out-of-pocket initiation fees of $1,200 plus a $2,300 annual fee for enhanced or boutique health services.
Natalie Mehra Director of the Ontario Health Coalition, say the move, which implies enhanced healthcare for the wealthy, violates the spirit and intent of the Canada Health Act and the public Medicare system.
She says their lawyers and are investigating the avenues for presenting a challenge.
Executive Director, of the Association of Ontario Health Centres (AOHC), Adrianna Tetley, has pointed out the inefficiency of the private clinics compared to existing public alternatives.
She says that in addition to billing the public system, these centres propose to charge membership fees that will make their services almost 4000 times more expensive to the client than nearly identical services offered at no added cost through non-profit community health centres.
Tetley is concerned that the private clinics will also drain doctors and other health professionals out of the public system.
She says there are public solutions to concerns over the Medicare system, and the Ontario government has already acted by a 60% increase in the number of community health centers by 2007-08.
That, she says is the sort of measure that is needed, enhancing capacity and innovation in the public, non-profit health system, rather than putting money into the pockets of profit-seekers.
Mehra has issued a stark reminder that under Ontario law, clinics are prohibited from barring access to physician services if patients refuse to pay any "block fee".
Neither are they allowed under the Canada Health Act to charge user fees for medically necessary physician services.
This she says is the basic principle of the Canadian public health system achieved a generation ago.