Late night with John Counsell, May 17, 2012
We discuss my reasons for posting this and how patient access to care and their doctor will suffer
Late night with John Counsell: Losing Family Doctors thanks to McGuinty's health care decisions Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadMadely Health Headlines Commentary for November 2, 2009
Why the H1N1 vaccine program is focusing on high-risk groups first Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadWhen we last spoke to Nadeem Esmail in October 2007 regarding a report on efforts to reduce hospital wait times in Canada, the results were less than stellar.: wait times remained a major problem and barrier for prompt care. The Fraser Institute’s annual report on hospital wait times, the 19th edition of Waiting Your Turn: [...]
Original broadcast date: April 26, 2009 The Canadian Cancer Society recently released its report Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009 with a specific focus on cancer in adolescents and young people 15 to 29 years of age. It looked at some of the specific challenges that confront young people diagnosed with cancer. Dr. Ronald Barr, Professor in [...]
In an editorial by Dr. Noni MacDonald and the Globe and Mail’s Andre Picard entitled “A plea for clear language on vaccine safety”, a case is made for plain English and more direct language when discussing and interpreting research findings and clinical recommendations. As outlined in his book “Bad Science” in a recent interview on [...]
Original broadcast date: March 29, 2009 If there is one quote that epitomizes the plethora of ideas expressed in physician and Guardian columnist Dr. Ben Goldacre’s book bad science, it is this from paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science, Steven Jay Gould: “ When people learn no tools of judgment and merely follow their [...]
Original broadcast date: March 1, 2009 How do older drivers know when to turn in their keys? What are some of the physical factors that contribute to this decision? This life-changing decision is a flashpoint for debate about the impact of health upon the 30 million elderly drivers in the US and three million in [...]
Original broadcast date: February 22, 2009 Although there have been recent news headlines and reports of fertility treatments resulting in octuplets in California and twins for a 60 year old Calgarian woman, statistics indicate that the preponderance of treatments for infertility are directed at women in the under-35 age group. A recently released report by [...]
Original broadcast date: February 15, 2009
What is the state of cancer care in Canada? What are we doing right and what needs more attention? The Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada (CACC) released its annual Report Card on Cancer in Canada on Feb 10, 2009. It is authored by oncologists and cancer patients across the country and highlights inadequacies, ills and disconnects within the system, and offers recommendations for improvements.
Each year the Fraser Institute updates its report on the sustainability of medicare based on the most recent five-year trends. We invite Brett Skinner, Director, Health and Pharmaceutical Policy Research and Insurance Policy at The Fraser Institute to join us every year to review the findings in his report Paying More, Getting Less 2008. Brett [...]
Canada is slow to adopt the latest medical technology forcing Canadian patients to rely on old and often outdated medical equipment for treatment, says a new study from independent research organization the Fraser Institute. The peer-reviewed study, Medical Technology in Canada, evaluates the availability of medical technology in Canada compared to other nations within the [...]
Ontario’s Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) reported recently that fewer Canadian children are getting the immunizations they need, putting themselves and others at much greater risk of contracting and spreading vaccine-preventable diseases. Interestingly immigrant children’s vaccination rates are better. The study, Immunization Coverage Among Young Children of Urban Immigrant Mothers: Findings from a Universal [...]
Health Council of Canada’s latest report to Canadians, Rekindling Reform: Health Care Renewal in Canada, 2003 to 2008 released this week reviews governments’ efforts to fulfill promises and intentions for health reform that began in 2003 with the 2003 Accord on Health Care Renewal. What are the results of the billions of dollars committed to [...]
The casual observer devoid of emotional attachment can make the distinction between a child that is of normal weight versus one that is not. However, parents often fail to make such a clear-cut distinction as borne out from recent studies of weight perception. Although more education about the problem is increasing awareness of childhood obesity, [...]
While politicians are reluctant to discuss changes to improve our health care system that include private services, other countries have implemented systems that would be considered heresy in Canada. One such country is France. The Montreal Economic Institute has published an Economic Note on France’s health care system following the Castonguay report on Quebec’s system [...]
Original broadcast date: April 20, 2008 We are the safest and healthiest human beings who ever lived, and yet irrational fear is growing, with deadly consequences — such as the 1,595 Americans killed when they made the mistake of switching from planes to cars after September 11. In part, this irrationality is caused by those [...]
Original broadcast date: February 17, 2008 What is the state of cancer care in Canada? Does it depend upon where you live? Are certain populations more or less likely to survive a diagnosis of cancer? The 2007 Report Card on Cancer in Canada by the Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada (CACC) was released on February [...]
Original broadcast date: January 27, 2008 How does Canada’s health care system compare to that of European countries? The ongoing debate over what direction our health care system should take to continue to provide universal coverage in the face of an aging population has not included a direct comparison of Canada’s health care system with [...]
Original broadcast date: January 20, 2008 Canadian Medical Association president Dr. Brian Day released a study produced for the Canadian Medical Association by the Centre for Spatial Economics, in Toronto during a Jan. 15 speech. The study claims that wait times in the four of the five targeted areas, joint replacement, sight restoration, cardiac bypass [...]
When the next flu pandemic hits, who will be available to provide health care services? A national survey was conducted recently that assessed the behaviours and attitudes of healthcare workers in the event of a flu pandemic. The results paint a picture of uncertainty and the level of confidence that these health care workers and [...]
Food science is a major topic for discussion on Sunday House Call. To me, there was one seminal interview that beautifully encapsulated the exciting science and discovery of the biochemistry of foods and the role they play in fighting cancer.
The interview in June 2006 featured Dr. Richard Beliveau, author of Foods That Fight Cancer: Preventing Cancer through Diet. To date, 200,000 copies of the book have sold in Canada, an incredible number given that 5,000 is considered a best-seller.
As we discussed in our last interview of June 25, 2006, phytochemicals in the foods we eat can play a significant role in cancer prevention and overall health; literally a non-toxic version of chemotherapy. Our current Western diets seem to have weakened our body’s ability to fend off certain types of cancer among other diseases. In short, our society’s food choices have become divorced from reality and from our biology and physiology.
It seems the next logical step was to expand on the science and, at the same time, produce a book on how to incorporate these foods into our diet. With that in mind sprung his next book, Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer.
Where is Canada’s health care spending heading? What conclusions can be drawn when we extrapolate those costs into the future? These among many other findings were evaluated in a report released November 12, 2007 by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) released its flagship annual report, National Health Expenditure Trends, 1975-2007. In 2007, health [...]
We will be speaking with Dr. Yoni Freedhoff about issues dealing with obesity, salt content of food, his recent appearance on CBC’s Marketplace talking about the lack of nutritional information provided by restaurants, diet, and recent studies linking obesity and cancer. He will discuss the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s Heart Check program, with which he [...]
The Competition Bureau an independent law enforcement agency of Industry Canada recently released a report investigating the pricing and marketing of generic medications in Canada. Their findings were similar to those reported by Brett Skinner of the Fraser Institute several months ago. The Competition Bureau has concerns that despite strong competition between generic medication manufacturers, [...]
Come the end of October and early November, flu vaccination programs will be in full swing. Although for most healthy adults and children the disease can be weathered with good outcomes, those with chronic disease, the very young and the elderly may not do so well. A new study, Trends in influenza vaccination in Canada, [...]
Health care reform especially as it applies to private and public provision is a topic that evokes strong sentiments, passionate discourse, arguments and unfortunately personal attacks, sometime quite vicious and malevolent. No stranger to being on the receiving end of the vitriol, the new president of the CMA is clear, we must ensure that Canadians [...]
On August 14, 2007, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) will released Patient Safety in Canada, a new analysis that provides an overview of patient safety issues in Canada, and measures the frequency of adverse events in health care delivery, including new data on birth and obstetrical traumas (or injuries that occur to a [...]
What is the true cost of prescription medications in Canada compared to other countries? It is generally assumed that the cost of prescription medications is increasing at a rapid rate. Governments looking for ways to control spending may not be saving as much as they could according to a new study, Canada’s Drug Price Paradox [...]
The relief of suffering is one of the central goals in all of health care, but very little research has examined how common suffering is and what it actually means to patients. Now, a new study of patients receiving palliative care for cancer has revealed that suffering may be far less common than traditionally assumed. [...]
How long do hip fracture patients age 65 and over have to wait for surgery? This answer and many others published by the Canadian Institute for Health Information in their report Health Indicators 2007 provides an overview of 40 health and health system performance factors from across the country. Jennifer Zelmer, Vice President of Research [...]
How long do hip fracture patients age 65 and over have to wait for surgery? Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadA new survey shows that more than half of Canadians used at least one form of complementary or alternative medicine or treatment during the 12 months. The most commonly used complementary and alternative medicines and therapies reported were massage (19 per cent), prayer (16 per cent), chiropractic care (15 per cent), relaxation techniques (14 per [...]
A study, The Canadian contribution to the US physician workforce published in the April 10, 2007 edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) shows that one in nine trained-in-Canada physicians practices in the United States and clearly illustrates the hurdles faced by governments trying to stem the shortage of physicians in their provinces. Dr. [...]
How much table salt do you consume each day? What are the short and long term health consequences of excessive salt intake? A study by Statistics Canada published this week in Health Reports has determined the majority of Canadian men and women exceed the upper recommended limit. Most Canadians consume far more salt in their [...]
A caller to Sunday House Call recently enquired about the drug approval process and why there seems to be certain medications available in other countries but not in Canada? According to a report entitled Access Delayed, Access Denied published by The Fraser Institute, Brett Skinner, Director, Health, Pharmaceutical and Insurance Policy Research states that “the [...]
Advances in surgical technology is reducing the need for inpatient hospitalization. Although the overall number of surgeries have increased over the past decade, surgical hospital admissions are decreasing. The Canadian Institute for Health Information has recently released a report entitled Trends in Acute Inpatient Hospitalizations and Day Surgery Visits in Canada, 1995–1996 to 2005–2006 that [...]
Trends in Acute Inpatient Hospitalizations and Day Surgery Visits in Canada Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadWhat is the state of cancer care in Canada? What are we doing right and what needs more attention? This week, The Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada (CACC) released its annual Report Card on Cancer in Canada 2007. Authored by oncologists and cancer patients across the country, highlights inadequacies, ills and disconnects within the system, [...]
Do Canadians get value for the money they spend on their health care system? How do we compare to other countries that have universal-access health care systems with respect to provision and availability of services? According to a study published this week How Good is Canadian Health Care? An International Comparison of Health Care Systems [...]
In a report entitled, The Canadian Joint Replacement Registry (CJRR) 2006 Annual Report on Hip and Knee Replacements in Canada released on October 25, 2006, the Canadian Institute for Health Information found that even after accounting for population changes and aging, there was an 87% increase in hip and knee replacements over a 10-year period [...]
How well is our waiting time strategy working? What roadblocks must be cleared before tangible results are seen? The Fraser Institute released its 16th annual survey, Waiting Your Turn: Hospital Waiting Lists in Canada which shows waiting times in Canada’s hospitals increased slightly in 2006 and continued to hover near the 18 week mark first [...]
When we spoke to Brett Skinner in November 2005, the Fraser Institute reported that based on the most recent five-year trends, Medicare was on pace to consume more than half of total revenues from all sources in 7 of 10 provinces by the year 2022. One year later Mr. Skinner joins us again to review [...]
