Health care delivery

Out on a limb: Low tech, high value

The use of advanced technologies to provide feedback to patients during rehabilitation is all the rage in lower extremity healthcare. But, as exciting as these new modalities can be, it’s important to remember that low-tech feedback … READ MORE

We live with a cloud over our heads: Québecers say home care services fall short

Nearly 343,000 Québecers receive publicly-funded home care. Critics hope political parties commit to change. Rosalyn Williams-Ness has received home care services for the past 12 years. She says she lives with almost constant … READ MORE

Canada as single-payer exemplar for universal health care in the United States

A Borderline Option. Ambassador Bridge workers (from bottom left to right) Hector Renaud, (unknown), Earl Foley, Art Langois, and Louis Renaud in 1953, according to Louis Renaud. He says the man in the white shirt was another … READ MORE

Canada’s health-care wait times hit new record high, again

We finally did it last year. In 2016, we hit the 20-week mark for the average wait time for treatment by a specialist (across 12 medical specialities) after referral from a general practitioner. Canada’s national shame had reached a … READ MORE

US healthcare consumers find little information online

Our findings suggest that there is substantial room for improvement in providing consumers with ready access to health care prices online. Policy makers should consider mandating that payers and providers make these prices available … READ MORE

Judge rejects attempt by doctor with no computer skills to regain license

A New Hampshire judge has denied an 84-year-old doctor’s request to regain her license to practice, which she had surrendered partly over her inability to use a computer. Dr. Anna Konopka stands in front of her tiny office where … READ MORE

Telemedicine for children with disabilities in remote communities

UC Davis Department of Pediatrics has received a $2 million, five-year grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to fund a new telemedicine program for children in remote communities. The School-Based … READ MORE

Primary healthcare, disruptive innovation, and the digital gold rush

We want innovation to improve our patients’ lives and protect their safety. Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, of the Royal College of GPs, is worried about ‘twin-track approach to NHS general practice’. Photograph: Sam Friedrich for … READ MORE

The patients vs. paperwork problem for doctors

Every doctor I know has been complaining about the growing burden of electronic busywork generated by the E.M.R., the electronic medical record. And it’s not just in our imaginations. Illustration by Craig Frazier, The New York … READ MORE

Pay-for-access online doctors “move Nova Scotia into dangerous territory”

But Maple says ‘chat with a doctor in your pyjamas’ fills an important gap in health care. A company providing online access to doctors for a fee has expanded into Nova Scotia and the body regulating the practice of … READ MORE

Study eyes hospitalists

The old-fashioned, family doctor style of medicine could be lifesaving for elderly hospitalized patients, a big study suggests, showing benefits over a rapidly expanding alternative that has hospital-based doctors overseeing care … READ MORE

NHS starts offering GP appointments via video call

The doctor will Skype you now – in the United Kingdom. A 24-hour service has been launched for NHS patients offering GP consultations via video link on smartphones. Babylon Health. Engadget November 6, 2017 You’re often more … READ MORE

Patients with MS can now self-monitor online

PARIS — The ability of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) to monitor their own disease with use of web-based algorithms incorporating various patient outcome measures is becoming a reality. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease … READ MORE

Be concerned about how apps collect, share health data

As of 2016, there were more than 165,000 health and wellness apps available though the Apple App Store alone. According to Rice University medical media expert Kirsten Ostherr, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates only a … READ MORE

Alberta Health Services signs massive new technology deal

The Alberta Health Services board has approved a $459-million deal with a U.S. technology giant to equip the health authority with an advanced clinical information system. Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO of Alberta Health Services. … READ MORE

A lesson for Canada: Québec pharmacare system creates winners and losers

Québec spends $200 more per person than the rest of Canada to provide prescription drug coverage to everyone in the province, finds new research that could inform plans for a nationwide universal drug plan. Benny Lin, flickr … READ MORE

iPhone app for patients guides MS research, treatment

Patients can track symptoms, share data right from their phone. For some diseases, a simple blood test is all that’s needed to estimate severity or confirm a diagnosis. Not so for multiple sclerosis. With an iPhone app called MS … READ MORE

The pathway to patient data ownership and better health

Digital health data are rapidly expanding to include patient-reported outcomes, patient-generated health data, and social determinants of health. Measurements collected in clinical settings are being supplemented by data collected in … READ MORE

Surprised staff and patients – Landmark Clinic suddenly shut their doors

Physicians and other practitioners retrieved patient medical records. The Landmark Collaborative Health Clinic on Veterans Way closed with no notice Sept. 11, in a move that caught staff and patients — and the College of Physicians … READ MORE

Disconnect revealed between Alberta doctors and AHS management

Nearly one-third of doctors surveyed don’t necessarily trust safety of health-care system. Alberta doctors question how the province’s health-care system is managed, the level of care provided to patients, and don’t … READ MORE

Dispelling myths about disability in Africa

Many people in rural African communities still believe that disability is caused by supernatural forces, curses and as ‘punishment’ for wrongdoings. Coming face-to-face with disability could end supernatural myth-making in Africa … READ MORE

Lives can absolutely be saved: Alberta doctor creates online patient referral system

Denis Vincent received a $50,000 grant from the Canadian Medical Association to market the software. Dr. Vincent has rolled out a new computer system in 35 medical clinics, where doctors can refer patients to specialists quickly while … READ MORE

How much does the ‘average’ Canadian pay for public health care?

About $5,789 per year — but it depends on what you think ‘average’ means. What you’ll have more trouble doing is deciding whether that spending represents a good value. National Post, Postmedia Richard Warnica, … READ MORE

NHS holds on to top spot in healthcare survey

The NHS has been judged the best, safest and most affordable healthcare system out of 11 countries analysed and ranked by experts from the influential Commonwealth Fund health think tank. ‘Don’t tell me NHS workers aren’t … READ MORE

The pace and scope of ‘patient centricity’ is too slow and narrow

The phrase “patient centricity” makes us all feel good. Health professionals adopt the term regularly, spend more time with patients, express more concern, and try to push the policy envelope just that little bit further. Thank … READ MORE

Online doctor consultations take off in Canada

Questions raised over quality of consultations and universality principle. Virtual medical services that connect family physicians and patients with minor illnesses and injuries are popping up online in Canada, leading to questions … READ MORE

Why doctors hate electronic records — and what could change that

The health care industrial complex has spent billions of dollars and untold amounts of time trying to make medical records as flexible, invisible and unobtrusive as possible for patients and clinicians alike. Dr. R. Adams Dudley, who … READ MORE

Bonjour-santé service asks court to stop health ministry audit

RAMQ investigating whether for-fee appointment booking service is against the law. An online service that finds clients a medical appointment within 48 hours for a fee has turned to Québec Superior Court to stop an audit by … READ MORE

Alberta’s health system needs overhaul, auditor general says

Auditor general Merwan Saher wants the health-care system to make a ‘quantum leap’. Patients’ health information should flow to all of that person’s care providers, auditor general Merwan Saher says in his … READ MORE

Could ‘curbside consultations’ go digital?

It was once commonplace for primary care physicians to seek informal guidance from specialists regarding a patient’s care during a “curbside consultation.” This phrase, still in use today, is said to have come about … READ MORE

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