by Bull » Wed Jul 04, 2012 6:03 am
GrouchoMarxist wrote:Mooooooooooooooooooo wrote:GrouchoMarxist wrote:A leftist French Canadian?
I fear we struck another nerve with the sucking canucks
Who's we?....you're the only one around here being disrespectful. I've managed to have rational interactions with everyone here except you.
I've made an effort to learn about your country. Maybe you could try doing the same instead of just attacking us.
Liberals taught everything I know abouit civility
by GrouchoMarxist » Wed Jul 04, 2012 4:49 pm
Research Paper
Management of MRI Wait Lists in Canada
Derek J. Emery, Alan J. Forster, Kaveh G. Shojania, Stephanie Magnan, Michelle Tubman and Thomas E. Feasby
Abstract
Excessive wait times for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies are a major problem in the Canadian healthcare system. To determine how requests for MRI studies are managed, the authors performed a survey of public MRI facilities in Canada. Ninety-six per cent had some method to triage MRI requests. However, only 42% had documented guidelines for prioritization, and none employed quality assurance methods to ensure that guidelines were followed. Target timelines for each prioritization category varied widely. Sixteen per cent of centres were not able to meet their target timelines for any prioritization category, and 45% of centres met target times only for some prioritization categories. Strategies for dealing with wait lists primarily involved attempts to increase capacity. No centres attempted to reduce wait times by decreasing inappropriate requests. There appears to be a need to standardize MRI wait list management given the variation in management practices and wait times observed.
Excessive wait times for some healthcare interventions have caught the attention of governments, providers and the public (Sanmartin et al. 2000). Of particular interest to these groups are cardiac surgery, joint replacement surgery, cancer care and advanced diagnostic imaging, specifically magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Wait times for diagnostic imaging are particularly important because they may result in delays in definitive treatment.
Efforts to reduce wait times for MRI have focused on increasing the number of diagnostic imaging devices, as Canada lags far behind other countries in this regard. For instance, Japan and the United States have 35.3 and 19.5 MRI units per million population, respectively, whereas Canada has only 4.6. (Stein 2005). The number of MRI scanners in Canada is lower than the median of 6.1 scanners per million for all countries within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (Stein 2005). The optimal number of MRI machines per capita has not been established, and the number of scanners does not indicate the number of patients scanned; however, it does provide an indication of capacity. While Canadian provinces have recently increased the number of imaging devices, it is unlikely that Canada will have such ready access to imaging as these other countries. Therefore, other approaches to wait time reduction are needed.
Improving the management of wait lists represents another approach to reducing wait times. This strategy might include the development of criteria for determining the appropriateness of imaging requests, which in turn could be used to help triage their relative urgency. A similar approach has been used for cardiac surgery (Naylor et al. 2000). In this setting, these criteria make wait list assignment more objective and equitable while also improving overall efficiency. Although the development of appropriateness criteria for MRI scanning has received some attention (Canadian Association of Radiologists 2005; ACR 2000), there is no evidence that these efforts have had an impact on practice. The role of standardized approaches to triaging requests for MRI has received almost no attention.
by GrouchoMarxist » Wed Jul 04, 2012 4:53 pm
DOCUMENT: Fraser Institute Wait Times Report
(Note:CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)
The median wait time for Canadians seeking surgical or other therapeutic treatment was 19 weeks in 2011. iStockWait times to receive medical treatment in Canada are the highest they've been in 18 years, according to a new report.
The median wait time is 19 weeks between the referral from a general practitioner and the start of elective treatment, finds the report, released by the Fraser Institute Monday.
“At 104 per cent longer than it was in 1993, this is the longest total wait time recorded since the Fraser Institute began measuring wait times in Canada,” reads the report.
Wait times for a referral to a specialist rose to 9.5 weeks in 2011 from 8.9 weeks in 2010. And the wait time between a visit to a specialist and actual medical treatment increased to 9.5 weeks from 9.3 weeks, according to the report.
Even among the provinces with the shortest wait times there have been declines. Though Ontario has the shortest total wait time for surgery among the provinces, with an average wait of 14.3 weeks between a visit to a GP and the receipt of treatment, that’s up from 14 weeks in 2010.
Conversely, Prince Edward Island had the longest total wait time at 43.9 weeks.
Wait times for different types of medical procedures also vary in length. Patients wait the longest between a GP referral and plastic surgery, an average of 41.6 weeks, while those waiting for medical oncology begin treatment in 4.2 weeks.
"Canadians are being forced to wait almost 4 ½ months, on average, to receive surgical care, prolonging the pain and suffering patients and their families are forced to endure," said Mark Rovere, a co-author of the report. "Despite significant increases in government health spending, Canadians are still waiting too long to access medically necessary treatment," Rovere said.
The report, Waiting your Turn, surveyed specialist physicians in 10 provinces across 12 specialties between January 12 and May 20, 2011. Survey questionnaires were sent to 12 different specialties:
by GrouchoMarxist » Wed Jul 04, 2012 4:58 pm
Even though Ann Reynar will continue to wait for chemotherapy at the Cross Cancer Institute to treat her stage four colon cancer; she says she feels a little better now that Alberta Health Services finally apologized for the situation.
Ann's husband Wave Reynar says Alberta Health Services called the couple this weekend apologizing for the fact that she likely won't receive chemotherapy. A staff shortage at the Cross Cancer Institute has left doctors only giving treatment to priority patients and Ann's three month prognosis puts her low on the priority list.
Read more: http://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/ahs-apologiz ... z1zhoAi7Wf
by GrouchoMarxist » Wed Jul 04, 2012 5:01 pm
by GrouchoMarxist » Wed Jul 04, 2012 6:16 pm
Are Canadians coming here for medical care, or do we go there for medical care? From what I know about the Canadian system, there are delays and now cutbacks. Both systems are corrupt, but for different reasons.
Fraser Health Authority confirms cutbacks to surgeries, services
'Sorry is not good enough,' says senior facing cuts
By David Karp, Vancouver SunAugust 14, 2009
The Fraser Health Authority confirmed Thursday it intends to cut surgeries, seniors' programs and services for the mentally ill to help deal with a budget shortfall of up to $160 million.
However, it said the emergency department at Mission Memorial Hospital will stay open.
Confirmation of the cuts, expected for some time, came as the authority's board of directors met in Mission Thursday. The board said 10 to 15 per cent of elective surgeries will be cut in the latter part of the 2009-10 fiscal year, with slowdowns already scheduled for the Olympic period.
MRIs will be limited to the same number done last year, and programs for seniors, the mentally ill and people suffering domestic violence will be cut.
On July 27, NDP health critic Adrian Dix leaked a planning document outlining a 10-per-cent reduction in elective surgeries at Fraser Health. Earlier this month, Denyse Houde, director of mental health and addictions at Fraser Health, said the authority was cutting mental health and addictions funding, as well as a domestic violence program.
by GrouchoMarxist » Thu Jul 05, 2012 4:14 am
by GrouchoMarxist » Thu Jul 05, 2012 4:24 am
crankyhead wrote:Seriously Groucho, your head does not belong up your butt, now matter how much you want to keep putting it up there.
by GrouchoMarxist » Thu Jul 05, 2012 5:16 pm
by Mooooooooooooooooooo » Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:37 pm
GrouchoMarxist wrote:No sucky canuckys want to come out and play?
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