In the News

Deber, Flood Comment on June 9 Supreme Court Decision

In the June 13 Globe and Mail and June 14 Edmonton Sun, Dr. Raisa Deber (Professor in HPME) expressed her skepticism about the Supreme Court decision striking down the Quebec law that bans private insurance for services covered under Medicare. According to Deber, the Supreme Court based its decision on an assumption that is unworkable: private insurance will not eliminate waiting times for the sick because profit-motivated insurance companies will not provide coverage for people who are already ill. In an article in the June 10 Globe and Mail, Dr. Colleen Flood (Professor in HPME and the Faculty of Law) suggested that Canada's healthcare system is likely to become more like Britain's two-tier system as a result of the Supreme Court's ruling. This could result in a diversion of resources from the public to the private sector, making the situation worse for most patients.

David Urbach Encourages Patients to Demand Best Care

In the June 9 Globe and Mail Article, “Survival rates higher at hospitals where some operations done more often”, Dr. David Urbach (Associate Professor in HPME) encourages patients to seek out care in hospitals which perform high volumes of complex surgeries. Findings reported in the Canadian Institute of Health Information's annual report, “Health Care in Canada 2005” indicate that mortality rates are lower in high-volume hospitals, particularly for angioplasty to clear blocked cardiac arteries and operations for pancreatic and esophageal cancer.

Wilson Warns of Entrenching Opposition to Vaccinations

In a study published in the medical journal Vaccine, Dr. Kumanen Wilson (Associate Professor in HPME) reported that confronting parents about vaccinations when they are already opposed can simply entrench their opposition and damage the physician-patient relationship. The findings were reported in the May 23, 2005 Globe and Mail.

<<Previous Item

Table of Contents

Next Item>>