CUPE Health Care

September 15, 2016

Staying safe on the job is a worker’s legal right

Workers’ rights are protected by union contracts, federal and provincial human rights and labour laws, and the Workers Compensation Act (the Act), which includes the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. But many workers are unaware of their legal right and obligation to refuse to perform unsafe work.

16 septembre 2016

Si le ministre de la Santé Gaétan Barrette fait comme promis et ne verse «pas un sou» aux médecins pour compenser la perte de revenus liée à l'abolition des frais accessoires, des cabinets privés vont fermer leurs portes et les listes d'attente dans les hôpitaux vont exploser, craignent les fédérations de médecins.

September 15, 2016 in

By Robert DeVet

Seldom has a provincial austerity budget been as decisively rejected as happened this spring in Newfoundland and Labrador. Angry citizens took to the street in record numbers, filled townhalls across the province, wrote letters, called in to radio shows, and in true Newfoundland fashion made fun of a hapless Premier Dwight Ball. The anti-budget coalition was broad and diverse, and the protesters were very determined.

By Jay Hancock and Shefali Luthra Kaiser Health News, September 14, 2016

An Undisciplined EconomistRobert G. Evans on Health Economics, Health Care Policy, and Population Health

Reducing Antipsychotic Medication Use in Long Term Care Across Canada, more than one in four seniors in long term care (LTC) is on antipsychotic medication without a diagnosis of psychosis. The rates vary greatly between LTC homes and jurisdictions, pointing to the potentially inappropriate use of these medications. In 2014-2015, CFHI worked with 56 long term care homes that agreed to curb the inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotic medication to seniors. Participants received seed funding and training to implement programs to reduce and eliminate antipsychotic use, along with coaching and mentoring, educational materials, tools, and forums for sharing with other sites. The goal was to lower the use of antipsychotics, and improve the quality of care and quality of life for residents.

One-in-four long term care residents in Canada is prescribed antipsychotic medication without a diagnosis of psychosis. Research shows that antipsychotic medications are minimally effective in managing the psychological and behavioural symptoms associated with dementia and are associated with worsening cognitive functions and serious adverse events.

Quebec will ban medicare user charges; 'There won't be any fees, period' for necessary care: Barrette Montreal Gazette Thu Sep 15 2016 Page: A1 / Front Section: News Byline: CAROLINE PLANTE Dateline: QUEBEC Source: The Gazette

Patients in Quebec will no longer have to pay user fees for medically required procedures covered by medicare, Health Minister Gaétan Barrette has announced. The minister told reporters Wednesday the measure was approved by cabinet and will come into effect in January 2017. For example, it will be illegal for doctors to charge patients $200 for eye drops before they undergo exams or treatments, or $150 to open their file, Barrette said. "When a medical service is covered by RAMQ, there are sometimes fees added to that. It's overbilling. Those fees will be illegal, totally illegal," he told reporters. "There won't be fees of $50, $70, $25 or $10, there won't be any fees, period ... No more over-billing."

"We made a huge effort as a society to go back to a balanced budget. Now we need to go on and put measures in place which will improve our health-care system," Barrette said. The change will not apply to medical procedures that are not covered by medicare, such as laser eye or cosmetic surgery, the government said, and Quebecers will still have to pay for doctors' notes because it is considered an administrative fee. Moreover, it will be possible for doctors to charge up to $15 for the transportation of blood samples to and from laboratories, and $5 for samples that do not contain blood. Barrette said he is abolishing add-on fees by rolling them into doctors' salaries. He estimated it would cost doctors between $10 million and $13 million a year. "When you have a total envelope of $7 billion, I think it's fair to ask that they incorporate those fees. The specialists have said that they will incorporate those costs for those services ... and as for general practitioners, there are no surgeries, so there is no reason for them not to incorporate those costs into their envelope," Barrette said.

September 8, 2016

Canadians saw the worst-case scenario of a disjointed health care system in 2012, when Greg Price died after a series of missed communications. One of the key problems was a missed test result. After a doctor at a walk-in clinic found a mass in his abdomen that he worried could be cancer, he ordered an urgent CT scan.

Continuity of Patient Care study from The Health Quality Council of Alberta

(September 12, 2016)

With today’s Throne Speech, the Wynne government is trying for a fresh start. If this is to succeed, some long-simmering health care issues must be addressed to realign her government’s health policies with the values and priorities of Ontarians. “More than eight years of austerity budgets in Ontario’s public community hospitals has left a trail of service cuts, longer travel distances for patients and dangerous overcrowding, ” said Natalie Mehra, Executive Director of the Ontario Health Coalition. “As a priority, there must be a full moratorium of cuts, and a plan developed to rebuild capacity to meet Ontario’s communities’ needs — that means both a fiscal plan that priorizes people over Bay Street and financial interests, and a hospital capacity plan that moves money to care and restores services in Ontarians’ home communities.”

Fredericton – This Monday, CUPE officially launches a campaign named “Who Cares?” to get government and the public to talk about community care services (CCS). CUPE is advocating that services such as group homes, special care homes, transition houses and home care should be integrated under public administration.

September 13, 2016

The Conference Board of Canada, October 25, 2016 at 02:00 PM EDT Live Webinar

September 08, 2016

One of Canada’s leading daily newspapers has taken a public stand in favour of the Canadian Medical Association’s proposal for the next Health Accord, now in the early planning stages among the federal, provincial and territorial governments.In an editorial dated August 26, the Toronto Star said: “One worthwhile change, forcefully advocated by the Canadian Medical Association earlier this week, would be for Ottawa to deliver additional health care funding through a special ‘top-up’ based on each province’s population of seniors. (…)

Youth need help fast and 'instead they get a brick wall' says Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond in new report

Sep 08, 2016

09 septembre 2016 à 05h0

Devant les délais de livraison, Québec accentue la pression sur le consortium chargé de construire le nouveau Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) et retient 70 millions de paiements. C'est ce qu'a confirmé à La Presse le directeur exécutif du bureau de modernisation des CHU de Montréal, Clermont Gignac, dans un rare entretien. Il a levé le voile sur les détails financiers de l'un des plus grands projets de construction d'hôpital du monde.

Sep 6, 2016

A court case that could allow the rich to have preferred access to certain health services started this Tuesday, September 6, in Vancouver. Dr. Brian Day, owner of the for-profit Cambie private clinic in British Columbia, filed a constitutional challenge designed to allow more private health services. If successful, it would allow for a two-tier health care system. This would certainly undermine services in the public sector. This is a threat to the very foundations of our universal public system. 

'We want to see if it works in the Manitoba context,' says Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen

Sep 07, 2016 4:31 P

Manitobans may be able to pay for an MRI or CT scan after the provincial government completes a review of wait times in the health-care system. Manitoba Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen was in Saskatchewan last week to meet with provincial health officials and review some of that province's best practices. He said Saskatchewan's experience with privately offered magnetic resonance imaging tests is "interesting" and won't rule it out for Manitoba.