Quebec cancer patients lose access to medical data after app shuts down
This week’s edition of who is saying what about public health care is compiled by Pat Van Horne.
5,000 cancer patients in Quebec lose access to their medical data
“Some 7,000 patients in Quebec lost access to their medical data earlier this month, after the province’s leading patient care app was shut down due to a lack of funding. The app’s developer is now creating a charitable organization to try to get it back online, hoping to compete with for-profit products,” reports Martin Patriquin for The Logic, January 22, 2025
Unknown neurological disease in New Brunswick needs independent study, say researchers
“Nobody is going to be happy with a governmental board. . . If I didn’t think there was a potential of a kernel of something deep down in there, I would be saying, ‘Walk away from this.’ … But I’m not there yet . . .This is not for the faint of heart. If you’re going to do this, somebody’s giving up a chunk of their life to do it. . . And you need jointly the federal government and the provincial government to say, ‘We agree with this approach’,” said Dr. Michael Strong, professor of clinical neurological sciences at Western University, to The Globe and Mail, January 21, 2025
Doctors need to be upfront about drug costs
“Pharmacare should mandate drug cost transparency right from the start. Drug prices should be posted for the limited drugs Pharmacare now covers — contraceptives and medications for type 2 diabetes and expand as more drugs are added. . . Pharmacies don’t have to be a place of dread for patients when picking up medications. . .Drug costs need to pop up when clinicians are writing prescriptions. . .The current lack of drug cost transparency is a supremely expensive, overlooked blunder that’s costly to patients and to the health systems on which they rely. . .Providing cost-effective care is simply not possible in the absence of accurate knowledge of drug costs. The future of national pharmacare could depend on it.”—said family physician Dr. Iris Gorfinkel and Dr. Joel Lexchin, CHC Board Member and professor Emeritus, School of Health Policy and Management, York University, Toronto Star, January 20 2025
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) under-utilized in Canada
“A physician-dominant system in Canada has prevented nurse anesthetists from working here, even though we know that it would be better workforce optimization and reduce costs. . . It’s really unfortunate that we have these skilled, highly-talented nurses across the nation that seek graduate-level education south of the border, and they cannot be optimized in the Canadian health-care system,” said Valerie Grdisa, CEO of the Canadian Nurses Association, to CBC Radio, White Coat Black Art, January 18, 2025
Hunger Games scenario for family docs in Ontario
“This is not the way it should be . . .The response that we’ve had shows that we have a provincial problem that is big,” said local doctor Paul McArthur following a lineup that started at 2 a.m. in a snowstorm for citizens seeking to register with a new in Walkerton, Ontario, to CBC News, January 15, 2025
National rare disease strategy needed, says CORD
Ten years after the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD) brought Canada’s Rare Disease Strategy to Parliament, we are once again calling upon the federal political leaders to prioritize a National Rare Disease Strategy and to support the development of provincial rare disease plans that will ensure funding from the Rare Disease Drug Strategy has optimal sustainable impact. The patient, health professional, and private sectors have been highly active over this decade. . . The time is now for Canada to catch up with and surpass the rest of the world with national, provincial, and local programs for rare disorders,” said Durhane Wong-Rieger PhD, president and CEO of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders, in a statement, January 14, 2025
Social media handing out health misinformation, says CMA after survey
“We’re calling on all social media platforms to take accountability for the impact misinformation is having on the health of Canadians and take immediate action to stop it,” said Dr. Joss Reimer, Canadian Medical Association president in a media release and to City News, Vancouver, January 21, 2025
BC nurses and others welcome review of administrative system costs
“We still need to recruit thousands of nurses to this province in order for us to be successful at implementing minimum nurse-patient ratios . . . Where I’m really challenged is for-profit companies that really are exploiting a situation, and have been charging exorbitant amounts to supply nurses in situations where, frankly, we’re quite desperate,” said Adriane Gear, president, BC Nurses’ Union (BCNU), to CBC, January 19, 2025
UofT wants Indigenous students to consider health care careers
“The proportion of Indigenous faculty members is small, so it’s critical to think and collaborate across institutions . . .If this program only operated within a single organization, that [means] we would risk not being able to provide the community what they need,” said Ryan Giroux, Indigenous health lead for postgraduate medical education, Termerty Medicine, Toronto, Education News, January 21, 2025
