Skip navigation

 Login or Register | Member Centre

Ontario chided over chronic-disease care

BRODIE FENLON

Globe and Mail Update

Latest comment posted at 1:36 PM EDT 20/05/08

'Modest' improvements could save nearly 8,000 lives a year arms-length watchdog says ...Read the full article

This conversation is closed

  1. Green Milos from Canada writes: No. This is Ontario. If you want free needles, become a drug addict. If you want treatment for your autistic child, forget it. Suffer in the dark loser. Want a sex change? Well, get in line! Sex changes for all!
  2. Friendly Anglo from Ottawa, Canada writes: Free needles - no way
    Autistic child - 100% support
    Sex change - No way
  3. Dave Roberts from Toronto, Canada writes: Elective sex change operations are covered - I'm glad to see my health premiums going to good use. I'll have to make sure not to get sick though.
  4. carol c from Canada writes: These sex changes are estimated to cost $200,000 per year in Ontario. I'd think that's less than the toilet paper budget in parliament. The fact that some people are born the wrong gender and that others refuse to understand that experience is not the issue here. The issue is the failure of the healthcare system for people suffering from chronic conditions. An issue that most likely has an effect on everyone in the Province if you take family into account.
  5. Green Milos from Canada writes: carol c from Canada writes: These sex changes are estimated to cost $200,000 per year in Ontario.

    _____________
    Then pay for it yourself. There are people with real medical problems that can't get covered. So they decide to cover this garbage? Just so you feel better about yourself when you try to get picked up in a bar?
  6. Michel Frechette from Kapuskasing, Canada writes: Now that we've taken smoking out of the bars and restaurants let us get it off the sidewalk. I propose that smoking only be allowed on private property owned by the smoker and no one else even with permission of the owner. This means no smoking in apartments. Plus we should only sell cigarettes with a doctor's prescription. If it is not yet clear I am completely against smoking and smokers.
  7. J.C. Davies from Canada writes:
    'Waiting times for diagnostic imaging such as CT scans and MRI scans, however, have shown little improvement.'

    My wife had to wait 4 months for an MRI in Toronto. My niece in Boston got an MRI the next day after suffering a minor injury.
  8. Better to light a small candle than to sit and curse the darkness from Canada writes: Green Milos from Canada writes: carol c from Canada writes: These sex changes are estimated to cost $200,000 per year in Ontario.
    Then pay for it yourself. There are people with real medical problems that can't get covered. So they decide to cover this garbage? Just so you feel better about yourself when you try to get picked up in a bar?
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    While I am sympathetic to people who feel they need a sex change, I believe that a list of priorities would place that operation way down the list under such things as cancer, heart disease, and maladies related to child development such as autism.
    CYMRO
  9. B L from Canada writes: As happens so often on the G&M boards, the responders to this article have completely missed the point.

    What does this article have to do with sex changes, drug addiction or children's autism programs? Nothing.

    There are less than 10 people who undergo gender reassignment surgery in Ontario each year. The cost of this surgery wouldn't even cover a third of one child's autism treatment for a year. Besides, if you actually knew anyone who as considering this type of surgery, you probably wouldn't be calling it elective. It's the same kind of 'elective' surgery as removing a 6th toe or fixing a genetic facial deformity in a child. I'm sure you wouldn't say to a parent who's child was born without eyelids - 'Hey! That's an ELECTIVE surgery! Pay for it yourself, freak.'

    I digress - the POINT of the article is....

    There are about 8,000 people who die because of mis-management of their chronic illness every year.

    As someone with a chronic illness that requires daily medication and monthly monitoring, I'm glad that this report identifies gaps in the current system. Paying for insulin needles seems like a good start.
  10. Politically Incorrect and PROUD OF IT! from Canada writes: So, there's 8,000 people die every year due to mis-management? So? How many people are there in Ontario.? 6,7,8 million? What's 8,000 in the grand scheme of things? NADA. We all die sometime, just not a big deal.
  11. Green Milos from Canada writes: Politically Incorrect and PROUD OF IT! from Canada writes: So, there's 8,000 people die every year due to mis-management? So? How many people are there in Ontario.? 6,7,8 million? What's 8,000 in the grand scheme of things? NADA. We all die sometime, just not a big deal.

    ___________---
    Well, it's a bigger thing than 50-thousand dying in China.
  12. Sayless Thinkmore from Hopeless, Canada writes: Carol C:

    Some people are born the wrong gender? Not sure about that... Even if they're born the wrong gender--whatever that means--blame lousy parenting, schools, anyone but themselves, there are people who are chronically ill. Sick. In medical need...

    What's your point?
  13. Politically Incorrect and PROUD OF IT! from Canada writes: We could stand to lose a couple hundred thousand just from Toronto alone....must be at least that many Dippers in TO alone
  14. carol c from Canada writes: My point? Obviously you didn't hear me there Sayless, so I'll type louder. Ready?

    The issue is the failure of the healthcare system for people suffering from chronic conditions.
  15. Politically Incorrect and PROUD OF IT! from Canada writes: Carol C gender transformation is due to a failure of the health care system? Really. Uh, babe, I think you'll probably find it's a failure of part of the brain in a few individuals.... or their genetic make up. Quite a stretch to blame the healthcare system for that.
  16. carol c from Canada writes: The number of potential MENSA members seems to swell everytime there's an online disagreement. It's the strangest thing.

    Have a good day.
  17. SN Dream from Canada writes: Sayless Thinkmore from Hopeless, Canada writes: Carol C:

    Some people are born the wrong gender? Not sure about that... Even if they're born the wrong gender--whatever that means--blame lousy parenting, schools, anyone but themselves, there are people who are chronically ill. Sick. In medical need...
    -------------------------------------
    Sayless,
    It's around 20K/surgery and 10 case a year, totaling 200K a year.
    I don't understand why you guys make it such a big fuss.

    First, I really don't think there are people who just undergo unnecessary sex change operation.

    Second, by being so obsess with this tiny budget (200K/40.2Billion), you guys are missing more important issue. Shouldn't you guys be more concern about other issue that can save real money? Like electronic health record system, health card fraud?? You know, stuff that can improve service AND cut down cost at the same time?
  18. jack Bauer from Canada writes: Gender reassignment...I am sure Smitherman agrees is right behind this one, why not they stole 2.5 billion a year from us and we said nothing!
  19. CD W from Canada writes: Many of the chronically ill live in remote and rural areas. A deep fried lifestyle does not help. So if we try to get after these folks with tests and such, how do you intend to get them to a medical practitioner? Private transfer services cost 150 bucks to start. If you call 911 for a transfer, you might fool the paramedic crew, but at the hospital we will tick the non essential call box, it will be signed by a doctor and you will be billed 350 bucks minimum. If you cannot convice folks to not smoke and eat 8 lbs of chicken wings at a sitting, then caring for their chronic illnesses will not happen. Patients have to be compliant sometimes, and it is usually when their heart stops.
  20. Mary Smith from United States writes:

    I thought Emma Hawthorne fixed any problem there may be with Canada's health care system and that's why she's incessantly harping about the US.
  21. The Work Farce from Canada writes: Oh, geez...Mr. Smitherman and his henchmen are about to 'study' the 400,000 Ontarians without a physician. And 'target' them. Their days are numbered. Say, Good-bye. Cause of death? Benign neglect, otherwise known as studyitis.
  22. Dianna Inkster from Kingston, Canada writes: Are the patients who are no longer seeking doctors something to be proud of, Mr Smitherman? If you have no phone, if you didn't know you were sick, if you are afraid to go to the doctor because you think you may have something really serious, you might stop actively searching for a doctor and continue to rely on (expensive) after hours clinics and ER facilities.
    How can patients manage chronic diseases when they haven't fully understood what they must do to do that? My husband is on an insulin pump and sensor (the latest and the greatest). We still test blood glucose about 8 times per day. Our A1C (average 3-mo bg) is still 7.2 or barely acceptable. What more can we do?
    Unfortunately, a lot of Ontario residents are not as fortunate as we are. They have no extended health benefits so they are not covered for insulin pumps and supplies. You can't control your chronic disease if you cannot affortd the equipment necessary that will replace your b cells in the pancreas.
  23. Ian F from marathon, Canada writes: so back to the article...what exactly are the Public Health Units for? all of them have Chronic Disease programs, it seems they have figureed out how to take care of drug addicts, and babies and forgotten how to take care of the rest of the population. What is going on with this group?
  24. Jimmy K from Toronto, Canada writes: Why do people have a problem with needle exchange? The logic for this couldn't be any clearer. Whether we give people cheap, practically free needles or not, they are going to use drugs, afterall, these needles are only going to addicts. If we don't give them needles, they end up with HIV and we need to spend a million dollars treating them for the next few decades.
    So, lets do the math.
    Cost: Practically free. A rounding error. Let's say, 1 million, just to throw out a number.
    Savings to the health care system: If 1000 people don't get sick as a result, that's 1 billion dollars over their lifetimes, or maybe like 30 million a year if it's about 30 years.

    To summarize, 1 million out, 30 million in. Seems like a slam dunk. Approximate ROI of 3000%. That's not even considering the fact that these people are more than just numbers, and it's probably better for them to NOT have HIV, but even when you just do the calculations and forget about everything else, it works out, so what's the problem here?

    As for this chronic-disease thing, it's obvious the economics of the healthcare system are designed to keep people out, not to design a effective monitoring system to pull people in and make sure they are taking care of themselves when they are chronically ill. It is going to take a concerted effort at Long Term Care to fix this, possibly some sort of centralized monitoring system, but considering we can't even get medical records electronically still, I bet that's still years and years away.
  25. Jimmy K from Toronto, Canada writes: Vern McPherson, it sure is easy to say that, but when illness strikes you or one of your loved ones, I'm sure you would expect the system to spare no expense. You're right though, the system has no check to make sure it is not frivolously used. In the US that check is economic, we need to have something as well in place of that. Perhaps if we could do something as simple as compile a list of how many MRI scans were referred by each doctor in the province versus an average, and provide that to doctors, so they can see first hand where they stand. Unfortunately, as I stated above, information such as this, which would be readily available and trivial in the private sector, would be few and far between in the health care sector. Health care is a sector that is just now being dragged out of the 80's and into the 90's in terms of use of enterprise wide use of technology and information.
  26. Vern McPherson from writes:
    Jimmy my Doc thought I needed an MRI rather urgently last fall. I had it in a matter of days. I had 2 others within weeks of being perscribed, 2 weeks was the longest wait - a very reasonable time. And my suspected malady wasn't a cut hand or a bruise.

    I know of many friends and acquaintenances who have heart surgery within 24 hours of diagnosis of a serious proglem so I am not believing all this wait times bull.

    It's like people complaining about going to emerg and waiting 8 hours or even 4 hours. It ain't an emerg is it ?

    Patients are aksing for MRI's. OK says the doc I'll get you on a list.

    People who lose their walking canes don't need one ........ that's my view..........
  27. Sean L. from Toronto Center, Canada writes: Ontario chided over chronic-disease: idiot voteritis

    So Smitherman, after your boyfriend gets his sex change operation on the tax payer bill, how about you invest some of our new liberal healthcare tax in giving us back basic services you took away like eye exams or prostate cancer screening. I think these are a little more of a universal concern than your new free cosmetic surgery covereage for giving guys $20,000.00 vagina's.
  28. Larfing Outloud from Virgin Islands (British) writes: Sean L. from Toronto Center, Canada writes: 'Ontario chided over chronic-disease: idiot voteritis

    So Smitherman, after your boyfriend gets his sex change operation on the tax payer bill, how about you invest some of our new liberal healthcare tax in giving us back basic services you took away like eye exams or prostate cancer screening. I think these are a little more of a universal concern than your new free cosmetic surgery covereage for giving guys $20,000.00 vagina's.'

    Good post Sean but I can't see it lasting much longer. Someone will complain (so I did the old cut and paste).
  29. loraine lamontagne from Mississauga, Canada writes: Maybe Politically Incorrect and likeminded others could tell us why they have no problem federal money pays for transgender operations in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, only operations in Ontario? Is transgender operations such a common practice in Western Canada that it has until now remained under your radar?

Comments are closed

Thanks for your interest in commenting on this article, however we are no longer accepting submissions. If you would like, you may send a letter to the editor.

Report an abusive comment to our editorial staff

close

Alert us about this comment

Please let us know if this reader’s comment breaks the editor's rules and is obscene, abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, defamatory, profane or racially offensive by selecting the appropriate option to describe the problem.

Do not use this to complain about comments that don’t break the rules, for example those comments that you disagree with or contain spelling errors or multiple postings.

Top National Stories

National Page Columnists

Top Stories by Section