Published on May 9, 2018

Anne Dang, CCPA
Vice President at Canadian Association of Physician Assistant

What benefit have you noticed since adding PA to your practice?

Dr. Dhalla:  A great benefit of having our PA, Deniece, join us is increased access. We see more patients, perhaps more importantly, the quality of service for each encounter is also enhanced . Patients often present with multiple complaints, we must triage the more important ones, while maintaining a patient centered approach.   With Denice, both access to care and quality have improved. In addition, she adds preventative care aspects to the patients care.

In my 15 years in practice, I realize that good communication is the foundation of great care. We follow guidelines and interpret tests, and implement recommendations. Sometimes, in the routine, we lose focus of the patient’s viewpoint. When we both see or review patients, we can better reframe our (clinician and patient) goals..

With our PA Deniece, we have better access for same day appointments. This reduces unnecessary ER visits, or walk in clinic use and allows early intervention in the course of an illness. More often, patients benefit from reassurance and counselling, along with health education.

As other physicians are retiring in our community, we have been able to take on new patients and provide care for those who would otherwise not have a family physician. In addition, having Deniece in my practice allows some patients to open up a little bit more than they would to a physician directly. Patients have a connection with Deniece and they feel they can confide their health concerns and worries, trusting that she will listen and help them.

Benefits of adding a Physician Assistant to a Family Practice – Deniece O’Leary, PA-C in Canada

How is it determined whether the patient gets to see a PA or MD? Continue reading →

News Release
Vancouver
Monday, June 18, 2018 11:45 AM

The Ministry of Health is investing $75 million to expand respite care and adult day programs, helping both seniors and their loved ones, announced Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.

“Many B.C. seniors count on their spouses, children and close friends to help them stay at home, and cope and manage chronic conditions,” said Dix. “Caregiving without adequate supports can impact the whole family, particularly a person’s ability to live at home, which is what most seniors and their loved ones want. Giving seniors better options and supporting unpaid caregivers to take time for themselves is a necessity.”
Over the next three years, the Province will improve and strengthen respite services and adult day programs to support seniors and their family-and-friend caregivers. The number of respite beds will be increased, and overnight care at home will be made more accessible. In addition, the number of adult day program spaces will be increased, and the hours of operation will be expanded to provide services on evenings and weekends. As part of the work, health authorities are developing plans to meet localized needs of family-and-friend caregivers and seniors in their regions.

“The August 2017 report from the Office of the Seniors Advocate estimates that 31% of seniors had a primary caregiver in distress,” Dix said. “According to the report, the number of clients accessing adult day programs and the number of hours per client decreased in recent years. Over the past five years, there were also a significant cut in the number of respite beds. Under the direction of Premier Horgan, we are changing direction by expanding respite care and adult day programs. This plan will provide more direct care for seniors and afford family-and-friend caregivers time for themselves to reduce stress and exhaustion.” Continue reading →

By THERESA BOYLE Health Reporter

Sun., June 3, 2018

The number of patients who occupied hospital beds even though they no longer required hospital care hit a record level in Ontario this past winter, the Star has learned.

As a result, emergency room wait times also hit an all-time high.

Women’s College Hospital is performing knee replacement surgery as an ambulatory procedure, in which patients are sent home the same day. (LUCAS OLENIUK / TORONTO STAR)

Almost 5,000 patients, most of them frail and elderly, were stuck in hospital beds because long-term-care homes were full or because it was unsafe for them to return home without more support, according to newly audited data from the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) and the province’s Health Ministry.

This caused a bottleneck for patients admitted to hospitals through emergency departments. The 90th-percentile wait time for transfer to an in-patient bed was 40.9 hours, meaning 90 per cent of patients waited less than that time before being admitted.

It’s not surprising then that “hallway medicine” has become a major theme in the June 7 provincial election. There has been a lot of talk on the campaign trail about hospitals housing patients in “unconventional spaces” such as bathrooms and storage rooms. Health care always ranks as a top concern among voters, but rarely gets this kind of attention. Continue reading →

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced earlier this year that the city would sue manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioids to account for their part in the city’s ongoing deadly opioid epidemic. Firms named in the suit include Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and McKesson Corporation. The Guardian reports that more than 60 cities are suing Big Pharma over opioids. An explosive New York Times report has revealed that manufacturers of the drug OxyContin knew it was highly addictive as early as 1996, the first year after the drug hit the market. 

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO: This is a man-made crisis if ever there was one, fueled by corporate greed, fueled by the actions of big pharmaceutical companies that hooked millions of Americans on opioids to begin with. And some of them still are addicted to prescription drugs, and others have migrated to heroin. But we know where it began for so many people. And, bluntly, it was so a very few people could profit, and, obviously, the horrible actions of criminals who sell drugs and profit in death, as well. That combination has led to where we are today. We need to remember that those origins at the root of this problem means it’s a problem that can be defeated. We can fight back against the big pharmaceutical companies. We can fight back against the criminals who peddle drugs. We can change in so many ways, including changing the entire culture around this issue, so we can help people.

To read the full article, click on 

https://www.democracynow.org/2018/6/1/cities_states_sue_big_pharma_targeting?utm_source=Democracy+Now%21&utm_campaign=2d4c38c3e2-Daily_Digest_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa2346a853-2d4c38c3e2-191686713