New Dir. U.Tor Institute HPME Prof A. BROWN

U.Tor Dept. Health Policy, Management & Evaluation to be an INSTITUTE 

New Director Oxford U. Rhodes Scholar & Harvard grad. Prof Adalsteinn BROWN.

HPME is pleased to announce that the Governing Council of the University of Toronto has approved the Department's proposal to become an Extra Departmental Unit (EDU-A)—specifically an Institute. The proposal was approved at the Council's October 27th meeting. HPME will implement the change in mid-November.

Institute Proposal: April 6, 2011 - [PDF]

UK DAILY MAIL GPs' LOCUM FEES

Recruitment firm offers locum GPs £1,200 a day to work between now until New Year

By Eleanor Harding
PUBLISHED: 03:13 GMT, 3 December 2012 | UPDATED: 03:13 GMT, 3 December 2012

Doctors are being paid £1,200 per day to work as locums in GP surgeries and other local services, it emerged last night.
They are being recruited to work up to 12 hour sessions in service across Oxfordshire from now until New Year.
The lucrative offer was uncovered when the recruiters, Merco Recruitment Ltd, posted an advertisement online.

Lucrative: Doctors are being recruited to work up to 12 hour sessions in service across Oxfordshire from now until New Year for around £1,200 a day

It offers work to doctors in Oxfordshire who are newly qualified, recently retired or those looking for extra work, on an ad-hoc or regular basis.
Two years ago it was revealed that the NHS spends more than £750million a year on temporary doctors - many from overseas who would not normally get work in the NHS.
The outcry drew attention to the astronomical sums paid to locums - and health chiefs pledged to crack down on the practice.

 

More...

• NHS paid £6million to five doctors over three years for providing 'top-up' services to just one trust
• Mamma Mia! I saved £5,000 getting my teeth fixed - by going to Budapest

In one example, a doctor was paid £5,700 for a 24-hour shift in an A&E unit.
As well as the huge cost to the NHS, doctors leaders criticise the hidden impact of insufficient cover, poorer training and inadequate shift systems, says the Royal College of Surgeons.
One consultant surgeon, who recently moved from a London teaching hospital, told the Daily Mail that the 48-hour limit was a 'complete disaster' and leading to an 'unsafe' system.

Figures show the NHS spends more than £750million a year on temporary doctors - many from overseas who would not normally get work in the NHS

In 2007/8, £384.4million was spent on temporary doctors, rising to £548.7million in 2008/9 and £758.4million in 2009/10, according to RCS calculations.
Some of the spend is for doctors already working in the hospitals who take on temporary shifts, but external agencies accounted for £467million last year.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2242086/Recruitment-firm-offers-locum-GPs-1-200-day-work-New-Year.html#ixzz2DxPBc41T
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OMERS PENSION FUND

OMA could copy OMERS (Ont.Municipal Employees Retirement) which bought the MetroConvention and other prime property on FRONT St.

Preventing infection from GOLDMANN TONOMETERS

admin | November 19, 2012

Why Patients Are Googling You

Patients Google more than just symptoms. According to a new study, they research doctors and procedures to help them make medical decisions.
Manhattan Research surveyed 5,210 adults who use the Internet for healthcare information and found that 54 percent go online to choose doctors and to decide which services they might need.

“Once the Affordable Care Act takes effect at the beginning of next year, millions of patients will be seeking out a new doctor online.”

More than half of those patients who have been diagnosed with chronic illness for at least a year sought out treatment information online. And more strikingly, 20 percent of patients choose a primary care physician based on what they read online.
Google Your Name Before Your Patients Do
Most patients begin the quest for healthcare information on search engines like Google and Bing, so it’s more important than ever for doctors to manage their e-presence. And once the Affordable Care Act takes effect at the beginning of next year, millions of patients will be seeking out a new doctor – some for the first time.
In an article by American Medical News, Howard Luks, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, said his patients frequently tell him they found him because of what they read on his website.
“People want to trust you as a person,” said Luks to American Medical News. “They are going to pick you over the best hospital in the country because of the way you humanize your existence and your presence using tools like YouTube or Vimeo or a simple Web cam.”
How to Beef Up Your Online Presence
Here’s what you can do to improve search rankings and reel in new patients:

• Manage listings on ratings sites that appear at the top of search results. Make sure the name, address, phone number, website URL and practice information are all current.
• Use social media to boost search rankings, and to stay in touch with current patients and extend reach to new ones. Patients use Facebook and Twitter every day. Read more about how eye care practices can use social media to market their businesses.
• Keep your website up-to-date. Blog posts and news stories are easy ways to maintain a strong Google presence that makes it easier for patients to find you online.

For daily practice marketing tips, follow Haag-Streit on Twitter and ‘like’ us on Facebook.

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Important Changes to Tonometer Disinfecting Procedure

To help curb the risk of transmitted diseases, Haag-Streit International has revised the recommended procedure for cleaning and disinfecting Goldmann tonometer prisms.
Here’s what’s new:

• Clinicians should wear disposable gloves throughout the cleaning process.
• We recommend the use of a Desinset plastic tray during cleaning and disinfecting.
• Updates to the list of suitable disinfectants.

Download the PDF version of the revised instructions for cleaning reusable prisms.
Tonosafe Disposable Prisms: Safer and Faster
But if you don’t want to spend additional time and money on disinfecting reusable prisms, switch to Tonosafe disposable prisms. It’s the safest way to prevent the spread of diseases at your practice.
A 2011 study at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System found virtually no accuracy difference in readings from disposable and reusable prisms (including patients with extreme IOP). Since the results of the study, the healthcare system began to phase out reusable prisms for Tonosafe disaposables.
Learn more about Tonosafe disposable prisms.

HEENAN BLAIKIE Labour Law Partner B. BURKETT

OMA negotiation led by Heenan Blaikie Toronto office Labour Law Partner B. BURKETT.
(Heenan Blaikie:offices in Canada;(9), Paris & Singapore.)

Established that OMA has`EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATION RIGHTS for Ontario's MDs.
 
Canadian Supreme Court in 1991 (WILSON SCCJ.) applied the 1946 RAND Formula ( RAND SCCJ)
in Lavigne (Borden & Elliott) v. Ont. Public Service Employees Union (Gowlings) [1991] 2.S.C.2

26,899 Ontario MDs are to vote on Physician Services Agreement.(OHIP yearly cost = $10-BILLION =
$333,000/MD which includes MD fees + cost of investigations.)

Main points:
0.5% CUT in MEDICAL FEES..

STOP MD SENIORITY PAYMENTS

Reform CPSO COMPLAINT process: at present ANYONE, ANYWHERE in the WORLD can complain about an Ontario MD. The CPSO has to investigate even if the complaint is not about a medical matter.

MDs could apply for Govt funding for PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS as well as NURSE PRACTITIONERS.

DELISTING ,( can be billed PRIVATELY) ,of ARTHROSCOPIC LAVAGE & INTRARTICULAR HYALURONIC ACID.

"REFLEXIVE TESTING" translated means  that the CLINICAL PATHOLOGIST can determine what tests are indicated for the stated diagnosis(es). See College of American Pathologists policy.in "CAP" Journal.
USA Pathologists point out waste of time/money in doing tests selected at random.by MDs with limited
knowledge of Clinical Pathology.

("MEDICAL NECESSITY" still NOT DEFINED after 43 years.)

TORONTO CENTRAL LHIN

OPEN MEETING Tues. Nov. 27 1600 - 1900.

425 Bloor East, # 201 (at Sherbourne)

Sudbury GP wins case against OHIP.

from MEDICAL POST Editor. C.LESLIE

Polish-Canadian Sudbury GP won $850 in SMALL CLAIMS COURT. against MOHLTC (OHIP)
that did not want to honour Dr. NAJGEBAUER MD MBA' medical claims.regarding a patient.

In Ontario Small Claims Courts do not require a Lawyer.

(This may be a First?)