5 Oct 2013

UK Royal Soc.Medicine: FUTURE of GP

New call for GPs to relinquish independent contractor status General practitioners should give up their independent contractor status and become NHS employees. This is the most radical alternative method of primary care funding considered by Professor Azeem Majeed, Head of the Department of Primary Care & Public Health at Imperial College London, in an editorial published today in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. Professor Majeed, who also works as a part-time GP in South London, suggests that the funding of primary care should also be modified in favour of methods that link workload more closely to funding. In the last few years GPs have seen a dramatic transformation in their circumstances with reduced funding and higher clinical and administrative workload. Professor Majeed says:“Under the current capitation-based funding method, GPs face unrestricted demands for their services and on their time while having to operate on a fixed budget.” “When GPs are unable to cope with their workload, ” he says, “pressure will increase on other parts of the NHS – such as emergency departments – as well as impacting on access to primary care services and on how well GPs can manage patients with complex health needs.” If GPs gave up their independent contractor status, they could become NHS employees under similar employment terms to doctors working in acute, community and mental health trusts. This could, says Professor Majeed, allow GPs and their staff to be employed on national NHS terms of service and overcome the divide between self-employed GP principals and salaried GPs. Other options considered by Professor Majeed include the incorporation of tariff-based methods of funding in place of or in addition to capitation payments; The establishment of ‘super-partnerships’ involving the merger of general practices to allow the formation of larger primary care organisations; Or greater collaboration between general practices via the formation of general practice networks or federations. ENDS Notes for editors General practice in the United Kingdom: Meeting the challenges of the early 21st century (DOI: 10.1177/0141076813504326), by Azeem Majeed is published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine today Friday 20 September 2013.

UK ROYAL SOCIETY of MEDICINE FREE on-line LECTURES

UK London Roy.Soc.Med @ 1 Wimpole St. provides many free lectures. http://www.rsmvideos.com/cat/free Other lectures cost GBP 5 to non-members.

4 Oct 2013

OMA: Pharm & Vet. associations pay for OMA Mental care.

OMA receives yearly $250,000 from combined Pharm. + Vet associations to receive help from OMA 20 staff of "Physician Health Program".

U.TORONTO FREE LECTURES

PHYSIOLOGY SEMINAR – Thursday, October 3, 2013 Speaker | Dean Buonomano, PhD Institution | Departments of Neurobiology and Psychology, University of California, L.A. Title | “The role of short-term synaptic plasticity and neural dynamics in timing and neural computations” Date | Thursday, October 3, 2013 Time | 4:00 pm Location | Medical Sciences Building, Room 2172, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto Sponsors | Department of Physiology Seminar Series, CIHR Team Research and Training Program: Sleep & Biological Rhythms Toronto, CPIN – Collaborative Program in Neuroscience CPIN CORTEX CLUB – Thursday, October 3, 2013 Brain features and flaws: can the brain understand itself? Prof. Dean Buonomano Depts. of Neurobiology & Psychology, UCLA 5:30PM, Thurs. Oct 3rd Upstairs at the GSU Pub (16 Bancroft Avenue) CPIN DISTINGUISHED LECTURE – Friday, October 4, 2013 buonomanoSpeaker | Dean Buonomano, PhD, Departments of Neurobiology and Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles Title | Time and the Brain Date | Friday, October 4, 2013 Time | 4:00 pm Location | Room 108, Koffler House (569 Spadina Crescent) Host | Sheena Josselyn, PhD Co-Sponsor | Psychology Brian & Behaviour Seminar Series -- For more information, see the CPIN Website: http://www.neuroscience.utoronto.ca/ CPIN Distinguished Lectureship Series: http://www.neuroscience.utoronto.ca/events/lectureship.htm CPIN Cortex Club: http://www.neuroscience.utoronto.ca/events/cortexclub.htm CPIN Upcoming Neuroscience Seminars: http://www.neuroscience.utoronto.ca/events/seminar.htm

30 Sept 2013

CATASTROPHIC INSURANCE TO 75

http://illnessprotection.com/critical-illness-insurance.php $75,000 of Critical Illness Insurance Guaranteed Issue - No Medical Required - Most people buy life insurance to protect their family but never consider the possibility of what happens if you get sick. There is a five times greater likelihood of getting sick before age 65 versus dying. 1 out of every 3 Canadians will suffer from a critical illness which means that if you have life insurance and no critical illness coverage, you are not really protected During your recovery you may also have to pay for healthcare services, special drugs, supplements and homecare expenses not covered by your government health insurance plan or your group plan. You might have to travel to get the medical attention you need. The financial consequences of surviving a serious illness add up very quickly and without critical illness insurance protection you may never recover financially. With Lifecheque® Basic critical illness insurance, you will have the security of knowing that 30 days following a diagnosis of cancer, heart attack, stroke, coronary bypass, or aortic surgery, you will receive a one-time, lump sum benefit – paid directly to you. With critical illness insurance in place you will have fewer financial worries. Choose Your Coverage Level Recognizing everyone’s insurance needs are different, the Lifecheque® Basic critical illness plan offers three different benefit amounts – $25,000, $50,000 and $75,000 – so you choose the level of coverage that suits your needs and your budget. Have You Been Declined or Rated in the Past? This product is perfect for you because there is no medical required. With the Lifecheque® Basic critical illness plan, you don’t have to complete a medical examination; all that’s needed is a declaration of your good health. Once covered, you can keep Lifecheque® Basic up to age 75, regardless of any changes in your health or occupation. Even if your health declines, your coverage cannot be cancelled as long as you pay your premiums. Of course, you can choose to cancel this protection at any time. Get Back All Your Premiums Just For Staying Healthy It is comforting to know that when you reach your 75th birthday and you have not made a claim, Manulife Financial will reimburse ALL the premia you paid. Please note that this option is only available at the time of initial application.

28 Sept 2013

CPSO: Lawyer Brenda DOIG leaves for TD BANK.

Brenda Doig Senior Lawyer at TD (after returning from Maternity leave some time ago) Toronto, 79 WELLINGTON ST. M5J 2Z9 Previous College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, Torys LLP Education University of Toronto Doctors are warned about dealing with the Toronto-Dominion Bank as their Senior Lawyer is the less than ethical Brenda DOIG The new 2014 Revised Rules of Professional Conduct should help control her excessive zeal).

SAS Institute Inc & MEDICAL RECORDS

"SAS (pronounced "sass") once stood for "statistical analysis system," and began at North Carolina State University as a project to analyze agricultural research. As demand for such software grew, SAS was founded in 1976 to help all sorts of customers - from pharmaceutical companies and banks to academic and governmental entities. SAS – both the software and company – thrived throughout the next few decades. Development of the software attained new heights in the industry by being able to run across all platforms, using the multivendor architecture for which it is known today. While the scope of the company spread across the globe, the encouraging and innovative corporate culture remained the same. In 1988, SAS opened its physical operation in Canada. SAS (Canada) has many long-standing customer relationships and recently celebrated 25th anniversaries with RBC, Bell Canada, CIBC and BMO. SAS (Canada) employs both technical and vertical industry experts to ensure that our predictive and business intelligence solutions align and solve our customers’ business problems. Headquartered in Toronto, SAS (Canada ) employs more than 300 people across the country at its Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto offices. The SAS Canada headquarters at 280 King Street East" http://www.sas.com/offices/NA/canada/en/corporate/sas_canada.html OMA Economics Dept (Dr.B.KRALJ PhD + 9 staff) subscribe to SAS) Cost to provide SAS Statistical analysis system to all OMA members would be approx $300,000 then $100,000 yearly.(according to SAS). (Comment: this would give extra visual information value to OMA members' medical records and be a defence against the ease of CPSO-appointed OMA-member "PEER ASSESSORS" charging their colleagues with professional incompetence for so-called "poor record keeping". CPSO makes money forcing accused doctors to take Record Keeping Courses in Toronto at about$700 + travelling costs. (BTW the CPSO-appointed doctor who gave the lectures was recently charged by CPSO for improper Narcotic prescribing.)