Voici mon premier blogue video de la conference annuelle de l'IAPC a Fredericton.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
1st Video Blog from New Brunswick
I've been having a little trouble uploading my video blog...but here it is finally...the first one from the 2009 IPAC annual Conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Board Meeting - Day 2
It is Sunday in Fredericton and we started the second day of our board meeting at 8h30 this morning.
But first, let me recap some activities from last night....after the Board meetings and the international workshop, we held a reception for our International partners and their Canadian partners. At the reception, certificates of appreciation were presented to the volunteers in these international programs. Was a very nice evening.
At this morning's Board meeting we invited all the regional chairs who are attending the conference to join the Board members to discuss our financial and membership development strategies. As I type this we are in the middle of the discussion and are talking about how to raise the profile of IPAC and increase our membership. It has been a productive and instructive meeting so far.
Later in the day we have the IPAC AGM, a reception for New Professionals and finally the Opening Reception at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. I am told that the Art Gallery has a number of stunning pieces. I am looking forward to visiting the Gallery & will let you know about my visit there.
But first, let me recap some activities from last night....after the Board meetings and the international workshop, we held a reception for our International partners and their Canadian partners. At the reception, certificates of appreciation were presented to the volunteers in these international programs. Was a very nice evening.
At this morning's Board meeting we invited all the regional chairs who are attending the conference to join the Board members to discuss our financial and membership development strategies. As I type this we are in the middle of the discussion and are talking about how to raise the profile of IPAC and increase our membership. It has been a productive and instructive meeting so far.
Later in the day we have the IPAC AGM, a reception for New Professionals and finally the Opening Reception at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. I am told that the Art Gallery has a number of stunning pieces. I am looking forward to visiting the Gallery & will let you know about my visit there.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Board Meeting
Well it is the weekend before the start of our annual conference...which means it is time for the IPAC Board meeting. This morning was our Board committee meetings - Finance Committee, Service to members committee - the Research committee met yesterday and the International committee met earlier. I am now sitting in the Board meeting and listening to the discussion.
We are waiting for Hurricane Bill to arrive later today - that is the storm, not our President.
Later tonight we have a reception for our International delegates who are attending a two day pre-conference on international development and governance. I actually recorded two video blogs, but I can't remember how to upload them...will try again later tonight. Hopefully it will work.
That's all for now, I have to go back to the Board meeting.
We are waiting for Hurricane Bill to arrive later today - that is the storm, not our President.
Later tonight we have a reception for our International delegates who are attending a two day pre-conference on international development and governance. I actually recorded two video blogs, but I can't remember how to upload them...will try again later tonight. Hopefully it will work.
That's all for now, I have to go back to the Board meeting.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Off to the Annual Conference
Well the IPAC annual conference is fast approaching – it kicks-off on Sunday August 23, 2009 in beautiful Fredericton, New Brunswick. The conference organizers have put together a fantastic and thought provoking conference agenda – lots of great keynote speakers and workshop speakers. They have also organized fun events where we can let our hair down, including a genuine “Maritime Kitchen Party” and for the health conscience, there is an early morning walk along the St. John River…put on your walking shoes.
We will be driving down to New Brunswick, through the White Mountains of New Hampshire & through Maine. It should be a very nice drive. I hope to post some pictures from the trip and when in Fredericton, I plan to make some video blogs like I did last year from Quebec City. Stay tuned for regular updates.
We will be driving down to New Brunswick, through the White Mountains of New Hampshire & through Maine. It should be a very nice drive. I hope to post some pictures from the trip and when in Fredericton, I plan to make some video blogs like I did last year from Quebec City. Stay tuned for regular updates.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Deaths due to Medical Errors
A new study was released today detailing the death of patients due to preventable medical mistakes and hospital infections in the USA. There are similar studies about preventable deaths in Canada. One of the ways to reduce the exponential growth in health care costs is to reduce preventable mistakes and infections. There are numerous studies that show that over-prescription are one of the causes and can be reduced through electronic patient records.
This latest study from the Hearst News is quite comprehensive. I have copied the synopsis below and you can find the full study by clicking here.
An estimated 200,000 Americans will die needlessly from preventable medical mistakes and hospital infections this year, according to “Dead By Mistake,” a wide-ranging Hearst national investigation, which began reporting the findings today [www.deadbymistake.com]. Despite an authoritative federal report 10 years ago that laid out the scope of the problem and urged the federal and state governments and the medical community to take clear and tangible steps to reduce the number of fatal medical errors, a staggering 98,000 Americans die from preventable medical errors each year and just as many from hospital-acquired infections.
“Dead By Mistake” is the result of an investigation conducted by Hearst newspaper and television journalists.
Eric Nalder, senior enterprise reporter for Hearst Newspapers, and David McCumber, editor of two of Hearst’s Connecticut newspapers, The Advocate of Stamford and the Greenwich Time, are available in New York City and San Francisco, respectively, for interviews on this groundbreaking Hearst investigation.
Ten years ago, the highly-publicized federal report, “To Err Is Human,” highlighted the alarming death toll from preventable medical injuries and called on the medical community to cut it in half—in five years. Its authors and patient safety advocates believed that its release would spur a revolution in patient safety. But Hearst’s “Dead By Mistake” reveals that the federal government and most states have made little or no progress in improving patient safety through accountability mechanisms or other measures. According to the Hearst investigation, special interests worked to ensure that the key recommendations in the report—most notably a mandatory national reporting system for medical errors—were never implemented.
Among the key findings of the Hearst investigation:
· 20 states have no medical error reporting at all, five states have voluntary reporting systems and five are developing reporting systems;
· Of the 20 states that require medical error reporting, hospitals report only a tiny percentage of their mistakes, standards vary wildly and enforcement is often nonexistent;
· In terms of public disclosure, 45 states currently do not release hospital-specific information;
· Only 17 states have systematic adverse-event reporting systems that are transparent enough to be useful to consumers;
· The national patient-safety center is underfunded and has fallen far short of expectations;
· Congress approved legislation for “Patient Safety Organizations” as a voluntary system for hospitals to report and learn from errors, but the new organizations are devoid of meaningful oversight and further exclude the public;
· Hearst journalists interviewed 20 of the 21 living authors of “To Err is Human”—16 believe that the U.S. hasn’t come close to reducing medical errors by half, the primary stated goal of the report;
· New York’s reporting system has run out of money and staff—its last public report is four years old;
· The law mandating reporting in Texas expired in 2007, and funding ran out—a new reporting law has been passed, but no funds have been allocated;
· Washington State requires reporting, but doesn’t enforce that requirement—and the legislature failed to provide funds to analyze the results.
“Dead By Mistake” includes profiles of more than 30 people who died or were injured while seeking medical care. Most lost their lives, some in lingering pain. Others lived on, with paralysis, amputation, burns and emotional distress. Families suffered in the aftermath. In some cases, paperwork was lost, or mischaracterized the cause. “Ranging in age from newborn to 91, these Americans are a small sample of a huge and poorly accounted for population,” said Hearst Newspapers Editor-at-Large Phil Bronstein, who oversaw the project. “To the families, each case is a unique and compelling argument as to why a system that allows such preventable mistakes is intolerable.”
In addition to investigative reporting and case profiles, DeadByMistake.com features an interactive map that provides a state-by-state snapshot of reporting systems and two interactive databases created as part of this investigation. One database tracks hospitals’ participation in three prominent national safety programs. The second brings together the millions of anonymous patient discharge records that Hearst reporters collected from California, Texas, New York and Washington. Hearst worked with expert statisticians at the Niagara Health Quality Coalition, a not-for-profit think tank, to analyze this data to produce never-before published patient safety ratings from medical details buried in hospital records. The results appear on five searchable databases with interactive maps.
“More people die each month of preventable medical injuries than died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,” Bronstein added. “The annual medical error death toll is higher than that for fatal car crashes.”
Bronstein continued, “‘Dead By Mistake’ is the result of two things converging: a critical and neglected health-care issue that dramatically affects hundreds of thousands of Americans every year and the tireless work of a team of skilled and dedicated journalists.”
The investigation utilized the reporting resources of seven Hearst newspapers—the San Francisco Chronicle, Albany Times Union, San Antonio Express-News, Houston Chronicle, Greenwich Time, Stamford Advocate and the Connecticut Post—as well as SeattlePI.com and Hearst Television. In addition to contributing to the national television, print and Web stories, these Hearst journalists also produced market-specific reports highlighting the results of local investigations. Students, faculty and graduates of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism also contributed research, stories, photos, audio, video and Web content to the report.
“This comprehensive investigation allowed us to draw on the unique journalistic resources of our various Hearst properties and platforms, and enabled us to broaden the breadth and depth of the reporting,” Bronstein said. “This investigation is a new, collaborative way of reporting, but, more importantly, it is a public service focusing on the plague of fatal and preventable hospital errors.”
This latest study from the Hearst News is quite comprehensive. I have copied the synopsis below and you can find the full study by clicking here.
An estimated 200,000 Americans will die needlessly from preventable medical mistakes and hospital infections this year, according to “Dead By Mistake,” a wide-ranging Hearst national investigation, which began reporting the findings today [www.deadbymistake.com]. Despite an authoritative federal report 10 years ago that laid out the scope of the problem and urged the federal and state governments and the medical community to take clear and tangible steps to reduce the number of fatal medical errors, a staggering 98,000 Americans die from preventable medical errors each year and just as many from hospital-acquired infections.
“Dead By Mistake” is the result of an investigation conducted by Hearst newspaper and television journalists.
Eric Nalder, senior enterprise reporter for Hearst Newspapers, and David McCumber, editor of two of Hearst’s Connecticut newspapers, The Advocate of Stamford and the Greenwich Time, are available in New York City and San Francisco, respectively, for interviews on this groundbreaking Hearst investigation.
Ten years ago, the highly-publicized federal report, “To Err Is Human,” highlighted the alarming death toll from preventable medical injuries and called on the medical community to cut it in half—in five years. Its authors and patient safety advocates believed that its release would spur a revolution in patient safety. But Hearst’s “Dead By Mistake” reveals that the federal government and most states have made little or no progress in improving patient safety through accountability mechanisms or other measures. According to the Hearst investigation, special interests worked to ensure that the key recommendations in the report—most notably a mandatory national reporting system for medical errors—were never implemented.
Among the key findings of the Hearst investigation:
· 20 states have no medical error reporting at all, five states have voluntary reporting systems and five are developing reporting systems;
· Of the 20 states that require medical error reporting, hospitals report only a tiny percentage of their mistakes, standards vary wildly and enforcement is often nonexistent;
· In terms of public disclosure, 45 states currently do not release hospital-specific information;
· Only 17 states have systematic adverse-event reporting systems that are transparent enough to be useful to consumers;
· The national patient-safety center is underfunded and has fallen far short of expectations;
· Congress approved legislation for “Patient Safety Organizations” as a voluntary system for hospitals to report and learn from errors, but the new organizations are devoid of meaningful oversight and further exclude the public;
· Hearst journalists interviewed 20 of the 21 living authors of “To Err is Human”—16 believe that the U.S. hasn’t come close to reducing medical errors by half, the primary stated goal of the report;
· New York’s reporting system has run out of money and staff—its last public report is four years old;
· The law mandating reporting in Texas expired in 2007, and funding ran out—a new reporting law has been passed, but no funds have been allocated;
· Washington State requires reporting, but doesn’t enforce that requirement—and the legislature failed to provide funds to analyze the results.
“Dead By Mistake” includes profiles of more than 30 people who died or were injured while seeking medical care. Most lost their lives, some in lingering pain. Others lived on, with paralysis, amputation, burns and emotional distress. Families suffered in the aftermath. In some cases, paperwork was lost, or mischaracterized the cause. “Ranging in age from newborn to 91, these Americans are a small sample of a huge and poorly accounted for population,” said Hearst Newspapers Editor-at-Large Phil Bronstein, who oversaw the project. “To the families, each case is a unique and compelling argument as to why a system that allows such preventable mistakes is intolerable.”
In addition to investigative reporting and case profiles, DeadByMistake.com features an interactive map that provides a state-by-state snapshot of reporting systems and two interactive databases created as part of this investigation. One database tracks hospitals’ participation in three prominent national safety programs. The second brings together the millions of anonymous patient discharge records that Hearst reporters collected from California, Texas, New York and Washington. Hearst worked with expert statisticians at the Niagara Health Quality Coalition, a not-for-profit think tank, to analyze this data to produce never-before published patient safety ratings from medical details buried in hospital records. The results appear on five searchable databases with interactive maps.
“More people die each month of preventable medical injuries than died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,” Bronstein added. “The annual medical error death toll is higher than that for fatal car crashes.”
Bronstein continued, “‘Dead By Mistake’ is the result of two things converging: a critical and neglected health-care issue that dramatically affects hundreds of thousands of Americans every year and the tireless work of a team of skilled and dedicated journalists.”
The investigation utilized the reporting resources of seven Hearst newspapers—the San Francisco Chronicle, Albany Times Union, San Antonio Express-News, Houston Chronicle, Greenwich Time, Stamford Advocate and the Connecticut Post—as well as SeattlePI.com and Hearst Television. In addition to contributing to the national television, print and Web stories, these Hearst journalists also produced market-specific reports highlighting the results of local investigations. Students, faculty and graduates of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism also contributed research, stories, photos, audio, video and Web content to the report.
“This comprehensive investigation allowed us to draw on the unique journalistic resources of our various Hearst properties and platforms, and enabled us to broaden the breadth and depth of the reporting,” Bronstein said. “This investigation is a new, collaborative way of reporting, but, more importantly, it is a public service focusing on the plague of fatal and preventable hospital errors.”
Friday, August 7, 2009
2009 Annual Conference
The IPAC 2009 Annual Conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick is fast approaching. The theme of this years conference is "Turnarounds". Given the turnaround we need in the economy of the country, the organizers could not have picked a better topic.
The program is going to be stellar with a host of keynote speakers including:
Louise Fréchette, the former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, who will be speaking on UN reform;
Roel Becker, Secretary-General for the Reform of the Dutch Government;
Bruce Little, Policy Analyst and Author, on Canada Pension Plan Reform;
Hon. John H. Gomery on Turning Around Canada’s Dysfunctional Accountability Arrangements; and
Martin Wildberger, VP of Sensor Solutions and Director, IBM Canada on Transforming the Planet: A Mandate for Change is a Mandate for Smarter Systems.
In addition there are numerous workshops with fabulous speakers.
And of course, you can savour the hospitality of beautiful New Brunswick. If you have not registered yet, you can still do so by clicking here
I hope to see many of you in New Brunswick.
I will be blogging from the conference, but it won't be the same as being there in person!
Will be driving to Fredericton and plan to stay for a few days of sightseeing after the conference - going to Hopewell Rocks to walk on the ocean floor when the Bay of Fundy is at low tide (don't want to try that at high tide!), going to go whale watching & enjoy beautiful New Brunswick.
The program is going to be stellar with a host of keynote speakers including:
Louise Fréchette, the former Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, who will be speaking on UN reform;
Roel Becker, Secretary-General for the Reform of the Dutch Government;
Bruce Little, Policy Analyst and Author, on Canada Pension Plan Reform;
Hon. John H. Gomery on Turning Around Canada’s Dysfunctional Accountability Arrangements; and
Martin Wildberger, VP of Sensor Solutions and Director, IBM Canada on Transforming the Planet: A Mandate for Change is a Mandate for Smarter Systems.
In addition there are numerous workshops with fabulous speakers.
And of course, you can savour the hospitality of beautiful New Brunswick. If you have not registered yet, you can still do so by clicking here
I hope to see many of you in New Brunswick.
I will be blogging from the conference, but it won't be the same as being there in person!
Will be driving to Fredericton and plan to stay for a few days of sightseeing after the conference - going to Hopewell Rocks to walk on the ocean floor when the Bay of Fundy is at low tide (don't want to try that at high tide!), going to go whale watching & enjoy beautiful New Brunswick.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Health Care - the battle continues
I'm sure that you have all seen those commercials opposing health care reform in the United States from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation that includes a clip of Shona Holmes from Canada. In this commercial, Ms. Holmes makes that claim that if she relied on governments in Canada for treatment she would be dead.
There has been much ink spilled on her illness and the treatment she paid for in the US. Some of the opponents of health care reform in the US have used the "socialized" medicine bogeyman to try to defeat the public health option being discussed in Congress. They have said that they do not want to have a government "bureaucrat" decide on treatment. Unless the treatment is not covered by the provincial health plan, the government "bureaucrat" has nothing to say about the treatment prescribed by your physician. In the US, insurance company representatives can refuse treatment or payment after treatment on a number of grounds. The most recent example is of a women with brain tumors who was refused treatment by her insurance company. Read about it here.
There are many studies that show that a single payer system, as in Canada, is much more efficient that multiple payer systems as in the US. This is on top of providing universal coverage to the population. In the US, 50 million people are not insured and a significant number have inadequate coverage. The US spends almost 20% of its GDP on health care and yet have worse health outcomes than Canada and Western European countries who spend much less through universal programs.
Canada's system is by no means perfect and we still have work to do to ensure better efficiency, effectiveness and affordability of our system.
There has been much ink spilled on her illness and the treatment she paid for in the US. Some of the opponents of health care reform in the US have used the "socialized" medicine bogeyman to try to defeat the public health option being discussed in Congress. They have said that they do not want to have a government "bureaucrat" decide on treatment. Unless the treatment is not covered by the provincial health plan, the government "bureaucrat" has nothing to say about the treatment prescribed by your physician. In the US, insurance company representatives can refuse treatment or payment after treatment on a number of grounds. The most recent example is of a women with brain tumors who was refused treatment by her insurance company. Read about it here.
There are many studies that show that a single payer system, as in Canada, is much more efficient that multiple payer systems as in the US. This is on top of providing universal coverage to the population. In the US, 50 million people are not insured and a significant number have inadequate coverage. The US spends almost 20% of its GDP on health care and yet have worse health outcomes than Canada and Western European countries who spend much less through universal programs.
Canada's system is by no means perfect and we still have work to do to ensure better efficiency, effectiveness and affordability of our system.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Happy Holiday
Today being the first Monday of August it is a holiday in a number of regions of the country...that is:
Ontario - Simcoe Day/Civic Day
Nova Scotia - Natal Day
New Brunswick - New Brunswick Day
Manitoba - Civic Day
British Columbia - British Columbia Day
Prince Edward Island - Natal Day
Saskatchewan - Civic Day
Alberta - Heritage Day
North West Territories - Civic Day
Nunavut - Civic Day
So if you have today off, enjoy!
Ontario - Simcoe Day/Civic Day
Nova Scotia - Natal Day
New Brunswick - New Brunswick Day
Manitoba - Civic Day
British Columbia - British Columbia Day
Prince Edward Island - Natal Day
Saskatchewan - Civic Day
Alberta - Heritage Day
North West Territories - Civic Day
Nunavut - Civic Day
So if you have today off, enjoy!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Government Motors....oops I mean General Motors
The last number of months has seen that cornerstone of American capitalism, General Motors spiral downward and almost disappear as a corporation. Without the financial backing of the US, Canadian and Ontario governments, the company that was too big to fail would have failed. Not long ago our neighbours to the south used to say "What is Good for GM is good for America". That was when American designed cars ruled the road.
Now GM has gone through bankruptcy and a new General Motors has been created from its best assets with its other so-called assets part of a "Motors Liquidation Company". A friend forwarded me an interesting article from the New York Times about the restructuring of GM.
GM is now a public company, owned by the 3 governments and by the United Auto Workers. The plan is for governments to slowly exit the company over the next 5 years or so. In the meantime, there are some in Canada who are calling for increased transparency from this publicly backed company. I guess all Canadian citizens are now shareholders of GM and that those of us who live in Ontario are doubly lucky as we are also shareholders. Should we expect that GM adhere to the same rules on transparency and accountability that other government funded enterprises (eg: LCBO, Lottery Corp) must follow? This is an interesting question but there are substantial differences between a "government enterprise" and the financial backing that governments have given GM. The biggest is that the government enterprises will remain in the public sphere for policy and regulatory reasons (control of the sale of alcohol or games of chance), whereas governments' foray into the automobile sector is only (hopefully) temporary to salvage important manufacturing jobs and research & development capacity.
Another thought that comes to mind is whether those who have espoused the proposition that "government is the problem" (enunciated famously by Ronald Reagan) have changed their minds as now it seems that "government is the solution" to the financial crisis - just look at the various bank and brokerage house bailouts by government as well as the GM and Chrysler supports plus all the stimulus spending that governments around the world are engaged in. I wait to see what they say!
Now GM has gone through bankruptcy and a new General Motors has been created from its best assets with its other so-called assets part of a "Motors Liquidation Company". A friend forwarded me an interesting article from the New York Times about the restructuring of GM.
GM is now a public company, owned by the 3 governments and by the United Auto Workers. The plan is for governments to slowly exit the company over the next 5 years or so. In the meantime, there are some in Canada who are calling for increased transparency from this publicly backed company. I guess all Canadian citizens are now shareholders of GM and that those of us who live in Ontario are doubly lucky as we are also shareholders. Should we expect that GM adhere to the same rules on transparency and accountability that other government funded enterprises (eg: LCBO, Lottery Corp) must follow? This is an interesting question but there are substantial differences between a "government enterprise" and the financial backing that governments have given GM. The biggest is that the government enterprises will remain in the public sphere for policy and regulatory reasons (control of the sale of alcohol or games of chance), whereas governments' foray into the automobile sector is only (hopefully) temporary to salvage important manufacturing jobs and research & development capacity.
Another thought that comes to mind is whether those who have espoused the proposition that "government is the problem" (enunciated famously by Ronald Reagan) have changed their minds as now it seems that "government is the solution" to the financial crisis - just look at the various bank and brokerage house bailouts by government as well as the GM and Chrysler supports plus all the stimulus spending that governments around the world are engaged in. I wait to see what they say!
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