2010 Winter Issue
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Can Aid Chronic Pain Sufferers
By Ilya Gladshteyn, MA, C. Psych. Assoc.For many of the thousands of Canadian men, women and children who suffer from chronic pain, medication and physical therapy are simply not enough to help them successfully manage the daily discomfort they experience. Yet that is often the extent of their treatment, and so they are made to endure their pain, often feeling hopeless and emotionally distressed about their never-healing condition. Their treating physicians’ exhaustion of known treatment modalities often contributes to their despair, leaving them to suffer in silence and feeling ignored.
Evolving Practices In Pain Management
By The Health ProfessionalChronic pain resulting from serious injury or illness has both physical and psychological aspects, which makes it difficult to manage. It is a field that gets much attention, and therapies are constantly changing with the next study, the next new drug, and the next article in a medical journal. Here are some of the more current techniques that are being employed effectively.
Health Care Access - The Case of the Northern Travel Grant
By The Health ProfessionalApproximately 800,000 people live in Northern Ontario, which encompasses the Districts of Algoma, Nipissing, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Timmins and Thunder Bay. Shortages of physicians and their maldistribution have plagued the region since before OHIP’s introduction in 1969.
Ontario Auto Insurance Changes - Is There Light at the End of the Tunnel?
By The Health ProfessionalMost readers are already familiar with the events leading up to Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s proposed changes to the auto insurance regulations on November 2, 2009. Part VI of the Insurance Act governs the provision of auto insurance in the province of Ontario. As such, it also deals with all aspects directly and indirectly affecting the administration of the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule. Review of Part VI is required every five years.
Ontario ePrescribing Takes Utilization Review to a New Level
By The Health ProfessionalThey may not have known it, but for a number of years most employees covered under pay-direct (a.k.a. drug card) plans have had their prescriptions captured and monitored by real time drug adjudication systems that incorporate sophisticated control, security and safety logic.
Ontario Ministry of Research & Innovation Funds Biotherapeutics Research
By The Health ProfessionalOntario’s leadership in the field of biotherapeutics research was bolstered last June when the Ministry of Research and Innovation announced that it would provide more than $23 million to support six world-class biotherapeutics projects and 100 researchers at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa.
Ontario Wait Times: How Good is Good Enough?
By The Health ProfessionalWe are all used to waiting for care. But how long is too long, and how short a wait can we afford? Depending on the service, the answer to the first question is either a function of best medical practice or one of convenience. On the other hand, the answer to the affordability question is purely a function of financial resources, process efficiency and a little bit of queuing theory.
Post Head Injury Endocrine Complications
By Milton J. Klein, DO, MBAThe greatest challenge associated with endocrine complications in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) is early recognition of these subtle problems. Endocrine complications can produce significant impact on the progress and outcome of TBI rehabilitation. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of endocrine complications following TBI facilitate the rehabilitation process of patients with TBI.
Practice Management Software Selection Rule 1: Understand Your Requirements
By Charles SpinaWhether you are a physician, a psychologist, an occupational therapist, another type of health professional or an administrator, the complexity of managing your office and vital patient functions tends to go hand in hand with the diversity of your practice model. That applies especially to multidisciplinary practices and those assessing or treating patients covered under more than one plan or program.
Risk Management and Phased Rollout Strategies Working for HCAI Launch No. 2
By The Health ProfessionalIt was a system developer’s worst nightmare. Picture an over-capacity crowd lining up to be the first to take a cruise on a highly hyped passenger liner. They are given the green light to board, then the liner casts off. Miles out, passengers notice a whale off the stern and gather en masse to view it until their combined weight lowers the railing to below water level, causing the liner to take on water.
