RxPG News : Canada Healthcare

Canadian man lands in jail for spreading HIV

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 17:03:37 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) An HIV-positive man was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment in Canada's British Columbia province for having unprotected sex with seven women, local media reported.

Justice John Truscott of the British Columbia Supreme Court in New Westminster Thursday awarded a 15-year jail term to Adrien Nduwayo after deducting two years already served by him.

Nduwayo was convicted in December on seven counts of sexual assaults.

He was accused of having deceived sexual partners about his HIV status and deliberately engaging in unprotected sex.

Pricey New Versions Of Old Drugs Fuelling Huge Rise In Drug Spending

Fri, 02 Sep 2005 18:41:38 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Newly patented versions of old drugs are driving the rapid growth in expenditure on prescription drugs in most developed countries, without offering substantial improvements over existing products, finds a study published online by the BMJ today.

The rising cost of using these me-too drugs at prices far exceeding those of time-tested competitors deserves careful scrutiny, say the authors, based at the University of British Columbia in Canada, where spending on drugs doubled between 1996 and 2003.

They used classifications from the Canadian Patented Medicine Prices Review Board to examine which drugs drove this expenditure growth.

Between 1990 and 2003, the board appraised 1147 newly patented drugs. Of these, 68 (5.9%) met the regulatory criterion of being a breakthrough drug (defined as the first drug to treat effectively a particular illness or which provides a substantial improvement over existing drug products).

The balance of the newly patented drugs did not provide a substantial improvement over existing products, so were classified as me-to drugs. Older drugs (available before 1990) were classified as vintage brand or vintage generic drugs.

Breakthrough drugs accounted for 6% of expenditure and 1% of use in 1996, and 10% of expenditure and 2% of use in 2003.

Vintage brand and vintage generic drugs combined accounted for 75% of total use in 1996 and 54% in 2003, but only 53% and 27% of total annual expenditure. In contrast, me-too drugs accounted for 44% of use and 63% of expenditure by 2003. Their average cost per day of treatment was twice that of vintage brand drugs and four times that of vintage generic drugs.

Given that the list of top 20 drugs in global sales includes newly patented versions of older drugs, me-too drugs probably dominate spending trends in most developed countries, conclude the authors.

More Angiograms Needed to prolong the lives of Canadians living with coronary artery disease

Wed, 06 Jul 2005 13:20:38 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) More tests need to be prescribed to save and prolong the lives of Canadians living with coronary artery disease, says a study released today from the University of Alberta.

The research shows that the more Alberta physicians prescribe cardiac catheterizations--also know as angiograms--to detect people with coronary artery disease, the more people they are finding who have high-risk blockages and who would benefit from therapeutic treatment, such as bypass surgery and angioplasty. "We're not doing enough to test people in Alberta, and, as Alberta is among the leading provinces in Canada in performing angiograms per capita, we can safely say that we need to be doing a lot more of these procedures across the country," said Dr. Michelle Graham, a cardiologist at the U of A and lead author of the study, which appears today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

According to Statistics Canada, cardiovascular diseases cause more deaths in Canada than any other disease, and 54 per cent of all cardiovascular deaths are due to coronary artery disease. In 2002 (the latest year for which Statistics Canada has data), cardiovascular diseases caused 74,626 Canadian deaths.

According to Graham's study, an average of 525 men and 240 women per 100,000 in Alberta received angiograms each year between 1995 and 2002.

"We would like to see much higher rates of testing in both men and women," said Graham. "We haven't yet reached the optimal rate, but we will know when we do because the rate of testing and the rate of high-risk disease detections will level off--we haven't seen that yet."

Graham's research also showed that of the people who received angiograms and fell into the "high-risk" category, about 75 per cent were eligible to receive potentially life-saving bypass surgery or angioplasty.

However, Graham noted, it is important to ensure that every patient who receives an angiogram truly needs one. The procedure, which involves injecting a patient's coronary arteries with a special dye that doctors can track, can be risky. Potential complications include heart attack, stroke, and even death.

The procedure is also expensive. Due to the related costs of angiograms, including the need for special equipment and trained personnel, the procedure is currently conducted in Alberta in just two cities: Edmonton (at the University of Alberta and Royal Alexandra Hospitals) and Calgary (at the Foothills Hospital).

"It's a challenge, because the risks and costs associated with angiograms are such that you don't want to test everyone--you only want to test patients who have the appropriate indications for the procedure. But, even still, our research shows that we need to be performing more of them to detect and save those people who are at risk," said Graham.

Graham added that Canada is about the middle of the pack among developed nations in terms of angiograms prescribed per capita (with the U.S. prescribing by far the most), so there are many other places around the world where increased use of angiograms would result in more high-risk people being detected and subsequently treated.

Graham and her colleagues in the study were able to compile their results through access to a comprehensive database managed by the Alberta Provincial Project for Outcomes Assessment in Coronary Heart disease (APPROACH) project, and a team of researchers at the U of A and the University of Calgary.

"We are uniquely positioned to do this research in Alberta thanks to the APPROACH database," said Graham. "And now we are seeing the other provinces, and even countries, follow suit and create similar databases of their own."

Home care patients suffering high rate of pneumonia

Fri, 27 May 2005 18:25:38 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) A disturbingly high rate of home care patients are being admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia, and also suffer more complications, according to a study from the University of Alberta.

A two-year study showed home-care patients suffering from Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP is acquired outside of hospitals) account for 25 of every 1,000 people who visited emergency rooms suffering pneumonia. In addition, 90 per cent of those people had to be admitted to hospital for treatment. They also had a mortality rate 11 per cent higher than other patients, as well as a longer length of stay. They suffered four times as many heart attacks, fell five times more often, and had urinary catheters inserted twice as often.

The study, which focused on six hospitals in Canada and 2,464 subjects aged 17 and older, is the first to document the high rate of CAP in home care patients and to compare the features of this illness with those who are not receiving home care. Results are published in the May, 2005 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

"Patients who are receiving home care are at higher risk for pneumonia because of the reasons they require home care. They are usually unable to function independently, so they are more frail than people of the same age and gender who don't require home care," said Dr. Thomas Marrie, lead author on the study, and dean of the University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.

"We now need to do more defined studies to pinpoint the reasons for this increased rate of pneumonia. It may be because frail patients can't fight infection as well as those who are totally healthy," he added.

"It is apparent that home care patients need to be carefully studied to define the factors that lead to such a high rate of pneumonia," Dr. Marrie added. "It is also apparent that physicians need to be aware of this fact. That will allow physicians to emphasize prevention of pneumonia to their patients who are receiving home care by good nutrition, and vaccination against influenza and pneumonia."

Initiative to Recruit more International Medical Graduates into Canada's Health Care System

Tue, 26 Apr 2005 20:32:38 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh today announced a $75 million federal initiative that is expected to assist more than 2,000 internationally educated health care professionals to put their skills to work in Canada's health care system.

"The whole country benefits when immigrants and internationally educated Canadians are able to make full use of their knowledge and experience," said Minister Dosanjh. "This initiative will strengthen our health system by helping to increase the supply of health care professionals, which will improve access to quality health care and reduce wait times."

The $75 million, which was included in Budget 2005, will be provided over five years. During this period, it is estimated the funding will assist in the assessment and integration into the workforce of up to 1,000 physicians, 800 nurses and 500 other regulated health care professionals. The numbers will vary, however, according to the priorities of provincial and territorial governments.

"This fulfils the Government of Canada's commitment at the First Ministers Meeting last September to accelerate and expand the assessment and integration of internationally educated health care professionals," said Minister Dosanjh. "This complements a series of other measures we are taking in collaboration with provinces and territories and the health care community to provide cities and rural areas across this country with the health care workers they need."

Strengthening the health care workforce is a key objective of the Ten-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care, which all First Ministers signed in September 2004. The Government of Canada is supporting the training and hiring of more health care professionals through the $5.5-billion Wait Times Reduction Fund. In addition, the Pan-Canadian Health Human Resource Strategy provides $20 million per year to improve health care workforce planning, promote the use of interdisciplinary health care teams and increase recruitment and retention of needed health care professionals.

Minister Dosanjh also noted that today's $75 million announcement is part of a wider Internationally Trained Workers Initiative, involving 14 federal departments and agencies.

"The Initiative will improve the integration of immigrants and internationally trained Canadians into the labour force so they can contribute their full potential to Canada and share in its prosperity," said Minister Dosanjh.

The $75 million initiative on internationally educated health care graduates will build on work that is already underway. As part of that work, which received $8.5 million in earlier funding from the Government of Canada, Minister Dosanjh today announced:

* The launch of a national website that will help international medical graduates prepare to become licensed to practice in Canada. The Association of International Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, with funding of $126,356 from Health Canada, took the lead in preparing the online Canadian Information Centre for International Medical Graduates (www.IMG-Canada.ca). The site is a central point of information for international medical graduates, providing comprehensive information on the Canadian health care system and medical licensure requirements, education and training services in different provinces and territories. It also provides information on alternative health care careers. The Website will enable international medical graduates to assess their options and opportunities even before they come to Canada and will be linked to Citizenship and Immigration's "Going to Canada" immigration portal. Minister Dosanjh officially launched the site Monday with Dr. Dale Dauphinee, executive director of the Medical Council of Canada.

* A National Credential Verification Agency will be established by the Medical Council of Canada to provide a streamlined process for verifying the credentials of international medical graduates. After this verification, these graduates can then take an evaluation exam or other steps toward becoming licensed to practice in Canada. The single-source verification service will prevent these graduates from having to get their credentials verified in each province or territory in which they seek licensure. This $1.86 million project is funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

* The Medical Council of Canada will make its evaluation exam more readily accessible to international medical graduates in a $1.34 million project funded by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. This exam is the first stage in the licensing process for international medical graduates in Canada. The exam will be put into an electronic format to enhance its availability.

* The Canadian Post M.D. Education Registry is receiving $834,625 from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to create a pan-Canadian database with information about international medical graduates that will improve planning for the assessment, training and integration of these graduates.

Canada investigating additional distribution of H2N2 virus

Thu, 21 Apr 2005 17:45:38 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Acting on additional information received from the College of American Pathologists in the US, the Public Health Agency of Canada is investigating the receipt of proficiency panels containing the H2N2 influenza virus by Canadian laboratories since October 2004.

The Agency is now requesting that all laboratories that received panels since October 2004 also destroy the panels, if they have not already done so as per routine practice.

PHAC has already received confirmation from laboratories across Canada that 2005 proficiency panels from the same supplier have been destroyed.

The Agency believes that the risk to laboratory workers and the general public is considered low, particularly given the length of time that has elapsed since the shipments of the panels, and safety procedures in place at the Canadian labs.

There has been no human infection with influenza H2N2 detected, and influenza activity is on the decline in Canada, in line with expected trends. As a precautionary measure, however, the Agency will continue to monitor influenza activity among workers in the labs that received the panels.