PLWBlogSpot2

The Fraser Institute has issued it’s 20th edition of it’s in depth report, “Wait Times for Health Care in Canada.” Also know as “Waiting Your Turn.” In the report, highlights include the following: *Specialist physicians surveyed across 12 specialties and 10 Canadian provinces report a total waiting time of 18.2 weeks between referral from a general practitioner and elective treatment in 2010. *Patients in Ontario experience the shortest wait (14.0 weeks) followed by Manitoba (17.5 weeks), and British Columbia and Quebec (18.8 weeks) *Patients wait longest to undergo orthopedic surgery (35.6 weeks) and wait least for medical oncology treatment (4.9 weeks) *Canadians wait nearly 3 weeks longer than what physicians believe is “reasonable” for elective treatment after an appointment with a specialist *Throughout the provinces, in 2010 people are waiting for an estimated 825,827-procedures. Assuming that each person waits for only one procedure, 2.45 percent of Canadians are waiting for tr...

The most likely risk from the airport scanners is a common type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma, according to the academic. The cancer is usually curable and often occurs in the head and neck of  people aged between 50 and 70. He points out it would be difficult to hide a weapon on the head or neck so proposes missing out that part of the body from the scanning process. If there are increases in cancers as a result of irradiation of children,  they would most likely appear some decades in the future. It would be prudent  not to scan the head and neck,' he added.It is important to balance any health issues against  passengers' safety when flying. The Civil Aviation Authority said the radiation received from the scanning process is the equivalent to two minutes radiation received on a Transatlantic flight. The Civil Aviation Authority, Department for Transport and Health Protection Agency insist that the technology is safe and say their tests show it  w...

Nearly 59 million lack health insurance in U.S. Is this the famous or infamous Obama Universal Health Care? REUTERS Nearly 59 million Americans went with­out health insurance coverage for at least part of 2010 , many of them with conditions or diseases that needed treatment, federal health officials said Tuesday. They said 4 million more Americans went without insurance in the first part of 2010 than during the same time in 2008. "Both adults and kids lost private coverage over the past decade," said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preven­tion. The findings have implications for U.S. health care reform efforts. A Bill passed in March promises to get health insurance coverage to 32 million Americans who currently lack coverage. But Republicans who just took control of the House of Representatives last week have vowed to derail the new law by cutting off the funds for it, and some want to repeal it. Experts from both sides predict...

The Canadian health plan remains our most popular government program. However, if we could start over, we could transform a very good system into a great one. Our main obstacle to reform is the very success of the system to date. Politicians admit privately that reforms are needed but they hesitate to speak out. This does not make for thoughtful debate. Most problems stem from one cause. From the beginning, we ignored advice and made taxes the single source of funding.. But there never are sufficient revenues for an open-ended system. This is why we struggle with scarcity of staff and equipment. While the U.S. probably spends too much on health care, Canada needs to spend more. We have to pay the price if we want a first-class system. Our system, while very good, is due for an upgrade. But it is not realistic to expect Canadian governments to increase their share. Health-care costs have been climbing to the point where they are crowding out other essentials such as education and welfar...

Panoramic shot of the North Bay City escarpment; and North Hwy#11-- most colour provided by Sugar Maples. Above PhotoStich made from this collage

Several studies have suggested that the health benefits associatedwith the consumption of omega-3 fat are linked to their anti-inflammatory abilities. Recent information also shows that thisimpact is caused by the fat's direct interaction with immune system cells that are responsible for causing inflammation. Omega-3 is an essential fats that we as humans cannot create ourselves and must therefore come from our diets. Flaxseed and certain nuts (walnuts in particular) are good sources of * omega-3 (short chain); while fatty fish is a primary source of animal-source omega-3 (long chain). The regular consumption of these foods is important because a lack of omega-3 is directly associated with the development of several cardiovascular and neurological diseases, as well as cancer. The positive impact that omega-3 fats have is due to various effects it has on the person. For example, the presence of long-chain omega-3 in ceU membranes allows them to be more malleable, therefore facflitat...

How dirty electricity affects your life -Part 2 Scientists in Russia have been at the forefront of EMR research. During the Second World War, they noticed that radar operators often suffered from symptoms that we now attribute to EMR. And during the height of the Cold War, they secretly bombarded the U.S. embassy in Moscow with microwave radiation, causing radiation sickness. Later, in 2007, a collaboration of scientists from the U.S., Sweden, Denmark, Austria and China released a 650-page report citing 2,000 studies that detailed the toxic effects of EMR. It concluded that even low-level radiation could impair immunity and contribute to Alzheimer's disease, dementia and heart disease. Other studies have linked EMR to miscarriage, birth defects, suicide, Lou Gehrig's disease and Parkinson's disease. In addition to these disorders, there's evidence that EMR triggers cancer. In Australia in 1956, when television was introduced, researchers documented a rapid increase in m...