PAC

Catherine Cross -- The federal government is considering making adverse drug reaction reporting mandatory for doctors and other health care providers, says Health Canada.

Health Canada is concerned that adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are underreported. The Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology estimates that only 5% of suspected ADRs are reported... Every year, drug distributors submit a summary of all ADR reports to Health Canada, stating whether the reported ADRs change the drug's risk-to-benefit profile.

Sholom Glouberman, president of the Canadian Patients' Association, is concerned that practices like this give drug companies too much power. He describes drug regulation as a dance between pharma and the government.

Read the full article here.
Photo credit: 2013, Thinkstock

Patients' Association Board Member Emily Nicholas weighs in on her experience with hip replacement surgery, prescription pills, and who's responsible for helping patients understand pain management.

The Question: After hip replacement surgery, I was placed on tramadol for pain. It worked moderately well, although in retrospect, I would have probably done better with something stronger. The worst part is that I wasn't told how to wean myself off of it, only to switch to over-the-counter pain medicine when I felt I didn't need the prescription pills anymore. As a result of I suffered withdrawal symptoms. As a patient, I had to figure this all out for myself. Whose job is it to tell me this information?

First-hand experience of new healthcare advisory panel embeds patient perspectives & input.

Thirty-two citizens with nothing - and everything - in common have come together in a new engagement panel called PANORAMA to help an independent health policy think tank improve the patient and caregiver experience in Ontario.

PANORAMA: A panel of Ontario residents exchanging views, experiences and advice to improve healthcare is the creation of The Change Foundation, which launched the unique advisory body the last weekend of September in Toronto. Meet some of the members of PANORAMA in this introductory composite video as they share their hopes and healthcare stories. Learn more about them in this panel profile.

Friday, June 15, 2012 – Prior to the last six months, I spent a lot of time seeking out groups who were prepared to have patients join them in their discussions. Now, I have increasingly been attending meetings of groups who have, for the very first time, invited a patient representative to join them. They are now seeking out the Patients’ Association of Canada to find patient representatives to join them.

What is very interesting is how much their deliberations change once patients are in the room. They begin to recognize how little input patients have made up until now, and how patients offer a different perspective on the issues these groups face.

The second annual conference of the Patients’ Association of Canada (PAC) was a broad-based discussion of how patients could participate in guiding our health care system. There were 19 separate sessions on a wide variety of topics held throughout the day. The notes will be posted on the web site and commentary will be made available. As you read them, you’ll notice that the topics are wide ranging and full of ideas. Patients are increasingly being engaged with respect to health care governance, and the patient perspective is steadily developing to be included in governance activities regarding the patient experience.

PAC's second conference is fast approaching! We have a great group of patients, health care professionals and board members who have registered for the event, and we're looking forward to an exciting day

For those not attending, stay connected via Twitter, #PACconf !

We'll keep you posted on progress, meaningful discussions, and we'll add some photos while we're at it.

Thanks to our sponsors: Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Medical Association, Saint Elizabeth, Green Shield Canada, William Osler Health System, Lawrence Decter Investment Council, PatientOrderSets.com

Health & Everything Publications and the Patients' Association of Canada present a new book!

May 9, 2012 - Last week we went to the Western Canada Health Information Privacy Symposium in Calgary. The participants were largely people who were in one way or another responsible for safeguarding the privacy of patients. In recent years many of the provinces have enacted Freedom of Information laws that are also meant to protect the privacy of patients. They have also appointed privacy commissioners to make sure the new laws are followed. The main reason for the laws has been the concern that there is an increased risk of breaches of privacy as health records are computerized.