September 2004

ACTION ITEMS

Atlantic Blue Cross: Directing patient-physician decision making

Atlantic Blue Cross stepped out of the boardroom and into the rheumatologists' office this year an action that made Enbrel the first line treatment over Remicade for people with inflammatory arthritis. view PDF (18.12KB) | comments

National Pharmacare: Task force must involve consumers

Consumers, stakeholders and medical professionals must be part of the task force created to design a national pharmacare program. view PDF (10.95KB) | comments

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Citizen CAPA:  Only public scrutiny can ensure health-care reform suceeds

The cross-country, grass-roots nature of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance gives it an unassailable moral authority and makes it a real player in health-care politics. At no time in history has it been more important for the arthritis community stakeholders to work together in order to improve the lives of people living with arthritis. Denis Morrice applauds CAPA involvement. view PDF (16.43KB) | comments

COMMENT AND PERSPECTIVE

Trauma linked to risk of arthritis

The expression "scared stiff" now has a more literal meaning. New research suggests that people who suffer traumatic experiences during childhood or adolescence are significantly more likely to develop arthritis later in life. view PDF (14.92KB) | comments

Medical journals get tough on drug companies

Some of the world's leading medical journals say they will no longer publish results of clinical trials that have not been registered publicly, a move designed to prevent drug companies from hiding unfavourable results. view PDF (20.15KB) | comments

Research and CAPA

The most basic involvement in research, and most valuable contribution that a CAPA member or any consumer can make, is to ask meaningful questions. view PDF (14.83KB) | comments

Provincial Drug Plans: Population coverage & cost containment strategies

Pharmacare coverage and policy differs from province to province. Compare how your provincial coverage stacks up against other provinces. view PDF (114.36KB) | comments

Knowledge Translation:  How consumers fit in

A lot of health research being done is not producing better health. Often it's because the results of research are still not reaching the people who are making decisions. view PDF (19.03KB) | comments

Disability Tax Credit: Survey results

The Disability Tax Credit survey results are in. The average satisfaction rate with the revised form, T2201, is in the 70th percentile, however 36% of respondents are not receiving the federal income-tax credit. view PDF (15.85KB) | comments

CIHR drafts guidelines on security of personal health information

Privacy, confidentiality and security of personal health information in research was at the top of the list when the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) met in Toronto in August. view PDF (23.02KB) | comments

Inside the briefcase: Take a look

• COMPUS: Promoting best practices in drug prescribing
  Consultations with stakeholders during the development and implementation of the Canadian Optimal Medication Prescribing and Utilization Service (COMPUS) will be crucial to the success of the program. view PDF

• Ethics on the Move
  There's a worldwide move afoot to register every clinical trial and track them from beginning to end. Medical journals are vowing to publish all research results, not just those that are positive. view PDF

• Tooling Up for Early OA
  Focusing on early osteoarthritis and innovative ways to detect it and take action against it, this research team needs your help.view PDF

TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

The Power of Determination

A physiotherapist tells the story of how determination will open a therapy pool at the new YMCA in New Brunswick this November. view PDF (19.92KB) | comments