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We have the same experience in Ontario. You are ok under our system if you are not very sick. If one needs to see specialists, you are lucky if you have a good GP doctor to quickly refer you around. Emily ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donald Diswinka" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 4:05 PM Subject: Poor health care for Parkies in Canada--long > The following is quite a SCARY snapshot on the state of Health Care in > Canada in respect to Parkinson's > My apologies for the lenght of the article. > I just met a fellow parkie over the age of 65 here in Manitoba at my > last support group meeting who in 8 years of having PD had yet to see > any neurologist, never mind an MDS neurologist!! His GP Doctor had > never referred him to one. If you don't get referred here by your > regular doctor you will never get an appointment with any type of > neurologist directly. > > Don 53/5 > > > Parkinson's patients may not be getting best available care Jul. 31, 2002 > Provided by: Canadian Press > Written by: HELEN BRANSWELL > > TORONTO (CP) - Many people with Parkinson's disease may not be getting > the optimum care that's available, a new study suggests. Analysis of six > years of Ontario medical data shows that fewer than half of Parkinson's > patients in the province saw a neurologist annually and 41 per cent > never saw a neurologist during that period. > > Among older patients - those over age 65 - only 37 per cent saw a > neurologist every year, a figure lead author Dr. Mark Guttman termed > "disastrous." Many appeared to be simply under the care of a family > physician, who would not have the training to give Parkinson's patients > the best possible medical attention. > > "I think it's a sad state of affairs," said Mary Jardine, national > executive director of the Parkinson's Society Canada. > > Jardine insisted that while the study looked only at Ontario data, the > problem is a national one. > > It's also a worrisome one. Parkinson's is a neurological disease that is > hard to diagnose and treat. Symptoms and severity vary from person to > person. Drugs that work for one patient may not work for another. > > "It really takes someone who knows about Parkinson's to truly recognize > the symptoms and to be able to treat accordingly," said Jardine. > > "That's why the optimum treatment is not going to be given until they > see someone who does specialize in Parkinson's." > > But many patients never get to see such a specialist, according to the > study, published in the Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. > > The authors cross-referenced three Ontario government databases to > identify a pool of 15,304 Parkinsonian patients. (Parkinson's disease is > one of a cluster of conditions that appear similar, especially in the > early stages, and which are treated with the same types of drugs.) They > compared that group's use of medical services to that of a control group > of 30,608 non-Parkinson's patients. > > While nearly three-quarters of Parkinson's patients under age 65 saw a > neurologist at least once during the period studied, most older people > with the disease did not. > > This left the authors wondering if there was an age bias at work - > whether family doctors, who are responsible for referring patients to > specialists, were simply deciding that for their older Parkinson's > patients, it wasn't worth the wait to see a neurologist. > > "It begs the question: What's going on in our system? Why are people not > getting access to care? And is there some kind of bias or > differentiation by age?" Guttman asked in an interview. > > About half of the people in the Parkinson's group saw an internal > medicine specialist during the study period. Neurology is a > sub-specialty of internal medicine, so some family doctors may have been > referring their Parkinson's patients in that direction because of long > waiting lists to see neurologists. (The authors couldn't be sure: the > Parkinson's patients may actually have seen the internal medicine > specialists for heart disease or other problems.) > > But given that some neurologists lack the specialized training to truly > treat Parkinson's patients effectively, internal medicine specialists > probably aren't the answer, said Guttman, a professor of medicine at the > University of Toronto and a neurologist with a sub-speciality in > Parkinson's disease. > > "If you just had a heart attack, would you be satisfied seeing your > family doctor and not seeing a cardiologist?" > > While he acknowledged that part of the problem is a shortage of > neurologists and further a shortage of neurologists who specialize in > Parkinson's disease, the statistics show that isn't the only factor at > play. > > By following the patients for six years, the researchers could determine > that it wasn't simply a matter of long waits to see neurologists. In > some cases, family doctors "are not even requesting the consultations is > the bottom line," he said. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn