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How patients are harmed by the concealment of knowledge.

No one knows how many mothers' and babies' lives have been saved by the obstetrical forceps. This device has been part of the standard equipment of every maternity room for about 250 years. However, a shadow lies over the success story: after the Chamberlen brothers developed the device at the beginning of the 17th century, the brothers and their descendants used it for 3 generations, but kept it a secret from other obstetricians. While thanks to the forceps the Chamberlen family became rich and famous, at the same time women and babies were still dying elsewhere because the device was not available.

1 in 5 are very anxious about waking up during surgery.

Eight-five per cent of patients who took part in a survey shortly after day surgery said that they had been anxious about receiving a general anaesthetic, according to research in the May issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Seventeen per cent of respondents said they were very or extremely anxious, 22 per cent said they were quite anxious, 46 per cent said they were a little anxious and 15 per cent experienced no anxiety at all.

Key concerns included dying while asleep, not waking up after surgery, waking up during surgery and anxiety while waiting to go into surgery or arriving at the theatre door.

A recent article in the New York Times discusses the growing demand for patient-centred primary care, along with the many challenges preventing health care professionals from successfully implementing such changes.

What are your thoughts on this?

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INDIANAPOLIS – A new Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University Center for Aging Research (IUCAR) study provides effective strategies to help hospital systems, physicians and other care providers to overcome end zone hurdles and actually take evidence-based research to the patient's hospital or clinic bedside.

The paper has been published online by the Journal of Clinical Interventions in Aging, a peer-reviewed, open access publication.

(Toronto, ON) May 12, 2010 — Mental health, the second leading cause of disability and premature death in Canada, impacts the lives of every Canadian, much like technology. Mental health and technology are now being brought together with an innovative tool developed by University of Toronto Bloomberg nursing researchers in collaboration with Toronto-based software development company HInext and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). This tool has the potential to improve mental health care planning in Ontario and beyond.

Shifting demographics force Canada's health professionals to look at how they integrate resources and technology to meet changing needs, according to PwC survey.

TORONTO - A growing and aging population, more people living with chronic disease, and inconsistent service delivery, due in part to financial and workforce shortages, are placing increased pressure on the healthcare system in Canada. This is according to the HealthCast series of reports on health industry trends published by the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Health Research Institute and the supplementary Canadian Compendium from PwC Canada. The latest research includes insight from 3,500 consumers around the world, including 500 Canadians, as well as 815 global health leaders and experts (85 in Canada).

Study finds 85 percent of medication errors originate in patients’ medication histories; more than half of those errors are caused by failure to report medications at admissions.

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The Department of Health Policy and Managment at the University of Toronto is holding a Research Day tomorrow, Wednesday May 5th, 2010, on "Experiments and Incentives in Health Care."

Sholom Glouberman of PAC will be participating in the panel discussion: E-Health: Will the Promise be Realized?

More than just a technical challenge, the pursuit of e-health is a transformational process with implications for how healthcare is organized and delivered. In Ontario and Canada, the road towards the electronic enablement of health services has been fraught with challenges, setbacks and surprises. Against this backdrop, Research Day 2010 poses the question, Will the Promise Be Realized?