Christina Spencer's blog

TORONTO/Dec. 5, 2011 - The Patients' Association of Canada (PAC) is bringing the patient perspective to the governance level in Ontario’s healthcare boards. The association was recently awarded a $92,500 grant from The Ontario Trillium Foundation for a project titled ‘Enhancing the Patient Voice in Ontario’s Health Care Boards’ which will bring together board members and PAC volunteers for the common goal of strengthening the patient perspective in board deliberations...

November 28, 2011 - PAC members provide input for a study on the appropriate use of personal information for health research and planning.

PAC was officially invited by to provide the public/patient perspective to this study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Eight PAC members signed on for the sessions which took place over two days.

November 21, 2011 - Megan McCardle -- So for about 12 years, I've been living with an autoimmune disease. As autoimmune diseases go, it's the one you want to get: a condition known as Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, which slowly kills off your thyroid. The diagnosis was a bit of a freak: my primary care physician caught the spike in thyroid hormone which happens at the very start of the disease, tested for the antibodies, and gave me a diagnosis. For twelve years I've been waiting to find out when, exactly, my thyroid would give up the ghost...

November 18, 2011 - This presentation was given at the November 2011 Annual general meeting for the Regional Geriatric Program titled "Hearing the Voice of Seniors in a Seniors Friendly Hospital".

November 15, 2011 - In 2010, 4.4 million Canadians, or 15 per cent of the population aged 12 and older, reported they did not have a regular medical doctor.

Read Gloria's hunt for primary care.

November 11, 2011 - This article in the Atlantic Monthly describes how acute episodes of chronic conditions are actually averted by CareMore a primary care group focused on caring for seniors in the community. The article describes how congestive heart failure, diabetic amputations and other acute episodes are averted by the group.

November 8, 2011 - The “How To” Health Guide was developed to assist patients, caregivers, friends and families in managing information about the Canadian health care system, which can often be challenging to navigate. It was created by the Health Charities Coalition of Canada (HCCC), who are providing health policy leadership for the health of Canadians.

November 4, 2011 - Married with three children, Mary Ellen lives in the Bronx, N.Y., and likes hiking in the Adirondacks. But until she learned how to manage her Type 2 diabetes, she was tired and hungry all the time. Mary Ellen tried insulin injections and then switched to the Lantus SoloStar insulin pen, which has a push-button system with a small, thin needle. “I found the pen easier to use and much more discreet,” she confides in a video clip at WhyInsulin.com.