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It's hard to believe we are already in the second month
of 2009. Valentine's Day and Family Day are our two
days this month to celebrate. What have you planned
for Valentine's Day for your club? Write and tell us
what you did and send some pictures to The Voice.
It
is such a relief to be out of pain from a pinched
nerve and finally able to write again. I had two cortisone
needles yesterday so let's hope I won't need any more
needles. Being a senior has its problems as we all
know!
The
government has been talking about electronic health
records for years so let's hope they soon do it. Here
are some statistics that I found interesting:
For
every 1000 in Canada…
-
Hospital admissions - 75 people will suffer an adverse
drug event
-
Patients
with ambulatory encounter - 20 people will suffer
a serious drug event
-
Patients
discharged from hospital - 90 people will suffer
a serious adverse drug event
-
Laboratory
test performed -up to 150 will be unnecessary (range
50 -150)
-
Emergency
department visits - 320 patients have an information
gap identified, resulting in an average increase
stay of (1.2 hours)
-
Canadians
recommended for influenza protection - 370 -430
are not vaccinated. Did you get yours?
We
need to put pressure on the government to implement
electronic health records to save money and
for each one of us to do our part.
An
immediate priority is to be the Ontario Diabetic Registry.
It is a comprehensive tool for diabetes management
and self-care - accessible to providers, case managers,
patients and their families to support health promotion,
disease prevention and better care. It provides information
to health planners, LHINs and system stewards to enhance
system management. Ontario is to have a Diabetes Registry
actively used by patients and physicians to manage
diabetic care and it is to be in place by Spring 2009.
If
this Registry is in your area and working this spring,
would you please let us know in The Voice.
We often blame drug companies for the high cost of drugs
and usually rightfully so. But in some cases, in the
USA, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves.
For example it you had to buy a prescription drug, and
bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills.
The pharmacist might tell you if you get the generic
equivalent they would only cost $80 making you think
you are saving $20. What the pharmacist is not telling
you is that those 100 generic pills have only cost him
$10.
Apparently Costco consistently charges little over their
cost of generic drugs. Costco is a membership type store.
You do not have to be a member to buy prescriptions
there as it is a federally regulated substance. Tell
them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy and
they will let you in. This is also true in Canada. Let
The Voice know if you have a problem. Thanks to Len
Harrison for this information.
We
are all interested and worried about the cost of electricity.
Did you realize that:
-
Humidity: can add up to 3000 MW due to increased
air conditioning load?
-
Cloud
cover: can reduce heat and demand by 1000 MW, but
can increase demand for lighting.
-
Time
of day: Daytime electricity can be 10,000 MW higher
than during the night.
-
Temperature:
each degree above 16°C incrementally raises
demand by as much as 150 MW a degree and 150 MW
a degree below 10°C
-
Days
of the week: A Monday peak is generally 2100 MW
higher than a Sunday peak.
-
Holidays:
Thanksgiving demand drops 2500 MW and Christmas
demand drops 4400 MW.
-
Winds:
strong winds (30 km/h and up) on cold days (-10°C)
can increase demand by 800 MW.
Municipalities,
universities, schools and hospitals will move from
paying the Regulation Price Plan (RPP) to market rates
on May 1, 2009. Many have moved to market rate already.
We
want to wish you each a very Happy Valentine's Day
and do something together with your family (club,
church or friends) to enjoy your Family Day.
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The
United Senior Citizens Of Ontario Inc.
3033 Lakeshore
Blvd. W.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M8V 1K5
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