May

The new Complex Chronic Disease Program (CCDP) located at BC Wo­men’s Hospital and Health Centre is now accepting patient referrals.

The CCDP assists people with fi­bro­myalgia, myalgic encephalo­my­elitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, and tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease. The program also includes a strong research component and supports clinicians and re­searchers in their pursuit of causes, diagnosis, and potential treatments for these types of chronic conditions.

MSP fees
New MSP fees effective as of 1 April have now been implemented. This includes new fee items, amendments, and rule changes that were proposed and approved for the 2013/14 fee allocation.

The BC government has released an action plan with the goal of improving access to end-of-life care. The plan proposes redesigning health services to deliver coordinated end-of-life care (including expansion in telehealth and telemonitoring); providing individuals, caregivers, and health care providers with palliative care information, education, tools, and resourc­es; and strengthening health system accountability and efficiency, including implementing provincial end-of-life care clinical guidelines, protocols, and standards. 

The International League Against Epilepsy and the International Bureau for Epilepsy have given their Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr Juhn A. Wada, professor emeritus in the De­partment of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia.

Dr Wada developed a test for cerebral hemispheric dominance of language function, commonly known as the Wada test, which is now performed on most epilepsy patients considering surgery. Dr Wada also created the first surgical epilepsy program and seizure investigation monitoring unit in the province, at UBC Hospital.

The Gairdner Foundation has recognized Dr James Hogg with the Canada Gairdner Wightman Award for leadership in medical science in Canada.
Dr Hogg, principal investigator at the UBC James Hogg Research Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital and an emeritus professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia, was selected for his research leadership in chronic obstructive pulmon­ary disease (COPD).