October

Surgical wait times have been a central focus for health policy since the 2003 First Ministers' Accord on Health Care Renewal,[1] which allocated $34 billion for health care. The 2004 Accord and Ten-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care[2] allotted $5.5 billion to the Wait Time Reduction Fund to improve access to surgery, track wait times, and develop prioritization tools. Subsequently, the 2005 Chaoulli decision[3] in Quebec raised public awareness of the potential for patient harm due to long waits for nonemergency surgery.

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A new study from the Canadian Observational Cohort (CANOC) Collaboration, housed at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), has found the overall life expectancy of people living with HIV who have initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) to be 65 years of age. Findings from the study demonstrate a notable improvement since the early years of the HIV epidemic, but life expectancy for those with HIV remains below that of the general Canadian population.

Clients often consider self-insuring. That is, they choose to take on a level of financial risk for uncontrollable life events by relying on their personal assets or access to credit. Most individuals choose to self-insure on some level, usually driven by their budget, risk tolerance, and assessment of the possible impact. Examples include declining the extended warranty on a smart phone or choosing a longer wait period before benefits pay out on a disability plan.

Dr Aruna Thakur

In recognition of her exceptional dedication to providing services to disadvantaged people who require psychiatric attention in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the City of Saskatoon has named a street after Dr Aruna Thakur of Burnaby, BC.

Members of local divisions of family practice can access the clinical resource tool UpToDate at no cost to themselves through the Divisions of Family Practice group subscription, funded by the General Practice Services Committee (a joint committee of Doctors of BC and the Ministry of Health). Access to UpToDate is also available to residents and medical students in BC through the Divisions subscription.