Positive first steps towards independence at home: Toronto Star Op-Ed
Published in the Toronto Star on May 15, 2015
By Åke Blomqvist and Colin Busby
Åke Blomqvist is an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University and Health Policy Scholar at the C.D. Howe Institute, where Colin Busby is a Senior Policy Analyst.
Ontario’s minister of health, Eric Hoskins, announced plans this week for change in the province’s home and community care programs, and should be applauded. One central aspect of the minister’s plan, to give homecare patients greater control over the decisions regarding the services they receive, is promising.
Self-directed care, in which patients and their caregivers get a greater say in provider choice as well as in what services they receive, can…
Busby and Chesterley: Alberta must do more to ensure kids get vaccinated: Calgary Herald Op-Ed
Published in The Calgary Herald on March 12, 2015
By: Colin Busby and Nicholas Chesterley
Colin Busby is a senior policy analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute in Toronto and Nicholas Chesterley is a Clarendon scholar at the University of Oxford.
New parents have many things to fret about. Over most of the last century, the vulnerability of their child to infectious diseases has generally not been one of them, due largely to advances in vaccination programs. But parents ought to be concerned about growing cracks in vaccination coverage.
Alberta and other provinces have had measles outbreaks in the last year. These outbreaks are harbingers of things to come unless vaccination coverage improves, and…
More health competition means more choice and more coverage: Globe and Mail Op-Ed
Published in The Globe and Mail on February 25, 2015
By: Åke Blomqvist and Colin Busby
Åke Blomqvist is an adjunct research professor at Carleton University and health policy scholar at the C.D. Howe Institute, where Colin Busby is a senior policy analyst.
Canada’s provincial governments should change the rules that currently limit the right of doctors and hospitals to treat patients privately, and that prevent private insurers from offering plans that pay for physician and hospital services outside provincial insurance plans.
Private payment of health-care costs in Canada today is mostly for things like prescription drugs, vision care, long-term care outside hospitals and dentistry,…
Blomqvist, Busby & Jacobs: The medical specialist oversupply paradox: National Post Op-Ed
Published in the National Post on February 23, 2015
By: Åke Blomqvist, Colin Busby and Aaron Jacobs
Åke Blomqvist is an adjunct research professor at Carleton University and a health policy scholar at the C.D. Howe Institute. Colin Busby is a senior policy analyst and Aaron Jacobs is a research intern with the C.D. Howe Institute.
With negotiations between the Ontario Medical Association and the province breaking down, there is a need to consider new approaches to funding physicians in Canada, especially when it comes to funding specialists working in our public hospitals.
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons found that, in 2012, about 34% of new hospital-based specialists reported not…
Blocked bed crisis will only deepen: Hamilton Spectator Op-Ed
Published in The Hamilton Spectator on January 17, 2015
By: Åke Blomqvist and Colin Busby
Åke Blomqvist is an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University and Health Policy Scholar at the C.D. Howe Institute, where Colin Busby is a Senior Policy Analyst.
Voucher-based cost-sharing system would tailor care to seniors’ needs
The blocked hospital bed crisis in Hamilton — and elsewhere in Canada — has peaked this flu season, but it has been brewing for many years. It shows what happens when a fiscally constrained government is confronted with an aging population that places growing demands on hospitals and other institutions and people who supply care. One necessary part of the solution…
Creating a better Ontario drug plan: Toronto Star Op-Ed
Published in the Toronto Star on December 10, 2014
By: Colin Busby
Colin Busby is a senior policy analyst at the C.D. Howe Institute.
We are surrounded by innovations made by Canadians. We invented canola oil, alkaline batteries and snowmobiles. Such innovations are at the heart of our economy. But where in Canada are the innovators of today? New data shows that we need to rethink old stories of which parts of the Canadian economy are the most innovative. Inventors in Alberta and in the utilities and construction sector – areas that some see as producing little domestic value added – are outperforming researchers in many other parts of the economy in applying their work to the Canadian market.
Patents are a…
Missed Connections: The Adoption of Information Technology in Canadian Healthcare
Despite ambitious efforts to implement Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, the level of health information exchanged across organizations and care settings in Canada is lagging, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Missed Connections: The Adoption of Information Technology in Canadian Healthcare,” author Denis Protti argues that there will not be […] A Shot in the Arm: How to Improve Vaccination Policy in Canada
Most provinces are not meeting national immunization targets for key vaccines, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report. In “A Shot in the Arm: How to Improve Vaccination Policy in Canada,” authors Colin Busby and Nicholas Chesterley examine why some provinces are more successful than others at reaching immunization targets. Rethinking Canada’s Unbalanced Mix of Public and Private Healthcare: Insights from Abroad
A better mix of public and private funding in the healthcare system could reduce coverage gaps, as well as create incentives for politicians and bureaucrats to manage the public system more efficiently, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Rethinking Canada’s Unbalanced Mix of Public and Private Healthcare: Insights from Abroad,” […] Doctors without Hospitals: What to do about Specialists Who Can’t Find Work
Canadian healthcare is facing a paradox: recently graduated specialist physicians struggle to find work, even as Canadians report long wait times for their services, says a report released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Doctors without Hospitals: What to do about Specialists Who Can’t Find Work,” authors Åke Blomqvist, Colin Busby, Aaron Jacobs, and […] Managing the Costs of Healthcare for an Aging Population: The Fiscal Impact of New Brunswick’s Demographic Glacier
New Brunswick faces a $68 billion fiscal burden – the future tax bill for increased healthcare costs over the next half-century – and should prepare now for the coming demographic squeeze, says a report released today from the C.D. Howe Institute.In “Managing the Costs of Healthcare for an Aging Population: The Fiscal Impact of New […] Managing the Cost of Healthcare for an Aging Population: Prince Edward Island’s $13 Billion Healthcare Squeeze
Prince Edward Island faces a $13 billion fiscal burden – the future tax bill for increased healthcare costs over the next half-century – and should prepare now for the coming demographic squeeze, says a report today from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Managing the Cost of Healthcare for an Aging Population: Prince Edward Island’s $13 […]