Province to hospitals: stop threatening $1,800 fees

Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews has ordered Ontario hospitals to stop threatening elderly patients with daily charges of up to $1,800 to “coerce” them to move to the first available nursing home bed.

It is completely inappropriate and unacceptable for any individual in this province in a hospital waiting for long-term care to be charged more than $53.23 per day,” she told the legislature Tuesday.

Hospitals are allowed to charge people $53.23 a day while they are waiting to get into a nursing home, but no more. As the Star has revealed in its ongoing Begging for Care series, hospitals have been threatening patients with charges of up to $1,800 in an attempt to free up hospital beds.

"Hey, That Hurts!"

Every once in awhile I will come across a visitor to my web site who asks me if I can refer a dentist to them who practices something known as Sedation Dentistry, a.k.a., general anesthesia, which basically is sedating the patient without using local anesthesia. Apparently there are some people who are overly sensitive to the least bit of dental pain (poor bastards) and are even known pass out at the site of a dentist's chair.

Types of Sedation Dentistry

Some of the more popular choices in sedation dentistry available are as follows:

Nitrous Oxide Gas - Often referred to as laughing gas, they use nitrous oxide gas in sedation dentistry to make a patient feel extremely relaxed and less tense. The dentist still administers a local anesthetic during sedation dentistry, as nitrous oxide does not stop pain.

Tetracyclic Compounds - An Antedepressant Agent

Type of Drug:

Antidepressant; mood-elevating agent.

How the Drug Works:

The exact mechanism of action is not known. It is believed that tetracyclic antidepressants adjust or balance how the brain and nervous system produce and respond to natural chemicals (neurotransmitters) that elevate mood.

Uses:

Maprotiline: To treat depressive illness in patients with depressive neurosis (dysthymic disorder) and manic-depressive illness (major depressive episode).

Mirtazapine: To treat depression.

Unlabeled Uses: Maprotiline is also effective for the relief of anxiety associated with depression.

Precautions:

Do not use in the following situations:

Treatments for Arthritis: Which are Fact or Folklore?

For the millions of Americans who suffer from arthritis, managing joint and muscle pain can be a daily struggle. There are several methods of treating arthritis, from lifestyle changes to prescription medications to herbal supplements. Choosing the best treatment plan depends on separating fact from fiction. The following guide outlines some of the most common treatments for arthritis.

Analgesics

The Claim: Analgesics are some of the most common treatments for arthritis related pain. Analgesics, like acetaminophen, inhibit the body's pain receptors and reduce the experience of arthritis-related pain.

Daughter copes at home with two ailing parents

Did you know?

On healthzone.ca, you can view a map of walk-in clinics in your area

Ted Bosak was an architect, a father, and a proud, independent man.

At the age of 86, Bosak was living in a Stouffville retirement community bungalow, taking care of his wife Nadia, who suffered from dementia.

Mentally, he was sharp, still in possession of his precise architect’s mind but physically, Bosak was growing frail. His daughter, Susan, liked to say that between her two parents, there was one healthy person.

On May 18, 2009, Bosak awoke early in the morning, as he always did, walked to the kitchen and made himself breakfast. At some point, while his wife slept, Bosak had a severe stroke and fell to the floor.

Desmopressin Acetate Guidelines of Usage

Type of Drug:Human antidiuretic hormone (ADH).

How the Drug Works:

A hormone which makes the kidneys reabsorb (retain) water and increases the concentration/activity of certain blood factors necessary for normal blood clotting.

Uses:

DDA VP: As antidiuretic hormone replacement therapy in the management of central cranial diabetes insipidus and for temporary excessive urination and excessive thirst following head injury or surgery in the pituitary region. This will allow return to a more normal lifestyle with decreased urinary frequency and nighttime urination.

To treat nighttime bed-wetting (nasal solution only). May be used alone or in combination with behavioral conditioning or other non medicinal intervention.

The Gene That Could Make You Immune to Obesity

An obesity "master switch" has been found that makes it possible to feast on junk food without getting fat.

The discovery in mice could lead to new slimming treatments for humans within 10 years, scientists believe.

A U.S. study found that mice lacking the IKKe gene became effectively immune to obesity.

It meant the animals could eat a super-fatty diet and still stay slim.

They were also protected against chronic inflammation, a condition known as "fatty liver," and the first signs of diabetes.

Deleting the gene appeared to release the "brakes" on energy expenditure, generating heat.

Mice on the "junk" diet were fed a type of lard with 45 percent of its calories derived from fat.