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The article discusses image manipulation, a medical laboratory misconduct wherein scientists publish microspic images that do not match the original data. Researchers who manipulate images may face significant consequences which include ending of research career. The number of image manipulation issues has reportedly increased, however there are no definite data as it can be hard to prove that the changes were intentional.

The article reports on the call of family physicians to develop medical homes in the U.S. It states that U.S. President Barack Obama has shown interest to fund a medical home to oversee the conditions of chronically ill patients in the country. It cites that joining the agenda is the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) that released a discussion paper and called on governments to establish a medical home. The move of CFPC is not only intended for ill patients but for every Canadian.

The Oregon Health Plan (OHP) has been widely heralded as an important innovation in medical care policy and rationing. Oregon's pioneering method of prioritizing funding for health care through systematic and public ranking of medical services has drawn substantial international interest. This paper reviews the experience of the Oregon plan since it began operation in 1994. We argue that widespread misconceptions persist about the significance of the OHP. In particular, there is little evidence that the OHP has operated as a model of explicit rationing. In reality, Oregon has not rationed services, nor has its policy of cutting public coverage for services produced substantial savings. These findings have important implications regarding the desirability and feasibility of adopting a policy of removing items from the list of insured medicare services in Canada. Oregon's experience suggests that drawing the line on medicare coverage would be more difficult and less financially rewarding than advocates claim. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is ready to publicly disclose its financial ties to industry without requiring external experts serving on advisory committees. PHAC Media Relations Advisor Charlene Wiles mentions that the agency needs external experts to privately disclose potential of conflict of interest, prior to providing service, and during their term of service. It highlights the policy of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding the context.

The article offers world news briefs on medicine. The U.S. government funded $31 million into the ongoing development of a national Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network. Lung transplants in Canada rose more than 3 times faster than that of solid organ transplants. The Department for Work and Pensions has announced that paper-based sick notes will be replaced with electronic fit notes in the Great Britain in 2010.

This article presents studies on life expectancy in the U.S. and Canada released in 2006. Based on a data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, life expectancy of U.S. citizens increased. However, data from the Statistics Canada showed an even higher life expectancy of Canadians compared to the U.S. It indicates that Canada has a high rate of population growth among G8 countries.

Background: Canada's universal health care system does not include universal coverage of prescription drugs. We sought to estimate the effects of adding universal public coverage of an essential medicines list to existing public drug plans in Canada.Methods: We used administrative and market research data to estimate the 2015 shares of the volume and cost of prescriptions filled in the community setting that were for 117 drugs on a model list of essential medicines for Canada. We compared prices of these essential medicines in Canada with prices in the United States, Sweden and New Zealand. We estimated the cost of adding universal public drug coverage of these essential medicines based on anticipated effects on medication use and pricing.Results: The 117 essential medicines on the model list accounted for 44% of all prescriptions and 30% of total prescription drug expenditures in 2015. Average prices of generic essential medicines were 47% lower in the US, 60% lower in Sweden and 84% lower in New Zealand; brand-name drugs were priced 43% lower in the US. Estimated savings from universal public coverage of these essential medicines was $4.27 billion per year (range $2.72 billion to $5.83 billion; 28% reduction) for patients and private drug plan sponsors, at an incremental government cost of $1.23 billion per year (range $373 million to $1.98 billion; 11% reduction).Interpretation: Our analysis showed that adding universal public coverage of essential medicines to the existing public drug plans in Canada could address most of Canadians' pharmaceutical needs and save billions of dollars annually. Doing so may be a pragmatic step forward while more comprehensive pharmacare reforms are planned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the use of silver nanoparticles in the world of medicine. It states that researchers are still doubtful on the antibacterial properties and adverse effect of silver nanomaterials in the human body. It says that doctor Horacio Bach of the University of British Columbia is conducting a test on the use of nanoparticles against macrophages. Moreover, it mentions that the U.S. and Canadian government has released regulatory rules on nanotechnologies.

The article reports on the action of Canadian medical school administrators which concern the development of guidelines governing pharmaceutical and medical devices industry handouts for undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing medical education. It notes that the Canadian Association for Medical Education will have an assembly with the Association of American Medical Colleges for the review and advancement on the said issue before determining their next course of action. Also includes notions from recently appointed member on the Canadian Association for Medical Education working group, Dr. Michael Allen, including discussions on the details of the topic in relation to its outcome.

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The article presents the author's insights on the ethical guidelines for research involving humans in Canada and in the U.S. He says that in Canada requires compliance to the Tri-Council Policy Statement for research involving human participants while the U.S. uses the Common Rule. He also mentions that the two nations have similar systems of ethical review and with similar problems.

The article presents a comparison of the medical care system in the United States and Canada. It states that there are strong moves within Canada to pattern the Canadian health care system with the medical system in the United States by partially privatizing it. It also forwards that the Yukon Territory became the last jurisdiction in Canada to adopt the Medical Care Act, which introduced a system to provide hospital and physician care to all Canadians. Moreover, it is also observed that the medical systems of these countries are partly public, partly private, partly for profit and partly nonprofit.

The author reflects on the prevalence of mental deterioration called dementias including Alzheimers' disease and vascular dementia among older people in Canada and the U.S. He informs that general criteria for diagnosing dementia include the development of cognitive deficits manifested by memory impairment and cognitive disturbances, and deficits do not occur during the course of delirium. He asserts to further research topics like managing mild, moderate and severe dementia.

Throughout Canada, the United States and much of Europe, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer has proliferated over the past 2 decades, leading to dramatic increases in detection rates of prostate cancer. Although it has unquestionably led to increased detection of cancer and a migration to lower-stage and -volume tumours, it is still unknown whether PSA screening significantly reduces mortality from prostate cancer. Often thought to be dichotomous (i.e., either normal or elevated), PSA measurements actually reflect cancer risk, with the risks of cancer and of aggressive cancer increasing with the level of PSA. The recently developed risk calculator from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial, which integrates family history of prostate cancer, digital rectal examination findings, PSA test result, age, ethnicity, and history of a prior prostate biopsy with a negative result, allows clinicians to assess a patient's individual risk of cancer. This risk should be examined in the context of a patient's life expectancy and comorbidity as well as his concern about the possibility of prostate cancer. The terms "normal" and "elevated" as descriptors of PSA results should be abandoned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comments on the importance of the randomized controlled trial (RCT) in evaluating new therapies. How considerations of biological and clinical plausibility are germane to discussions in Canada and the U.S. about the best ways to evaluate complementary or alternative medicine (CAM); View that most CAM therapies are amenable to evaluation using RCTs; Fundamental problems in establishing rational and fair procedures for determining the merits and flaws of CAM; Observation that biological plausibility is lacking for most CAM therapies; Summary.

The article reports on the illicit drug residue in wastewater in Canada and the U.S. According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, monitoring drug use via wastewater analysis has several advantages including time and money savings, absence of privacy issues, and removal of bias. It mentions the use of sewage epidemiology which can provide real-time data on community drug patterns.

The article reports that new drug safety provisions are earning profits in the U.S. and Europe but the legislation to introduce new regulations in Canada are getting weakened. It is stated that U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking drug safety to a higher level and several new initiatives are being launched in the US to actively monitor drug safety.

In this article the author reflects on the disaster prevention and emergency management for avalanche victims in Canada and United States. It notes that preventative measures and care recommendations should focus more on trauma management for the victims and that on-site management of victims needs reform. The study by Boyd and colleagues on avalanche-caused deaths in British Columbia and Alberta showed high rate of trauma mortality and identified that chest and head are common trauma sites.

Reports on the plans of Health Canada to consider implementing pilot activities that would allow for concurrent reviews of drugs in Canada and the U.S. in 2005. Objectives of a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Canada in which the joint reviews would take place; Criticism of the quality of drug approvals and postmarking system of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA); Concerns of the organization Public Citizen about the drug approval process of the FDA; Problems in the review function.

Suggests that mandatory revalidation of medical licenses will likely be introduced across Canada within 5 years in response to the demands for improved patient safety. Comments from Doctor Bernard Marlow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada; Number of nations and states in the U.S. which have already moved to implement revalidation; Aim of the Physician Achievement Review; Systematic barriers needed to be overcome in the implementation of revalidation.

The author reflects on a 2011 article in the "Journal of the American Medical Association" which found that patients who obtained treatment in rural U.S. hospitals did worse than those who received treatment in urban hospitals. He suggests that the Canadian media assumed that the facts in the article could be applied to Canadian health care facilities. He argues Canadians should care about research which shows that medical care in rural hospitals is as good as care from urban hospitals.

The article presents news briefs concerning medical care. The QuantiFERON-TB Gold blood test for tuberculosis has been approved for use by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health Canada has decided to remove valdecoxib, a COX-2 selective inhibitor for arthritis and pain, from the market due to a potential increased risk of cardiovascular events. The World Health Organization requested several drug companies to stop selling artemisinin for treating malaria.

States that Canada needs a U.S.-style national credentialing body to access the educational credentials of all foreign physicians and other health professionals seeking entrance to Canada, according to the Medical Council of Canada. Comments from Doctor Dale Dauphinee, who co-chaired the Canadian Taskforce on Licensure of International Medical Graduates; Scope of the proposal that will be submitted by the Council to Health Canada; Amount that will be provided by Ontario to double the number of training positions for foreign-trained graduates as announced on June 23, 2004.

Presents news briefs on health issues in Canada and the U.S. as of August 2003. Percentage of U.S. citizens born this year who will become diabetic, unless eating and exercise habits improve; Information provided by 'Annals of Family Medicine'; Medical benefits of the Polypill on prevention of heart attacks and strokes.