CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne
-
Will the aging of Canada's population bankrupt the health care system? In this issue (see pages 1555 to 1560) Dr. Marie Demers reports that the increase in physician service costs for elderly people in Quebec from 1982 to 1992 resulted primarily from increased utilization and only secondarily from the growth of the elderly population. ⋯ Although a wide range of interventions for elderly people have demonstrable benefits, more research is needed to ensure that intensified services, especially for elderly people in good health, are effective and well targeted. It is not the aging of our population that threatens to precipitate a financial crisis in health care, but a failure to examine and make appropriate changes to our health care system, especially patterns of utilization.
-
Reforms involving the National Health Service (NHS) have greatly reduced the length of waiting lists in the United Kingdom. The key to the reductions was additional funding from the government, the chief executive of the NHS said during a recent visit to Ottawa. Decreasing the size of the waiting lists created intense stress for NHS personnel, who had to work longer hours, and it also lowered demand for private-sector care.
-
Of the 5551 confirmed measles cases reported in 1995 in the Americas, 2301 (41%) occurred in Canada. In this issue (see pages 1407 to 1413) Drs. Penny A. ⋯ Their findings support the use of a two-dose measles vaccination strategy. In this editorial the author explains how a two-dose strategy lowers the incidence of primary and secondary vaccine failures and thus reduces the number of susceptible people to below the outbreak threshold. Two-dose programs in Finland, Sweden and the United States have dramatically reduced the incidence rates of measles in those countries, and it is expected that the implementation of two-dose programs and "catch-up" campaigns in Canada and the remaining countries of the Americas will eliminate measles from the Western Hemisphere by the year 2000.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Efficacy and safety of finasteride therapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia: results of a 2-year randomized controlled trial (the PROSPECT study). PROscar Safety Plus Efficacy Canadian Two year Study.
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of 2 years' treatment of moderate benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with finasteride. ⋯ Finasteride is a well-tolerated and effective alternative to watchful waiting in the treatment of moderate BPH.