Edmonton’s $3 Billion Super Lab: Where’s the business case?
Is there anyone left in the PC government with a lick of common sense? Last week the NDP revealed that the government intends to outsource lab services to a private…
Alberta Health Care
Consultation 0005: Greater Transparency or Interfering with a Doctor’s “Right” to Get Rich?
Do doctors have the “democratic” right to charge whatever the market will bear for “uninsured” medical services? Or do the principles of universality and accessibility under the Canada Health Act…
The Smith vs Mason Debate: An Enlightening Evening
“Tonight we will witness a debate of Epic Proportions! “In the Right Corner, the Freedom Fighter—Danielle Smith!!! In the Left Corner, the Protector of the People—Brian Mason!!!” Mount Royal University…
Janet Davidson is appointed Deputy Minister of Health
Janet Davidson The Redford government just passed an Order in Council appointing Janet Davidson Deputy Minister of Health. This decision has many implications, not the least of which is this:…
It’s Really Not About Access to Private MRIs
The dapper Dr Theman stands unfazed in a thicket of microphones and TV cameras and repeats for the umpteenth time that proposed changes to the doctors’ Standards of Practice will…
“Show me the money”: The Alberta Medical Association Channels Jerry Maguire
Dr Giuffre & Minister Horne To borrow a phrase from Renee Zellweger in the movie Jerry Maguire, Dr Michael Giuffre had me at hello. He battled Health Minister Fred Horne…
A(nother) Trip to the Mayo: The Power of Seamless Connections
For the record, the Soapbox family is not crazy about going to the US for medical care, but our eldest daughter (let’s call her “Missy”) has some serious health issues…
The Home Care Consolidation Debacle: Fred Horne’s Mission Impossible
Like Tom Cruise in Ghost Protocol, Health Minister Horne is tearing through the building trying to stay ahead of the explosives he’s set to detonate. The big question is will…
Health Minister Fred Horne: The Puppet Master
The Google search engine connecting a reader to the Soapbox spat out this query: “Is Fred Horne as stupid as he looks?” Yikes! That’s bit harsh. But I must admit…
“You’re fired!” Health Minister Horne Sacks the AHS Board
Last week Health Minister Horne out-trumped Donald Trump by firing not one but all 10 members of the Alberta Health Services Board—the board his government created in 2008 to deliver…
Time to get Militant with your Doctor and the College of Physicians and Surgeons
Ms Soapbox has been in a quandary all week. She was troubled by what she’d observed at the meeting of the College of Physicians and Surgeons governing council. Finally the…
Protect the Rights of the Rich? The College of Physicians and Surgeons Grapples with Concierge Clinics
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said to Ernest Hemingway, “You know, the rich are different from you and me.” Hemingway replied, “Yes. They’ve got more money”.* I was sitting in a…
A Trip to the Mayo Clinic: Your dime or mine?
Mayo Clinic seen from Cafeteria This past January Mr Soapbox and my youngest daughter (let’s call her Mini) went on a pilgrimage to the Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Unbeknownst…
Alberta Health Services Executive Bonuses: The joy of friends in high places
Ogden Nash To paraphrase Ogden Nash (actually Mr Nash did not utter this famous phrase, but for some reason we all think he did), “Spring has sprung, the grass is…
And Now…A Message from your Premier-In-Waiting: Mr Lukaszuk
We interrupt our regular programming—the PC spin on the cause of the $4 billion budget shortfall—to bring you an important public service announcement from the Premier-In-Waiting, Mr Lukaszuk. Mr Lukaszuk…
The “Tone at the Top” from two perspectives: Richard Nixon and the AHS
When Richard Nixon told David Frost than an illegal activity is not illegal “when the president does it” he confirmed what we’d all suspected: the “tone at the top” as…
Who do you trust? Premier Redford or Alberta’s Doctors?
“How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? The man can’t even trust his own pants.”—a line from the spaghetti western Once Upon a Time…