So the initial responses of the “Send ‘em a Message Survey” on Policy Channel has some interesting but very preliminary results, since we only went “live” last Thursday afternoon late.
Of the 15 issues presented the top four driving issues for participants Managing Environmental Issues @12.73%, followed by Ensuring Access to Quality and Timely Health Care at 11.62%. The next top two issues are Managing Growth @ 9.6% and Creating a Diversified Value Added economy @8.15%
This underscores the Preston Manning message of over a year ago that Albertans want a well managed economy at the same time they want the environmental issues dealt with. They are not seen as mutually exclusive but part of the same overall integrated, comprehensive whole systems approach.
Positioning the economy against the environment or visa versa is not acceptable according to what Albertans are indicating so far. They want both issues dealt with and they want them handled concurrently. The politician who can make that message their own and make it resonate with Albertans is going to get some serious support.
The next Premier, to be successful, is going to have to show they get this and are able to get on with doing something about it – results will count. We expect more than just a good effort.
The last thing Albertans want their next government to do more of (from participants so far) is any more lowering of taxes. The 22.01% who said do not spend any more time and effort lowering taxes send a message that we need our government to get some serious things done and to get on with them. More lowering taxes, a big part of the Klein Alberta Advantage remember, is not on the agenda as a positive policy driver this time around.
So invest 5 minutes and take the survey. Tell us what you think is the most and least important policy issues that need government attention. Then tell your friends and neighbours about it and send them this link or send them to this Blog to get access to the survey. The more input we get the more reflective of Alberta the results will be.
Ken:
ReplyDeleteThis is your anonymous friend again. Thank you the preliminary results from the survey. Once I return from some errands, I would like to talk about some ideas regarding sustaining public health care in Alberta. I noted that health care came up an issue at yeserday's debate in Medicine Hat, and I am hoping that we can get the candidates talking more specifics, rather than generalities.
Ken:
ReplyDeleteThis is your anonoymous friend again. I wanted to take some time to discuss the second most important drving issue to Albertans from the survey and that is ensuring access to quality and accessible health care in Alberta.
Obviously, our health care system is not sustainable given current conditions. The cuts of the early to mid 1990s stripped the system of the neccessary physical and human infrastructure needed to meet a growing population and the maturation of a baby boomer popylation which did not unfortunately place much stock in exercise and preventative health care measures. Diabetes, heart disease, and cancer run rampant among our baby boomer population, I know from personal experience the terrible afflications that these diseases place on the patient and their families. These diseases run rampant in my own family and took the lives of my father, mother, aunts and uncles and a number of cousins.
According to the Conference Board report to the the Council of the Federation on the fiscal imbalance, if health care expenditures in Alberta continue to increase at a rate of 10.5% per year, health care expenditures will consume 100% of non-renewable resource revenues within two years, 45.5% of total revenues by 2014/15, 44.2% of total expenses by 2014/15, and Alberta will begin to run structural deficits as of 2013/14, just seven short years ago.
Obviously opportunities were squandered in the late 1990s and early into this century. We are faced with inadequate physical infrastructure and a lack of skilled professionals. We need to give the system time to catch up to the growing population.
Ted Morton talks about allowing more private health care, but that is merely cost shifting and doesn't solve the problem of growing health care costs. After all is there is only one taxpayer.
What we need to do is talk about steps we can take in the area of preventative health care, providing incentives for the current population to pursue healthy life styles. We need to be innovative in this area and commit some significant resources at the front end. All the candidates talk about preventative health care, but offer little in the way of specifics.
Here are some suggestions on what steps can be taken.
Dedicate 2% of the existing health care budget towards preventative health care measures as a means of reducing pressure on the acute care system.
Provide an immediate one-time $500 million injection to the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Reesearch directed at research into preventative health care measures: child obesity, teen smoking, medication errors and hospital infections.
In the area of child obesity and promoting healthy lifestyles, provide a $200 non-refundable tax credit to people who accept personal responsibility for healthy lifestyles by registering for membership in fitness clubs and sports and recreation facilities. According to the recent report of the Expert Panel for the Child Fitness Tax Credit, obesity costs Canada about $1.6 billion per year in direct health care cost. This does not take into account indirect costs such as lost productivity, disability insurance, reduced quality of life and pyschological damange due to stigmization and poor self-esteem.
In the area of teen smoking, increase the tobacco tax by $2 dollars per pack of 25 cigarrettes in the next provincial budget, introduce provincial legislation to make all indoor workplaces smoke-free, legislation to put a stop to retail tobacco displays, and reserve the right to launch a law suit against tobacco companies to recover health care costs associated with tobacco use.
With respect to medication errors steps that can be taken include (1) facilitating the creation of an open and non-punative culture in the organization to ensure learning from errrors occur, and ensure improvement needs are identified (2) encourage reporting of near misses to identify areas for improvement before an incident occurs (3) coordinate education sessions for staff to discuss medication errors and their prevention strategies (4) focus efforts on specific high alert drugs and error prone situations (5) perform an objective self-assessment of the hospital's risk for medication errors (6) be involved in the root cause analysis of medication errors (7) participate and provide input into the development of quality improvement initiatives; (8) share error reduction adn prevention strategies and other patient safety information with other facilities (9) outpatient electronic prescribing (10) impatient computerized physician oder entry and (11) home-based diabetesd disease management
With respect to preventable infections, funds should be dedicated fore the implementation of strategies for more rigourous hospital infection control practices, including uniform reporting standards of preventable infections, and minmum uniform standards at all Alberta hospitals and health facilities
From the initial research I have conducted, this would save Alberta's health care system approximately $170 millon per year in direct costs and incalculable indirect costs for the population at large, putting less pressure on the acute care system, giving it the breathing space to catch up with demand.
I would appreciate the thoughts of others as to these ideas.