your guide to private medicine

Fall 2011
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YOUR GUIDE TO PRIVATE MEDICINE
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– CORPORATE PROFILE –
We’d like to dispel the
misconception about
who actually uses health
care services like ours.
It’s not just an option for
the wealthy. It’s simply
for those who want to be
proactive with their
own health and want to
ensure they get
the thorough and
collaborative health care
they feel they deserve.
Provital Physician & Co-owner
Dr. Donovan Kreutzer
Provital takes proactive approach to your health
MOVING TO THE United States to
practice medicine was not an option for Dr.
Donovan Kreutzer and Dr. Sarit Sengar.
 Working together for years in a busy
hybrid family practice/walk-in clinic in Calgary, they knew there had to be a better way
to practice the thorough and collaborative
medicine they felt their patients deserved. 
Critical to that idea was the need to be able
to spend the time each patient truly required
and to focus on two shared health care
philosophies — practicing both proactive and
preventative medicine.
  Dr. Kreutzer and Dr. Sengar wanted a
middle ground and they believe they have
found it with the formation of Provital Health
and Wellness. 
  The Provital clinic, centrally located in
southwest Calgary, provides what they call
“truly collaborative care,” including the
services of three physicians, a naturopathic
doctor, chiropractor, nurses, and specialists
such as a dietitian, exercise kinesiologists,
psychologists, massage therapists, pedorthist
and pharmacist, plus referrals to numerous
allied specialists.
  “So many health concerns are interrelated
that it just makes sense to be able to provide
2
Options | Fall 2011
an integrated, collaborative form of health
care,” says Sengar.
  Each client enjoys 24/7 physician availability as well as full access to Provital’s team
of  specialists, including an initial “comprehensive, head-to-toe health assessment and
tailored health plan” involving the full range
of Provital specialists as a basis for ongoing
“preventive and proactive health care.” Blood
tests are drawn on site and sent to outside labs
for analysis as a means of saving their clients
time. When referrals to outside specialists are
required, Kreutzer says, Provital physicians
and staff spend the time needed to advocate
for their clients in order to help expedite
needed consultations.
  For this access to Provital’s full team of
specialists (including educational seminars,
workshops, bootcamps and so on), its clients
do pay an annual fee.  Adult fees are $3,900
in the first year and $3,600 a year thereafter,
while children under 17 are $750 and $600,
respectively. There are also discounted rates
for families, snowbirds, students and even
custom corporate plans.
  “One of the biggest misconceptions about
our services is that all fees represent out-of-pocket expenses,” Kreutzer says. “The reality is that
with even a traditional benefit plan or health
spending account, our clients can typically
recoup a significant portion of their annual fees,
sometimes even the full amount, as long as they
access the services covered by their plan.” 
  Provital’s team also takes the time to
work with each new client to review existing
benefit plans and to show them exactly how
much they can reduce their out-of-pocket expense by each year. The remaining balance
can then be claimed as a medical expense on
each client’s tax return.
  “We’d like to dispel the misconception
about who actually uses health-care services
like us,” Kreutzer says.“It’s not just an option
for the wealthy. It’s simply for those who want
to be proactive with their own health and want
to ensure they get the thorough and collaborative health care they feel they deserve. Our
clients range from young families to single
professionals to boomers to retirees to companies — and everyone in between.”
  “I think the most important thing to know
about our team here at Provital is that we are
all here based on our desire to practice better
collaborative medicine and to deliver the
preventative and proactive health care our
clients and their families deserve.”
Name: Provital Health and Wellness
Location: Suite 204, 2031 33rd Ave. S.W.
Calgary, T2T 1Z5
Contact info:
Phone: 403-685-4520
Fax: 403-685-4525
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.provital.ca
Services: Providers of thorough and
collaborative health care services to
individuals, families and corporate clients.
Provital provides timely, preventative and
proactive health care, with the services
of family physicians, naturopathic doctor,
chiropractor, nurses, dietitian, exercise
kinesiologists, psychologists, massage
therapists, pedorthist and pharmacist
on site – plus numerous allied specialist
partners.
By the numbers
825,827
Total number of procedures Canadians were waiting
for in 2010, an increase of 19 per cent from 694,161
procedures in 2009.
Fraser Institute
22.1
In 2010, the average number of weeks Albertans waited
for treatment after a referral from a family doctor.
Fraser Institute
73%
The percentage that waiting times exceed reasonable
values across all specialties, according to specialists
surveyed.
Fraser Institute
44,680
Number of patients who received elective treatment in
another country during 2009/10.
Fraser Institute
4.4 million
Fifteen per cent of the population aged 12 and older, or
the number of people in 2010 who reported they did not
have a regular medical doctor.
Contents
FEATURES
4
Boomer time bomb
As Canada’s baby boomers grow older, demands on the medical
system will increase along with waiting times.
6
Fast track to health
On a busy schedule and lacking a family doctor, Calgarian Rob
Marcotte purchased a private medical plan for himself and his family.
7
Taking charge
Paying for health care is worth it for the Ellis family — not only for the
access to a wide range of health care, but also for peace of mind.
8
Young again
Calgarian Dave Balsom, 54, admits feeling like a 75-year-old before signing on at a private medical facility. Now he feels young for his age.
8
Cross-border docs
Canadian doctors see the Mayo Clinic as an opportunity to advance
medicine and make a difference.
Statistics Canada
10
Back to normal
Unable to manage his back pain and faced with a long wait time to see a
specialist, Irvine-area rancher Graham Good opted for private treatment.
Number of hospital patients who were awaiting
continuing-care placements in the fourth quarter of 2010.
12
Timing is everything
For Calgarian Greta Joy, waiting for surgery was not an option in her
busy schedule as a student at the University of Western Ontario.
13
Common bond
Decades after having surgery at the Mayo Clinic, Calgarian Carol Allan
has reconnected with the facility as the pen-pal of a young patient there.
14
Worth the investment
Diagnosed with prostate cancer, Edson-area farmer James Van Alstyne
picked up the tab for surgery at a private facility in Kalispell, Mont.
15
Expanding coverage
Canadian companies will soon have the same access to Mayo Clinic
insurance that individuals and families have enjoyed since last April.
660
— Wait Time Alliance of medical professionals
13%
The percentage of acute-care hospital capacity in Canada
that is taken up by chronic-care patients — mostly the
elderly.
— Wait Time Alliance of medical professionals
Options
YOUR GUIDE TO PRIVATE MEDICINE
is a special publication of the Calgary Herald
Publication date: Saturday, Aug. 27, 2011
Special Projects Manager:
Barb Livingstone, 403-235-7339
[email protected]
Advertising: Susan Walker, 403-235-8784
Design: Jennifer Worley
CORPORATE PROFILES
2
Provital Health & Wellness
5
Copeman Healthcare Centre
9
Preventous Collaborative Health
Cover: Photo by Wil Andruschak
Options | Fall 2011
3
COVER
STORY
time
ticking bomb
By BRIAN BURTON
A
demographic time bomb is ticking in
the overburdened Canadian public
health-care system, a new report shows.
Chronic-care patients — mostly the elderly
— now take up 13 per cent of acute-care hospital
capacity in Canada, according to Time Out,
a Report on Wait Times in Canada, released
in June by the Wait Time Alliance of medical
professionals. The report says the problem is
expected to get worse as the huge baby boom
generation gets older.
“As our society ages, more patients will have
chronic health conditions such as dementia,
which in turn creates more demand for
chronic-care support,” the report says.
The Time Out report outlines a backlog
syndrome in which chronic-care patients
run up a mean length of stay in hospital of
26 days, compared with four days for acutecare patients. Without sufficient long-term
care facilities, the system is forced to hold
chronic patients in acute-care beds. Acutecare facilities are then blocked from accepting
patients for scheduled surgeries and incoming
patients from emergency departments. And,
with emergency departments overloaded,
paramedics are unable to release patients to
hospital care and return to primary duties.
“(Chronic-care) patients themselves are
suffering from a lack of timely access to more
appropriate types of care,” the report adds.
The Wait Times Alliance (WTA) is made
up of national organizations representing
anesthesiologists, emergency doctors,
paediatric surgeons, radiation oncologists,
4
Options | Fall 2011
AS CANADA’S BABY BOOMER POPULATION GETS OLDER,
HOSPITAL WAIT TIMES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE
psychiatrists, obstetricians, orthopaedic
surgeons and other medical professionals.
In Alberta, the report says, some 660
hospital patients were awaiting continuing-care
placements in the fourth quarter of 2010. Health
Minister Gene Zwozdesky has told the Herald
that number has since been reduced to 470
patients and six per cent of hospital beds. But
the much longer typical stays by chronic-care
patients may mean that they’re consuming a
much larger percentage of total hospital days.
As the baby boomer population moves
upward in age, it approaches the time when
declining health implies greater demands on
the health-care system.
Right now, Alberta’s health-care system gets
good grades for delivering hip replacements,
radiation oncology and elective open-heart
surgery — within recommended maximum wait
times. And the province has also made some
progress in reducing wait times for magnetic
resonance imaging, although no national
benchmark has been established. But some
40 per cent of Alberta cataract patients do not
receive surgeries within the recommended
16-week maximum wait time and at least 30 per
cent do not receive knee replacements within
the recommended 26-week time frame.
While the Wait Time Alliance (WTA) gives
provinces and the federal government credit for
reducing wait times in the five targeted areas,
“WTA notes that this improvement is related
to meeting maximum acceptable wait-time
benchmarks, not ideal wait-time targets. As such,
the progress achieved should be seen as an initial
step toward improving Canadians’ access to
care, not as an accomplishment,” the report says.
We want to provide
better health care but
we inevitably have to
turn back to the system
for insured services.
And the WTA adds that no acceptable wait
times have yet been established for hundreds
of other procedures and treatments.
“Beyond those five priority areas,
governments are reporting on just 10 per cent
of the important procedures selected by the
WTA,” says a press release accompanying the
report. “Those grades that could be assigned
for these other procedures/treatments are very
low in most instances,” says the news release,
issued by WTA Chair Dr. Lorne Bellan. “This
is a tremendous concern because it translates
into thousands of Canadians waiting too long
for treatment and care.”
Dr. Donovan Kreutzer founded the private
Provital Health and Wellness clinic in Calgary
as an alternative to the frenetic pace of most
general practitioners’ offices. His clinic
charges the public health-care system for
insured services in the standard fashion, but
provides a slate of additional health services
for an annual fee that enables him and his
colleagues to see fewer patients and spend
more time with each one.
But eventually, Kreutzer says, his patients must
deal with the wait times of the public system.
“It’s been a bit of an uphill struggle for
us,” he says. “We want to provide better
health care but we inevitably have to turn
back to the system for insured services.”
Some patients explore surgical options in
the United States, but with fairly routine
procedures costing $30,000 to $40,000, those
are alternatives few can afford. Instead, they
must wait for service that is doled out over
time to prevent budget overruns.
“The biggest problem we have today
is that when the (Canadian) system was
created the (boomer) population was 40
years younger. People in their twenties don’t
have a lot of medical issues. But the aging
population is going to become thicker and
the wait times can only become longer.”
Increasing immigration from less developed
countries is also adding the complexity of
difficult diseases such as malaria to the mix,
he says.
Kreutzer says the only solution he can see is a
two-tiered system in which affluent Canadians
buy comprehensive medical insurance and
governments provide care for the less affluent, in
a manner similar to several European countries.
He says the Alberta government has installed
new leaders at Alberta Health Services but that
hasn’t changed the essential problem.
“I don’t think that by doing the same thing,
we’re going to achieve different results.
“When I see a patient with a hernia, I’m
thinking, ‘My God man, you’re going to
be walking around in pain for six months.’
I’ve had people actually go to Montana for
hemorrhoid surgery.”
– CORPORATE PROFILE –
Copeman Healthcare
has introduced
a highly personalized
and service-focused
approach to personal,
family and corporate
health care that
delivers excellence
in prevention and
health management.
Dr. Beth Donaldson, family physician.
A new standard of health care in Canada
Copeman Healthcare set a new
standard for primary health care in Canada
when it opened its doors in Vancouver
in November 2005, offering each client a
personalized and expert team of health
professionals focused on all aspects of
their health.
When the organization added a stateof-the-art, centrally located 17,000-squarefoot facility in Calgary in 2008, it raised
the bar again by creating a western
Canadian network of doctors, specialized
professionals and researchers to develop
and implement some of the most advanced programs of screening, diagnosis,
prevention and health management available in the world today.
According to Founder and CEO Don
Copeman, the company began with a
simple premise — to deliver unparalleled
access to medical expertise while providing
each patient with a highly personalized and
“unhurried” experience.
In addition to expert doctors, the Centres
are staffed with a complimentary team that
includes psychologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychologists, physiotherapists, registered
dietitians, kinesiologists, exercise medicine
specialists, nurses, health coaches and other
specialized professionals that work together for
the early detection and treatment of disease.
The Centre is the only one of its kind
to have a program that recognizes that
complete wellness must address all three
areas of physical, psychological and brain
health.  Copeman’s brain health program
is the first of its kind and is focused on early
intervention for age and disease-related
cognitive decline.
Copeman Healthcare has become Canada’s leader in collaborative, team-based
health care, but the services and technologies it has developed are now being shaped
for implementation throughout the world.
One of the Centre’s greatest contributions to the field of prevention and
health management is its computerized
Health Management System, which is a
secure, on-line personal health record
combined with sophisticated risk assessments, health surveillance and self-management tools.
Changes in laboratory results, measures
and lifestyle trigger personalized reminders
about important risk factors and transmit both
positive and negative trends to the patient’s
health team.  This advanced technology is
made available to every client of the Centre.
The Centre offers a warm and comforting environment as well as an atmosphere
of genuine caring that belies the size and
sophistication of its operations.
“We are committed to a large, expert staff
and the most current science and technology, but creating a very personalized and
highly available service is just as important
to us,” says Copeman.
“We have a simple motto, which is to treat
every client like we would have our own
loved ones treated. Every client’s health
team is dedicated to them and committed to
looking after every aspect of their health.”
Although the Centre has numerous programs and servixces that can be subscribed
to, its most popular offering is an all-inclusive prevention and health management
program.
This service costs $3,900 per adult in
the first year of service and $2,900 per
year thereafter. It includes a comprehensive, four-hour annual health assessment
and a complete package of professional
services to support a client’s individual
health plan.
Name: Copeman Healthcare Centre
Location: 4th floor, 628 12th Ave. S.W.
Calgary, T2R 0H6
Contact info:
Phone: 403-270-CARE (2273)
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.copemanhealthcare.com
Services:
n Advanced personal and family
health care
n Integrated physical, psychological
and brain health
n Exercise medicine and physiotherapy
n Comprehensive health assessments
n Corporate wellness
Options | Fall 2011
5
Preventive care an asset to
public system
PROFILE
treatments, with their heavy costs, could
be anticipated. Now provinces are
For cash-strapped and overburdened
spending one-third to one-half of their
Alberta Health Services, it seems to go
budgets for health care, while other
from bad to worse, descending at times
public programs go begging for money.
into farce.
He says he and his partners created
In July, news emerged that an unknown the Preventous Collaborative Health
number of calls to the Alberta HealthLink clinic to offer an alternative to the
information hotline were misdirected to
Canadian family-practice model
a phone-sex operation. Worried callers
that has become a “numbers game”
to HealthLink, it can be assumed, saw
of five-minute, single-issue patient
little humour in the situation caused by a
examinations by overworked GPs who
phone directory publisher who printed
see scores of patients a day.
the wrong number.
“I mean no disrespect to my (GP)
For AHS it was a case of
colleagues” who, he says,
insult added to a long string of
are doing their best within
injuries, some apparently selfthe system. “There just
inflicted: the chief executive
aren’t enough doctors — and
officer of AHS and four board
if there were, could we pay
members resigned last fall;
them all?” he asks.
routine queue jumping by
Rather than remain within
VIPs has been alleged; more
the system, he and his
than 200 patients are alleged
partners created Preventous,
to have died awaiting lung
which offers uninsured,
Don Copeman
surgeries; angry doctors say
preventive health-care
they’ve been threatened or
services for an annual fee,
bribed to keep silent about
while billing the public
system inadequacies; and,
system for the delivery of
the system is facing a raft of
basic, insured services.
lawsuits potentially topping $1
Annual fees enable a team
billion in damages.
of doctors, kinesiologists,
The Wait Time Alliance
registered dieticians, nurses
of medical professionals
and a psychologist, to spend
said in June that a large part
as long as necessary with
of the hospital overloading
each patient to develop
Dr. Rohan
problem could be eliminated
preventive health-care
Bissoondath
by building more chronicplans and diagnose any
care facilities, thereby preventing
interrelated medical issues.
backlogs throughout the system.
“We’ve got a healthier group of
“It’s the same issue we’ve had for
people” at Preventous as a result of
years,” says Dr. Rohan Bissoondath,
concentrating on preventive medicine,
founder of Preventous, Calgary’s
he says. “Waistlines are down,
first private healthcare clinic. “We’re
cholesterol levels are down and blood
backed up all the way to the parking
pressures are controlled.” He says
lot. Everybody’s doing their best,
prevention is far better for patients
but you can’t get your beds empty
and much less costly for the publicly
to accept new patients.” He says he
funded system than the expensive
knows the problem first-hand from
business of trying to repair people after
his work at the downtown Sheldon
they’re sick.
Chumir clinic and, before that, at the
“Instead of pulling people out of the
old Eighth and Eighth Clinic.
river, we’ve got to get upstream and
Dr. Bissoondath says waiting lists,
keep them from falling in.”
queue jumping and all the other ills of
Bissoondath confirms wait times in
the Canadian public health-care system
the public system are one of the big
are merely symptoms of a deeper
drivers of his business.
sickness. He says the system was created
SEE QUICK ACCESS, PAGE 7
before today’s advanced medical
By BRIAN BURTON
When he moved to Calgary in 2008 and couldn’t find a family doctor, Rob Marcotte purchased a family package at
Copeman Healthcare Centre where he had access to a diverse team of health-care professionals.
— Wil Andruschak photo
‘They go the extra mile for you’
By COLLEEN BIONDI
A
s an executive with a Bermuda-based
financial services company, 40-year-old
Rob Marcotte is on the fast track. With
a wife and two young daughters and a travel
schedule that would bring a strong man to his
knees, time is precious indeed. When he moved to
Calgary from the island in 2008, he couldn’t find
a family doctor and had little time to deal with it.
After two gruelling days in the emergency ward for
a medical crisis, he sought counsel from a friend.
That friend recommended Copeman Healthcare
Centre in Calgary.
The family package Marcotte purchased offers
ready access to a diverse team of health-care
professionals. The key component is an eight-hour
annual assessment. This involves a full work-up,
including a hearing, vision and stress test, plus one
hour to talk to your doctor. “I think that is really
unusual,” says Marcotte. You also get one hour
each year with a wellness coach, a nutritionist
and a kinesiologist. Marcotte’s interest was in
prevention and goal-setting for a healthy future.
“When you have a young family and work so
much, you don’t really step back and think: ‘Am
I going in the direction I want to go?’ Turning 40
makes you think more about it.”
The nutritionist examined how Marcotte could
be healthier on the road. Shrink portion sizes, she
said. And for breakfast, walk to the local grocery
store to purchase fresh fruit rather than tackle the
breakfast buffet. “Every time you walk away, you
make a couple of changes,” says Marcotte. “You are
more aware.”
The kinesiologist e-mailed him 20 specific
6
Options | Fall 2011
exercises for his IT band which was tight and
inflexible from running. Plus, she helped him
step up a training schedule for the swimming
component of a mini-triathlon he competed in this
past spring.
When he declared he wanted to run another
marathon in 2011, Lorraine Weir — the wellness
coach — forced him to come up with a race and
game plan. She held him accountable and both
challenged him and supported him when he was
floundering. “I appreciate someone holding up a
mirror to say: ‘This is what you are saying, but this
is what you are doing,’” he admits. As a result of his
work with Weir, he ran his fastest marathon in 10
years this past May.
For this all-encompassing plan, Marcotte paid
$500 per month (additional sessions with the
nutritionist, kinesiologist and wellness coach are
typically over and above the monthly fee, but
Marcotte was subject to a pilot project where all
three — plus his doctor — met to discuss, track
and give feedback about his progress every two
weeks). Although out of his own pocket, it was
right for him and for his family. His wife has also
had the full round of services and one daughter
got immediate help -- off hours — for strep throat.
“We didn’t have to wait or go into the office or
emergency room. They go the extra mile for
you and when something happens, it makes it all
worthwhile.”
What is next for Marcotte? He’ll continue to work
with Weir online from Bermuda (where he returned
this summer), as he wants to improve his public
speaking skills.
But he has a great foundation from his time at
Copeman. “I have the building blocks,” says Marcotte.
“I have a better overall approach to my life.”
PROFILE
We simply keep people out of
hospital. Preventing what’s
preventable would eliminate the
funding issue in public health care.
QUICK ACCESS, FROM PAGE 6
He says Preventous provides quick access to its own GPs
and draws blood on site for testing at outside labs rather than
sending patients to a lab to wait in line. But he admits there’s
only so much he can do.
“Patients ask me, ‘Can I see a specialist quicker if I join
Preventous?’ and the answer is no.” He says Preventous does its
best to advocate for patients who need to see specialists and tries
to ensure that the right diagnostic images and tests are ordered, so
that specialists won’t have to order new ones with additional wait
times. He adds there’s flexibility in the public system to expedite
imaging for urgent cases and there’s also the option of immediate
access at private imaging clinics, for patients who can afford to pay.
But he’s emphatic that the public system is “broken” and
that a fix will require a major public outcry Canada-wide, as
well as a commitment to exploring new ideas for the health
care of all Canadians.
Wait times, he says, are the proof that health care can never be
entirely free and that a sustainable system needs to be based on a
new model. But he says a mix of public and private insurance may
be “too simplistic” and may be only part of a “sustainable solution.”
In addition to funding mechanisms, Bissoondath says, options
such as nurse practitioners and an expansion of midwifery need to
be considered as ways to reduce the cost of quality care. Of course,
he says, prevention needs to be at the core of any new system.
Don Copeman, founder of Copeman Healthcare Centres in
Calgary and Vancouver, says private clinics that concentrate
on preventive care are an asset to the public system.
“We simply keep people out of hospital,” Copeman says.
He notes that heart disease is Canada’s biggest single killer
and 80 per cent of heart disease is preventable. Obesity, some
diabetes and some forms of cancer can also be prevented by
better health and lifestyle management.
“Preventing what’s preventable would eliminate the funding
issue in public healthcare,” he says. But the public system is
geared to what he calls “reactive medicine” and, he says, it will
never have sufficient funding for serious preventive strategies.
He says there’s a legitimate role for private clinics to do that
work and take a load off hospitals in the process.
Copeman points out that many preventable health issues, such
as obesity, smoking and alcohol use, have psychological roots and
that’s why his clinics include psychologists. But publicly insured
services don’t include preventive psychological counselling.
“Quality health care requires more of a collaborative
approach,” he says. “People understand there’s a lot more to
health care (than treating illness). People are smart, they’re
educated, they’re more affluent and they want to live a long
time.” And he says they’re increasingly willing to pay for
additional services beyond those insured by the public system.
“The market (for private clinics) is being driven by lack of
access in the public system,” he says. “But I tell people there’s
something better than fast access to a specialist. That’s not
needing a specialist in the first place.”
Provital clients Doug and Tara Ellis have made health care a priority for themselves and their children Ciara and Torin.
— Wil Andruschak photo
‘It is about continuity of care and the
expectation we can get in quickly’
By COLLEEN BIONDI
W
hen the Ellis family of
Calgary (parents Doug
and Tara; children Ciara
and Torin) learned about the opening
of Provital Health & Wellness, Tara
was pregnant with Torin. The family
had a general practitioner on board
but it often took a week to get an
appointment and sessions were brief.
“With the new baby coming, I thought
I would investigate it,” says Tara. She
talked to clinic director Jesse Stein
about the variety of services offered at
the clinic and was hooked. “At Provital
you have access to health care from all
angles.”
Fortunately, the Ellis group is a
healthy bunch. But they have used
clinic services several times over the
last two years and are grateful Provital
was available to them in their times of
need.
One particular Friday night, Tara felt
ill; she was feverish and had back pain.
She called Provital after hours and her
own doctor picked up the phone (there
are three general practitioners at the
clinic and one is on call every night).
He walked through the symptoms
with her and confirmed a kidney
infection. Doug was at the pharmacy
in 15 minutes to pick up the prescribed
medication. “That was worth every
penny,” says Tara.
Five-year-old Ciara had a painful
wart on her foot, but was traumatized
by the notion of it coming off. The
doctor patiently explained the
procedure to the young patient and
was gentle throughout. After putting
a band-aid on the wound, Ciara was
off and running and relaxed during
her follow-up appointment. “The kids
are completely comfortable with all
three doctors,” explains Tara. “And the
appointments are as long as they need
to be.”
Doug has had “bumps and bruises”
from playing soccer and has welcomed
sessions with the clinic’s registered
massage therapist. And when he
told clinic staff about a rash he had
developed on a recent trip to Mexico
(the rash was gone by the time he got
back to Calgary), they had a suggestion
for the next time something like that
happened. ‘Take a picture of the rash
and e-mail it to the clinic. We will have
a dermatologist look at it right away
and give you our diagnosis.’
Even baby Torin has had his turn at
Provital. When his ear began hurting
one day just before vacation, the
parents thought it was the proverbial ear
infection. They saw the doctor within
one hour and it turned out to be a false
alarm, so no antibiotic was required.
“We get fantastic advice and
service,” says Tara. “It is about
continuity of care and the expectation
we can get in quickly and without a
huge fight,” adds Doug.
The family tab for Provital’s allinclusive service is $7,000 per annum
($3,000 per adult and $500 per child).
Doug is an information technology
contractor, who is on a hiatus from
work, and Tara is home with the
children, but as far as this expense is
concerned, the Ellises are clear.
“We’ve decided to prioritize this,”
says Doug.
“Nobody wants to get sick,” adds
Tara. “But Provital takes the fear out
of it.”
Options | Fall 2011
7
Mayo Clinic allows Canadian
docs to make most of training
PROFILE
‘I am in better
health now
than I was at 45’
D
By COLLEEN BIONDI
D
ave Balsom has had a robust
career at Suncor. He worked in
Fort McMurray for 29 years and
since 2005, the 54-year-old married, father
of four has been at the corporate office
here in Calgary. But while his career was
on the upswing, his health was taking a
downturn.
Once his well-loved family doctor
retired in 2000, Balsom had trouble
finding a replacement and passed on
annual check-ups. It wasn’t until his
left knee started hurting that he tested
the water with some local physicians.
They told him to lose weight and take
glucosamine. But that didn’t work. Balsom
got heavier and he became less active;
even his mental health began to suffer.
“I couldn’t cut the lawn or walk through
Costco,” he explains. He finally had
to cancel his annual fishing trip to the
Northwest Territories because he couldn’t
climb in or out of the boat. “You feel like
you’re living the life of a 75-year-old.”
A colleague at work recommended
Preventous Collaborative Health. In
February 2008, he met up with Georgie
Weeks, client care manager, and signed up
at the multi-purpose, downtown clinic.
The first step was a complete check-up.
It was determined he had high blood
pressure, high cholesterol and was
overweight. He was given a binder, like a
“report card,” to track his tests and medical
interventions. He got an X-ray for that
knee and was diagnosed with semi-severe
osteoarthritis. A nutritionist worked with
Balsom on his diet (breakfast every day,
moderate portion control, lots of fruits and
vegetables) and weight loss program; a
kinesiologist created an exercise routine
to safely strengthen muscles surrounding
the knee. He was also referred to a
professional who administered Synvisc
injections. “They explored everything,”
says Balsom. “But it became clear surgery
was the only real option.”
8
Options | Fall 2011
and arduous training. Most people go through it
because they actually want to do the work.
r. Stephen Cassivi is a self-described
“I’m a big proponent of national health care and
“proud Canadian,” a supporter of
Mayo has been a big proponent of health care as
national health care — and director of
a right.” But he says the people running Canadian
lung transplant at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. health care are “faced with only one metric. How
Cassivi says he found himself in the United
many dollars have you spent on health care?”
States because there’s more opportunity to use his
Dusanka Anastasijevik, international relations
very extensive and specialized training
consultant with Mayo Clinic in
there than there is in Canada.
Rochester, rattles off the names of a
A francophone Canadian from
dozen Canadian surgeons in leading
Windsor, Ont., he took surgical training at
positions at her facility. They include Dr.
the University of Toronto, where he also
John Noseworthy, president and chief
did a research fellowship and a Master of
executive officer of Mayo Clinic and his
Science degree in transplantation.
predecessor, Dr. Hugh Smith.
Then, in 2000, he had the
Another of Mayo Clinic’s Canadian
opportunity to do specialist training at
physicians is Dr. David Dodick, a
Washington University in St. Louis,
professor of neurology with expertise
Dr. Stephen Cassivi
Miss. under the direction of two
in treating migraines, strokes and sports
Canadian trained surgeons who, he
concussions, who is president of the
says, made his transition very easy.
American Headache Society and editor-in“During my time in St. Louis it
chief of the medical journal Cephalalgia.
became apparent to me that some
Born in Brampton, Ont. and raised in
of the opportunities in the U.S. were
Cape Breton, N.S., he did undergraduate
tremendous.” Especially in lung
work and earned his medical degree at
transplant work, a field where Canada
Dalhousie University before accepting first
has only five programs nationwide. “That
an internship and then a residency at Mayo
may be appropriate to the population but
Clinic in Rochester. He returned to practice
there were just many more opportunities
in Canada for two years before accepting a
Dr. David Dodick
in the U.S.,” he recalls.
staff position at Mayo Clinic.
He says he knew that if he stayed in
“I have the utmost respect for the clinical
Canada he might very well not get the
acumen and the way doctors are trained
opportunity to specialize in his area of
in Canada and I wouldn’t have traded my
expertise. And Mayo was offering him
training at Dalhousie for anything,” he says.
a chance to help build its new lung
“It was a very difficult decision to uproot
transplant program.
my wife and my very young son. We loved
“It’s allowed me to do what I’m trained
Canada and we had no family in the U.S.
to do,” he says. He describes Mayo
“But Mayo is one of the best places in the
Clinic as a group of like-minded health
world to practice medicine and it was a
professionals focused on patient care.
tremendous honour. It was something
When he left Canada 11 years ago, he Dr. John Noseworthy I just had to take a crack at. That’s what
says, the health-care crunch was already
made the decision at the end of the day.”
being felt.
Dodick says he’s aware some Canadians are
“Every day at 2 p.m. a nurse manager would
critical of doctors who receive first-rate training
come in and say, ‘Sorry, but the rest of your cases
with significant public funding in Canada and
are postponed.’” It wasn’t because of emergencies then move the U.S. But he says Mayo was an
or other medical issues, it was insufficient funding.
opportunity to make the most of his training.
“It was a form of rationing,” he says.
“I went into medicine for many reasons,” he
“At Mayo, that same nurse manager exists,
says. “Foremost among them was to try to advance
but she comes in and says, ‘Things are behind
medicine and make a contribution. I felt Mayo Clinic
schedule, do you need another (operating) room?’ offered me the best opportunity to fulfill that dream.
Their attitude is, how can we help you get these
“When I see people with multiple complex
patients treated? It’s very refreshing.
issues, within two to three days that person can
“I don’t get paid more money if I do more
see specialists in every field necessary. And I’m
surgeries,” he says, anticipating the cynics. “Mayo
learning from people who are the best in their
doctors are on salary. We do more surgeries
fields. There’s nothing like it and we hear that
because that’s what we’re trained to do. It’s a long
from patients every day.”
By BRIAN BURTON
For Dave Balsom, a client at Preventous
Collaborative Health, spending the equivalent
of one-third the cost of an annual vacation on
his health is well worth the investment.
— Wil Andruschak photo
In September 2010 he saw a surgeon
recommended by Preventous who took
one look at a revised X-ray and said:
“Buddy, you’ve got to have this done.”
There’d been so much deterioration since
the previous February (when the last
diagnostic was taken) he was booked for a
full knee replacement in March 2011.
After six weeks of recuperation and
part-time work at home, he returned to the
office with no crutches, walker or cane. “I
am a brand new person. I have no pain,
am on no drugs and have dropped 35
pounds.”
Preventous personnel have also given
Balsom personalized genetic advice
and set him up for age-appropriate
tests, such as a colonoscopy and an
electrocardiogram (EKG). He is on a
low-dose prescription for blood pressure
but because of his new, healthy diet and
exercise regime, his cholesterol level has
dropped without drugs.
For this comprehensive, 24/7 service (the
clinic filed a post-operative prescription for
Balsom after office hours in 15 minutes),
Balsom pays $3,300 per year. “I spend
three times that much on an annual
vacation,” he says. “Why wouldn’t I spend
a third of that on my health?”
Balsom is now in the process of
scheduling a hiking trip to Gros Morne
National Park in Newfoundland. “I
couldn’t have considered this a year ago,”
he explains. He is back cutting his lawn,
strolling painlessly through Costco and
riding a bike.
“I am in better health now than I was at
45,” he admits. “Preventous has changed
my life.”
– CORPORATE PROFILE –
Our goal is to help
people be more
accountable for their
health and become
more educated in
knowing how to start
taking better care of
themselves. They’re
the cornerstones
of who we are.
Preventous founder,
Dr. Rohan Bissoondath
Members of the Preventous team from left, Jayme Middleton, Dr. Rohan Bissoondath, Dr. Sarb Grewal, Georgie Weeks and Dr. Heather Taylor (seated front ).
Preventous combines cutting-edge technology
with tradition to help clients reach peak health
At Preventous Collaborative
Health, the traditional family doctor who
knew your children’s names, and was there
for you day and night, lives on.
“I didn’t like how impersonal the medical
system can be,” says medical director Dr.
Rohan Bissoondath. Bissoondath started
Preventous in 2007 because he saw a
need for a one-stop shop offering strong,
evidence-based family health care in a caring, compassionate manner.
Bissoondath and the rest of the Preventous
family are strong believers in the power of
preventive medicine to help men, women
and children achieve peak health so they
can celebrate their lives long into the future.
“People in Calgary work very hard to create
lives they can be proud of,” says Bissoondath.
“We’re here to help them figure out what they
need to do so that they can fully experience
their lives and be as healthy as possible.”
Preventous works with families, children,
young adults, seniors, athletes, and everyone in
between. They all start out by going through
the Preventous Total Health Assessment.
“You spend time with a physician,
kinesiologist, dietitian, and we assess you
from head to toe. Everything is done on site
— blood work, your ECG, everything that’s
needed. We take two weeks to put it all
together, and we identify your risk factors,
your concerns. We find out where you’re at
today — and why,” says Bissoondath.
The team then puts together a plan
tailored for each person. Progress is
monitored and measured and patients can
quickly start to see results.
You won’t find yourself experiencing
“assembly line” health care at Preventous.
“We give our patients as much time as they
need,” says Bissoondath. “We want people
to start taking ownership of their health,
and we make it easy by listening, advising,
and having everything under one roof.”
Everything includes a travel clinic,
psychological counselling and personal
coaching services, as well as access to the
Centre for Facial Rejuvenation, a Preventous-owned cosmetic medicine clinic that
helps people look as good as they feel.
The Preventous family is 100 per cent
committed to the people and families that
rely on them for medical care. “I don’t think
you’ll find any other clinic that offers full
24/7/365 care the way we do,” says Bissoondath. “If you need something in the middle
of the night, we’re there for our patients.”
Knowing your health risks and how
to avoid problems in the future is key to
staying healthy hence the “prevent” part
of the company name. Bissoondath tells of
seeing a 50-year-old man who had a heart
attack, and in the next examining room sat
a 22-year-old “who was not taking care of
himself — smoking, etc. — and I thought this
is my personal time machine. I just saw his
future in the room next door.
“If we can help this kid avoid that next
room in the next 20 to 30 years, that will
be an accomplishment. Nothing matters if
you’re not healthy.”
To arrange a Total Health Assessment,
call 403-229-0129, drop by the clinic at 1635
17 Ave. S.W. (only two minutes from downtown), or visit preventous.com.
Name:
Preventous Collaborative Health
Location: 1635 17th Ave. S.W.,
Calgary, T2T 0E5
Contact info:
Phone: 403-229-0129
Fax: 403-398-0193
Web: www.Preventous.ca
Services: Providers of insured and uninsured medical services to individuals,
families and corporate clients.
Preventous assesses and maintains total
health and provides collaborative,
preventive health care, with 24/7 access
to family physicians, plus on-site access
to nurses, a registered dietitian, a
kinesiologist and a psychologist.
Options | Fall 2011
9
PROFILE
‘I was relieved that
I was going to be
diagnosed’
By COLLEEN BIONDI
G
Last fall, when his back pain became so unbearable, Irvine-area rancher Graham Good elected to visit Benefis Health System in Great Falls, Mont.
where he received rapid treatment, including surgery, for a massively herniated disc.
— Courtesy, Graham Good
Win the battle.
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General, Bariatric and Laparoscopic Surgery
400 13th Ave. S., Suite 101, Great Falls, Montana
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visit us at www.rohrermd.com
Member of the American Society of Bariatric Surgery & ASMBS
Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence
10
Options | Fall 2011
raham Good, 28,
is in good physical
condition. During the
day he trains horses and raises
cattle on the family ranch 32
kilometres south of Irvine, Alta.
So when he started having back
pain last fall, he was worried.
It started with muscle
spasms. Good went to a walkin clinic and then to his family
doctor. Nothing came up on
an X-ray, so physiotherapy
was recommended. “But the
pain got worse,” says Good.
He went to a chiropractor,
but that failed to help.
“Then I started losing the
use of my right leg,” Good
explains. His family doctor
referred him to an orthopedic
specialist in Medicine Hat.
The appointment was for late
September 2011.
But the pain became
crushing and painkillers
(muscle relaxants and
Tylenol 3s) weren’t working.
So the family doctor gave
him stronger pills and tried
to bump up the specialist
appointment without success.
An appointment was made
to have a private magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI)
scan conducted at Calgary’s
Mayfair Diagnostics.
But the situation got so bad
that Good couldn’t sleep and
he could no longer work. “I
couldn’t stand the pain,” he
states.
He recalled seeing a
newspaper advertisement a
few months previous about
an orthopedic clinic in Great
Falls. He “Googled” that
and up came Benefis Health
System and its Spine Institute.
He called the clinic on June
9 and booked a consultation
(blood work, MRI and time
with the orthopedic surgeon)
for the 15th. “I was relieved that
I was going to be diagnosed,”
he says.
The surgeon confirmed
a “massively herniated”
disc (this is where a spongy
disc squirts out between
the vertebrae and presses
onto nerve roots). He was
very concerned that Good’s
leg, foot and toes were
compromised. The solution
was clear — a discectomy,
which cuts out the herniated
portion of the disc.
Good had the day-surgery
procedure without incident
on June 20. “I felt really good
right after the operation,”
says Good. “My leg pain
was completely gone.” He
returned the next day for
a post-operation consult.
The surgeon admitted the
condition was even worse
than expected; scarring had
begun to take place on the
nerves. Any further delay in
treatment could have resulted
in permanent damage.
Now back on the ranch,
Good is in recovery mode.
He cannot yet put on his
own socks and cannot twist
or bend. “I feel like the Tin
Man. You definitely need
someone to take care of you,”
he admits. Good credits his
family — including his sister
who flew in from Ireland
— in this regard. Next up is
physiotherapy treatment to
strengthen his leg and core
exercises to strengthen his
back. Good returns to work
this month.
Good is grateful to Benefis
staff for looking after him. He
can’t wait to start curling again
this winter, to getting back to
a normal life. “If you are not
satisfied or cannot find results
(for a medical issue) at home,
there are choices,” says Good.
“One would be Benefis.”
The Orthopedic Center of
Montana — a partnership
between the Great Falls
Orthopedic Associates and
Benefis Health System — is
a leader in providing the most
advanced programs, technology
and innovative orthopedic care for
patients throughout Montana.
Orthopedic care
that is centered
on you.
Within this state-of-the-art facility,
the physicians, therapists and
staff provide complete orthopedic
care. Whether you need injury care,
surgery, physical therapy, imaging,
joint replacements, sports medicine
or spine care, you will find it all in one
location at The Orthopedic Center of
Montana.
For unparalleled orthopedic care that
is tailored to your specific needs, call
The Orthopedic Center of Montana
today at 800.648.6646. Ask about our
special Canadian Pricing.
The Orthopedic Center of Montana
800.648.6646 or 406.731.8900
1401 25th Street South
Great Falls, Montana

Options | Fall 2011
11
Swift treatment leads
family to private system
By JACQUELINE LOUIE
N
ineteen-year-old Greta Joy
was playing soccer in a
women’s summer league in
Vancouver this past June, when she
was slide tackled from behind and
her right anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL) snapped.
In mid-July, she had surgery to
repair her knee at Cambie Surgery
Centre, a multi-specialty private
facility in its 15th year of operation in
Vancouver.
“It was really helpful, because I
needed to get the surgery before I
went back to school. Waiting to do
it wouldn’t have been an option — I
wouldn’t have been able to recover
in time to go back to school,” says
Joy, a second-year science student,
who hopes to go into medicine, and
plays on the Western Mustangs, a
varsity athlete women’s soccer team
at the University of Western Ontario.
Because her family sent her to a
private facility for surgery so soon after
the injury, Joy expects she will be able
to play soccer again competitively “after
six months or so” of rehabilitation.
“It’s all about timing,” says Joy’s
mother, Judi Hess. “We tried as hard
as we could to get her an appointment
(in the public health-care system). The
issue the family was facing, however,
was that Joy was due to return to
university in mid-August, and so she
only had a month-and-a-half to get the
surgery done before she had to go
back to Ontario.
“It’s really the uncertainly that
drives you to the private system,” says
Hess. “If we knew when we could
get a surgery date, we could have
gone into the public system. She
thinks the public system does a good
job — “but with the private system
you get in right away and they give
you a date. That’s the reason why
we looked into the private system
www.advancedmri.ca
12
Options | Fall 2011
When Greta Joy was injured playing soccer this summer, waiting wasn’t an option for the busy University of Western Ontario
student. Her family opted to send her to a private facility for surgery.
— Corey Stanford photo
— the speed, picking the expert you
want, and the certainty of knowing.
It needed to be done so quickly to fit
into her schedule and her athletics.
Everything was done very well, with
very good follow-up care. I’m really
grateful that it’s available as an option
and that it’s in Canada.”
Athletes, both amateur and
professional, turn to a private facility
such as Cambie Surgery Centre
for a number of reasons, including
the wait list issue in Canada and the
expedited treatment that private
facilities offer. “And at the elite
international level they come to our
clinic because of our expertise,” says
orthopedic surgeon Dr. Brian Day,
the centre’s medical
director. Cambie Surgery
Centre has treated
some of the world’s
top soccer players and
hockey players; as well
as professional golfers,
basketball players and
hockey players.
Both amateur and
Advanced Medical Imaging Centre
professional athletes go
Our Subspecialized Radiologists will help you solve
to private facilities for
your most challenging diagnostic problems.
two main reasons, Day
notes. First, an injured
MRI Imaging for all types of exams/body parts
athlete needs to get
• Spine
• Abdomen / Pelvis
treated quickly, and
• Vascular
• Arthrography
that’s one of the benefits
• Musculoskeletal
• Breast
that private facilities
• Cartilage Mapping
• Brain
offer. Athletes who are
used to being active
• Interpretation by specialists with dedicated training can suffer significant
focused on your clinical concern
deterioration if they
• Comfortable patient exams
must wait a year or two
• Detailed information for a confident diagnosis
for treatment; those who
• Comprehensive reports
delay treatment could
develop irreversible
damage. Young people
in particular will often
try to play through an
injury while they are
waiting, and could suffer
For more information call
403•541•1200
irreparable harm as a result.
In the case of professional
athletes, there are also economic
reasons. And “in the case of an
amateur high school athlete, it
could be a life changing in terms
of scholarships.” If an elite 16- or
17- year old athlete, hoping to
have their education paid for at
a top U.S. college by an athletic
scholarship, were to become
injured and was put on a one-year
wait list to see a doctor and a oneyear wait list to get the surgery, then
their whole life would be changed,
Day says.
“The bottom line, is that waiting
lists in Canada exist for both
consultations, MRIs and surgical
treatment,” Day says. “And waiting
lists are not compatible with
athletes, because they can’t afford to
be out of their sport either medically
or financially, whether they are
amateur or professional.”
Athletes and members of the
general population alike can benefit
from the team approach taken by
private facilities such as Preventous
Collaborative Health in Calgary.
In its proactive approach to health,
Preventous seeks to prevent injuries
and to condition people, so they’re
more able to handle the stresses
of everyday life,” says medical
director, Dr. Rohan Bissoondath.
“The better shape your core is in,
and the better your balance and
flexibility, the better you’ll be able to
deal with things that come up.”
PROFILE
‘She’s a special little lady
in my life’
By COLLEEN BIONDI
S
ixty-nine years ago Calgarian Carol
Allan was born with a rare and complex
cardiac condition called Tetralogy of
Fallot. Her pulmonary artery was almost
closed and she had a quarter-sized hole in her
heart, causing damaged circulation. She was
what was referred to as a “blue baby,” due
to the colour of her extremities. Her Regina
cardiologist (the family was living in Gull
Lake at the time) recommended a one-year
monitoring period followed by surgery. Even
with intervention, Allan was not expected to
see her 16th birthday.
Since Allan’s condition was so serious, she
was sent to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
at the age of three. The experts said her heart
muscle was too tiny to operate and she should
return a few years later. In the meantime, she
was expected to be quiet and not exert herself.
Even so, she had periods where she couldn’t
breathe well and her heart would race. She
missed a great deal of school.
What followed were two surgeries at the
Mayo. The first was called Blalock surgery,
which took place at the age of seven. This
involved removing the pulse vein in Allan’s left
arm and connecting it to her heart. But Allan’s
condition was too severe and the technology
was not sophisticated enough to work.
The on-site cardiologist sent Allan home and
said the only thing that might help was something
that was still in the research stages — bypass
surgery. Allan was 15 before the procedure was
at a point of readiness for the public. The surgery
opened up the pulmonary artery wide enough to
function. “After the surgery, I became pink,” says
Allan. “I’d never been pink.”
Today, Allan is married, retired from an
administration career and is an avid volunteer
with Canadian Hadassah WIZO and with the
Springboard Centre for adults with moderate
to severe physical disabilities. She exercises,
does weight training and watches her diet (little
coffee, tea, mint or chocolate). She takes Altace
for high blood pressure as a precaution.
The last time she was at the Mayo was in 1964,
for a post-operation check-up. But last fall, she
reconnected with the facility in an amazing and
Born with a rare cardiac condition, Calgarian Carol Allan received two cardiac surgeries at the Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, Minn. when she was seven and 15. Now, several decades later, she is corresponding with a
young girl who has had three cardiac surgeries at the Mayo. The pair have become good friends.
— Wil Andruschak photo
unexpected way. A contact there advised Allan
that a young local girl had taken her third cardiac
surgery at the facility the previous summer. “I
wanted to do something,” says Allan. “So many
people were kind to me when I had my surgeries.”
So Allan sent Alli Szewczynski, who was nine
at the time, the book The Little Engine That
Could. When Allan was a child, this book had
given her hope that she — like the little engine
— was strong enough to make it. Alli sent Allan
a thank you e-mail and asked Allan to be her
pen-pal. So began a marvelous friendship with
correspondence, calls and gift exchanges (Alli
recently sent Allan a birthday gift — a locket
with “Two Friends” etched on it).
Today, Alli is doing well; she is perky, off
her medication and plans to try out for the
part of a mouse in a neighbourhood theatre
production, explains Allan. “She is a special
little lady in my life.”
I was sick of being sick and the worst part was I
didn’t know what was wrong. So I went to Mayo
Clinic. I was seen by eight different specialists in
eight days and I left with a definitive diagnosis.
My answer was Mayo Clinic.
TA M I KO LY L E
West Kelowna, British Columbia
L
ike Tamiko, you have full access to Mayo Clinic’s world-class health care. As a not-for-profit
organization, we have been putting the needs of our patients first for more than 100 years.
Our expert teams of specialists and premier medical facilities are available to you for diagnosis
or treatment of a serious condition, a comprehensive wellness exam, or even a second opinion.
In most cases, a physician referral is not needed. To make an appointment please visit
mayoclinic.org/canada or call 1.888.441.2133.
PHOENIX / SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA
ROCHESTER, MINNESOTA
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA
Options | Fall 2011
13
PROFILE
‘I am happy because
I have no cancer’
By COLLEEN BIONDI
J
ames Van Alstyne is no shrinking violet.
The 58-year-old trains quarter horses
on his farm, just outside of Edson, and
works in highway construction for Ledcor. He
raised four children and has 10 grandchildren.
But last fall, when routine blood work prior
to gall bladder and hernia surgery found an
elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of
26 (borderline is four to 10), Van Alstyne — also
a diabetic — was shocked and concerned. A
biopsy confirmed prostate cancer.
He met with a urologist in Edmonton who
discussed radiotherapy as well as cryogenic
(ablation of tissue that has been frozen), da
Vinci (robotic) and traditional or “open”
surgeries. It would take six months — on
average — to schedule a surgery. He was
advised to go home and think about it. “I have
a good immune system so decided to do the
herbs and vitamins thing and maybe my body
would take care of the cancer,” explains Van
Alstyne. But after three months, his PSA was
14
Options | Fall 2011
at 39 and his Gleason Score (relates to rate of
tumour growth) was seven or aggressive.
Van Alstyne opted for surgery but he didn’t
want to wait. “I was worried it would spread by
then.” A friend told him about Timely Medical
Alternatives and in early April 2011 he phoned
the company in Vancouver.
Timely Medical (which refers patients to
diagnostic and surgical alternatives outside the
public system) recommended the Kalispell
Regional Surgical Center in Montana. Van
Alstyne got in touch and sent his medical
records down for review. They offered to
conduct traditional surgery the following week.
“It took my breath away. I had to think about
that for a second.” In further discussion Van
Alstyne opted for the da Vinci procedure;
it was less invasive and the patient’s healing
time was quicker (it was also $8,000 US more
expensive than traditional surgery). That
surgery was scheduled for May 23.
Once in Kalispell, pre-operation testing
determined that the prostate was, in fact, too
big for da Vinci to work; traditional surgery
was required. Six lymph nodes were removed,
When diagnosed with prostate cancer, James Van Alstyne of Edson, Alta. didn’t want to wait for treatment.
Instead, he opted for surgery at a private facility in Kalispell, Mont.
— Courtesy, James Van Alstyne
the surgeons also removed the gall bladder
and not only repaired the hernia, but located
and repaired a second hernia they found while
operating. Recovery was smooth and the pain
was manageable (Van Alstyne had access to
morphine but took little of it). He was off work
for seven weeks and, after getting a clean bill of
health from his general practitioner in Edson,
returned to the crew on July 11.
Cost for the surgeries was $27,500. Hotel,
flights, car rental and food brought the total
tab to $32,000. Van Alstyne cashed in a few
RRSPs to pay the bill and is applying to
Alberta Health Services (AHS) for a rebate.
His understanding is AHS may pay the
Canadian cost of a similar surgery.
Regardless of any financial rebate, Van
Alstyne is relieved, relaxed and ready to get
his life back. “I am happy because I have no
cancer,” he says. “If you are on a long wait-list
and you want peace of mind, you can find it in
Kalispell.”
MyCare to expand insurance coverage to Mayo Clinic
By BRIAN BURTON
A
s early as this fall, Canadian companies
may be able to buy group insurance
covering all employees for diagnosis
and treatment at the Mayo Clinic.
Assured Diagnosis of Calgary has offered
Mayo-linked MyCare insurance packages to
Canadian individuals and families since April
and is now planning to extend the service to
entire companies, not just executive groups.
“We want to make access to Mayo Clinic
available to the broadest percentage of
Canadians possible,” says Liz Bryant, chief
operating officer of MyCare.
In the 12 weeks (as of Aug. 1) since
announcing their MyCare insurance program
they’ve had extensive, Canada-wide media
coverage, strong traffic on their website (mycare.
ca) and ‘steady’ sales of policies, Bryant says. But
she declines to give sales figures.
“Every indication is that this is something
Canadians value,” she says.
What MyCare offers is coverage for the cost
of remote consultation and second opinions, as
well as for treatment at any one of three Mayo
Clinics (in Rochester, Minn., Phoenix, Ariz. and
Jacksonville, Fla.) should it become necessary
or desired. Basic coverage is up to $500,000 per
person or $1 million per family for diagnosis
and treatment, with non-smokers’ premiums of
$33.83 per month for a single person under 40
and $68.83 per month for a family. Non-smokers
40-49 see premiums of $51.55 for a single person
and $102.67 per family. (Single smoker under
40 — $57.16 per month.) For an additional cost,
MyCare Advantage extends coverage to $1
million per person and $2 million per family.
Both plans specifically exclude previously
existing conditions.
“Canada has excellent physicians,” says
Bryant, herself a Canadian. But timely access
to diagnosis and treatment has become
increasingly difficult in Canada’s publicly
funded health-care system (see Wait Times,
page 4). And she says second opinions are
always valuable.
Bryant says Jim Viccars, CEO of Assured
Diagnosis and a long-time admirer of Mayo
Clinic, launched the effort to create MyCare after
the death of a close family friend in May 2009.
The friend, whom she refers to only as Terry,
had become increasingly ill, losing 60 pounds in
five months as he waited through various rounds
of diagnostics in the Saskatchewan health-care
system. After five months without a diagnosis he
contacted Viccars to discuss going to Mayo but
decided to give the Saskatchewan system more
time. Finally, after eight months, he decided to go
to Mayo’s Rochester facility but was deemed too
ill to fly. Instead, he travelled by car and train. He
checked into a hotel in Rochester, with diagnostic
appointments for the next day, but died in his
hotel room that night.
Some 23 months later, the MyCare program
was launched with the full support of Mayo
Clinic. Bryant says MyCare has received a
legal opinion that their insurance package does
not contravene the Canada Health Act and is
consistent with a 2005 Supreme Court of Canada
ruling that said “… in some serious cases, patients
die as a result of waiting lists for public health
care” and that “access to a waiting list is not access
to health care.” The ruling further explicitly said
that evidence indicates private insurance for
services covered by the Canada Health Act does
not undermine the public system.
Bryant says work is currently under way
with insurers to construct a group package
similar to MyCare that will be affordable for
employee groups.
She says that before MyCare, some 25 per
cent of Mayo patients came from Canada and
notes that when Mayo created a numbered
In some serious cases,
patients die as a result of
waiting lists for public
health care.
patient identification system, patient number
one was a Canadian.
In a YouTube video, Dr. David Hayes, a
Mayo cardiologist and director of international
services, says Mayo’s objective in working with
MyCare is to “extend its reach to Canadian
patients” by making diagnostic services and
treatment affordable to more people. Hays
says Mayo Clinic’s objective is to work with
Canadian physicians to “become an extension
of your care.”
Bryant said many of the calls to her office are
from Canadian doctors interested in passing
on MyCare information to patients, as well as
from companies inquiring about group plans.
So far, she reports, no one has made a claim for
service under MyCare coverage.
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Options | Fall 2011
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