DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/pnrxwj/human_resources_ma) has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new book "Human Resources Management for Health Care Organizations: A Strategic Approach" to their offering.

This book is a comprehensive guide to the essential areas of health care human resources management, and is an immediately useful practical handbook for practitioners as well as a textbook for use health care management programs. Written by the authors of Handbook for the New Health Care Manager and Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, the book covers the context of human resources management in the unique health care business arena from a strategic perspective includes SHRM and human resources planning, organizational culture and assessment, and the legal environment of human resources management. Managing volunteers and job analysis performance appraisal instruments, training and development programs, and recruitment, targeted selection and hiring techniques are covered. Compensation poli?cies and practices, employer-provided benefits management, implementation of training and organizational development programs, as well as labor-management relations for health care organizations and health care human resource information technology are covered, with practical examples and proven strategies amply provided in each chapter.

Key Topics Covered:

Chapter 1: Introduction to Health Care Human Resources Management

Chapter 2: Strategic Health Care Human Resources Management and Planning

Chapter 3: Organizational Culture Standards for Health Care Human Resources

Chapter 4: Equal Employment Opportunity Laws and Health Care Human Resources Management

Chapter 5: Managing the Unique Health Care Workforce

Chapter 6: The Importance of Volunteers in Health Care Organizations

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Research and Markets: Human Resources Management for Health Care Organizations: A Strategic Approach

As the June deadline nears for the Supreme Court’s decision on health care, two recent reports show how the decision could have a direct effect on President Barack Obama’s election.

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Why health care could determine the next president

Two recent news stories point out that with or without the health care reform law health care in the United States still needs to be reformed.

The first story concludes that, if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down President Barack Obamas reform law, employers will take it upon themselves to make their own reforms.

What that means is employers will continue to seek lower-cost health insurance plans and ways to shift costs to their employees.

The plans that employers will offer will cost employees more in premiums, deductibles and co-pays, while covering less of the cost of care. In particular, more employers will move to high-deductible plans.

Some may provide accounts that cover all or part of an employees deductible, but employer funding of those accounts is becoming less common.

Monetary penalties for smokers will expand to include the overweight and those with troublesome scores on cholesterol and other tests.

The second story is about a study that showed more people, in Wisconsin and around the nation, are forgoing health care they need because it costs too much.

In Wisconsin, 13 percent said they didnt get care because of the cost in 2010, up from 8.5 percent in 2000.

In the nation, the figure was 18.7 percent in 2010, up from 12.7 percent in 2000.

The sum of the stories is that health care with or without the current reform law will cost people more, sometimes much more.

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Health care still needs reform

By Shannon Brown / current.com

While the Obama administration waits for a Supreme Court ruling on its signature health care plan, the Republican opposition in the House and Senate is readying a replacement" act if the court strikes down all or part of the so-called Obamacare" reforms.

Even if the Supreme Court allows the health care laws to stand as they are, GOP House Speaker John Boehner is committed to repealing all provisions of the bill, even some of the options most popular with the public, says The Hills Sam Baker:

If the court upholds the entire law or only throws out the mandate, Republicans will have to decide how to handle its politically popular provisions, including the policy that bars insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

Conservatives are lobbying their colleagues to avoid the temptation of leaving popular elements in place. Boehner made clear on Thursday that hes committed to full repeal.

At Talking Points Memo, Brian Beutler points out that Boehners hard-line stance is far from universally popular, and that some in the Republican party fear being held responsible for the dissolution of popular provisions such as allowing young people to remain on their parents health-insurance plans past college age as well as the return of harsh and highly criticized industry practices, including the discrimination against pre-existing conditions:

Recent reporting by both The New York Times and Politico suggests the GOP congressional leadership might try to mitigate the political liabilities of HCR being overturned by introducing piecemeal legislation to reinstitute popular pieces of the law provisions banning discrimination, and allowing children to be covered by their parents health benefits until theyre 26. But that creates a host of new practical and political problems for the GOP.

The biggest practical problem is that many of the popular provisions of the law are only affordable and effective in conjunction with the unpopular provisions. That leaves Republicans on the wrong side of insurers and other stakeholders all of whom know that the consumer protections in the ACA are only possible if people are required to carry health insurance.

Politicos Jake Sherman says that the high stakes and the highly personal nature of health care reform have driven a wedge in factions of the Republican party and have driven some of the objections to Boehners plans underground and behind the scenes:

Rather than sending out news releases or rushing to cable TV for a rant, conservatives blasted House Republican leadership on a private Google email group called The Repeal Coalition. The group is chock-full of think tank types, some Republican leadership staffers, health care policy staffers and conservative activists, according to sources in the group.

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GOP health care plan: A bridge to nowhere

Published: Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 10:07 p.m. Last Modified: Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 10:07 p.m.

BARTOW | Polk County's volunteer medical clinics and other programs receiving indigent-care funding from the county are treating an increasing number of patients.

That growth illustrates the unceasing need for health care countywide.

Data on patients and treatment costs, presented at Friday's Citizens Oversight Committee meeting, gives the COC added guidance in determining where money from Polk's indigent-care sales tax should be spent to help meet some of the need.

This is the first time COC members have seen unduplicated patient numbers in this format, said Jan Howell, who directs the Polk HealthCare Plan. That plan is a core element of the county's effort to help county residents who lack health insurance.

Consideration of those numbers was part of a larger discussion on different ways in which the county now spends money from the half-cent indigent care sales tax.

In 2010-11, 7,892 patients were treated at five free clinics and at Central Florida Health Care, which sees some county funded patients and charges others on a sliding fee scale.

In the first six months of this fiscal year, the patient total for those programs reached 6,100 and is continuing to grow. The Haley Center in Winter Haven and Angels Care Center of Eloise already have exceeded their numbers from all of 2010-11.

When other programs getting tax dollars are added to the mixture, the total number of unduplicated patients seen at these programs was 12,722 in 2010-11 and already was at 10,041 in the first six months of this fiscal year. (Those numbers include the free clinics and Central Florida Health Care.)

Added to that, the Polk HealthCare Plan has paid for treatment given 8,015 patients from Oct. 1, 2011, into April of this year.

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Polk's Medical Clinics Treating More Patients

How organizations will work

Under an accountable care organization, insurers will track how patients fare, and compare the outcome to how they would have been expected to fare under the traditional system. If the new organization saves money, it will get a share. Wellmark leaders say it plans to give up to 75 percent of savings to health care providers, who also will be measured on patient satisfaction scores gleaned from surveys. At first, hospitals and doctors wont face much financial risk for participating. But over time, they could have fewer patients filling hospital beds and undergoing expensive procedures. Eventually, insurers are expected to pay a set amount for a large group of patients, then let the accountable care organization figure out how to provide effective care for that money. The patients would be free to go elsewhere for care, which the accountable care organization would have to finance. Supporters of the idea say that would give the organizations a huge incentive to make sure their patients are pleased.

WHAT THEY ARE: A new way of paying hospitals, doctors and other health care providers based in part on how their patients fare. WHAT THEY MEAN FOR PATIENTS: You wont necessarily be notified that your care is being provided by an accountable care organization. Youll remain free to switch doctors or go directly to specialists. Patients with chronic conditions will most likely be affected first. THE GOAL: Reward hospitals and doctors for improving patients health, which would translate into fewer hospitalizations and lower costs. CRITICISMS: The new organizations will accelerate consolidation of independent doctors practices into large medical systems, which would reduce competition and patient choice.

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New health care payment system links costs, patients' outcomes

Health-care bills taking a swipe and President Obama's health-care program passed the Missouri legislature this week. One allows employers to refuse health insurance for birth control; the other would let voters decide whether to allow the creation of a health-insurance exchange.

By David A. Lieb,Associated Press / May 19, 2012

Missouri'sRepublican-led Legislature registered its discontent with President Barack Obama'shealthcarepolicies Friday during an otherwise uneventful final day of a legislative session in which lawmakers settled for the doable instead of the ideal on their education and business priorities.

Legislators sent the governor a bill stating that employers can refuse to providehealthinsurance for birth control a measure meant as a slap against an Obama administration policy requiring insurers to cover contraception at no additional cost to women working at certain religious-affiliated institutions.

A separate measure also passed Friday will askMissourivoters later this year whether to restrict the creation of ahealthinsurance exchange, another Obama initiative.

The session ended at 6 p.m. Friday without passage of several education and pro-business proposals touted by Republican leaders when they began work in January. But legislative leaders, as is typical, still declared the session a success, noting that, in an election year, they were able to reach compromises that led to the passage of a $24 billion budget, an expansion of authority for charter schools and a tweak of the state's workers' compensation system, among other things.

"For theMissouriHouse, it was promises made and promises kept. We're very happy with our success," said House Majority Leader Tim Jones, R-Eureka.

Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon noted many of his budget priorities prevailed but expressed disappointment that lawmakers failed to expand incentives for businesses that supply parts to automobile manufacturers.

When the session began, some Republican legislative leaders outlined an aggressive education agenda to overhaul the state's school funding formula, expand charter schools, pare back teacher tenure protections, authorize tax breaks so children in failing schools could attend private schools, and eliminate a two-year waiting period before the state could intervene in unaccredited schools such as the Kansas City School District. The charter school bill was the only item to pass.

The Legislature's pro-business agenda also was left partly unfulfilled. Lawmakers sent the governor a bill prohibiting employees from suing co-workers for injuries covered by the workers' compensation cases. But Nixon vetoed other workers' compensation changes, as well as a Republican-backed bill that would have made it harder for employees to win workplace discrimination cases. Divisions between the House and Senate again scuttled bills to create new incentives for businesses or scale back the state's existing tax credits.

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Health-care protest bills get Missouri OK

BOSTON Couples retiring this year can expect their medical bills throughout retirement to cost 4 percent more than those who retired a year ago, according to an annual projection released this month by Fidelity Investments.

The estimated $240,000 that a newly retired couple will need to cover health-care expenses reflects the typical pattern of projected annual increases. The Boston-based company cut the estimate for the first time last year, citing President Obamas health-care overhaul. Medicare changes resulting from that plan are expected to gradually reduce many seniors out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs.

But Fidelity says overall health-care cost trends are on the rise again, so its raising its cost estimate from last years $230,000 figure.

As long as health-care cost trends exceed personal income growth and economic growth, health care will still be a growing burden for the country as a whole and for individuals, says Sunit Patel, a senior vice president for benefits consulting at Fidelity, and an actuary who helped calculate the estimate.

However, this years 4 percent rise is relatively modest. Annual increases have averaged 6 percent since Fidelity made its initial $160,000 calculation in 2002.

The projections are part of Fidelitys benefits consulting business. The study is based on projections for a 65-year-old couple retiring this year with Medicare coverage. The estimate factors in the federal programs premiums, co-payments and deductibles, as well as out-of-pocket prescription costs. The study assumes that the couple does not have insurance from their former employers, and a life expectancy of 85 for women and 82 for men. The estimate doesnt factor in most dental services, or long-term care, such as the cost of living in a nursing home.

This years estimate could change significantly. Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to strike down part or all of the 2010 health-care law, including its centerpiece requirement that nearly all Americans carry insurance or pay a penalty.

Fidelitys finding of a 4 percent increase in long-term medical costs for retirees is in line with recent data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute, said Paul Fronstin, director of health research and education for the private nonprofit organization.

In its latest annual estimate, released last August, EBRI projected that a couple with median drug expenses meaning half of the population would have higher, and half lower would need $166,000 for a 50 percent chance of having saved enough to cover health care expenses in retirement. Theyd need $287,000 for a 90 percent chance.

The findings illustrate the importance of factoring in health care alongside housing, food and other expenses in retirement planning. Its a fixed liability for the majority of folks, Patel says.

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Retired couples may need $240,000 for health care

As reform drives health-care systems to get bigger and more complex, salaries of top executives are growing with them.

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Health-care's top executive salaries increase with complexity of system

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Lauren Burr has only a couple of weeks left as a college student.

Then, after graduating with a bachelor's degree in education from Ohio University, she'll move back in with her parents in Perry and look for substitute teaching jobs until she finds a long-term position. Subbing has no fringe benefits, but Burr, 23, can count on having health insurance through her father's plan at work.

Or so she hopes.

Like other graduating seniors, Burr joins a cadre of young Americans who lack jobs and rely on President Barack Obama's signature achievement, known by all sides as Obamacare, for their health care. Young adults who lack health insurance are assured of coverage under their parents' plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. By the end of 2011, 2.5 million young adults -- 81,922 of them in Ohio -- had obtained coverage that way, the White House says.

But the U.S. Supreme Court could strike down the health care law when it rules on a constitutional challenge, probably in June. The law is unpopular in Ohio, polling shows, and Ohio voters have already said through a ballot initiative that they want to invalidate its mandate for nearly everyone to get health insurance.

Yet its proposed cancellation has the potential to anger young adults, an important voting bloc for Obama in November.

Young voters helped elect Obama in 2008, but their enthusiasm for the Democrat has waned somewhat since then, a result of liberal disappointment with the slow pace of change and a likely overall disappointment with the economy, says Peter L. Levine, an authority on youth voting who directs Tufts University's center on civic learning and engagement.

"A Supreme Court decision could draw attention to what the health care reform means to young people tangibly and thus strengthen support for the president," Levine says.

Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a national co-chairman of the president's re-election campaign, says this is a "very significant issue, because these kids are getting out of college and some of them are not going to have jobs."

Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics does not have data limited only to recent college graduates, the current national unemployment rate for people under age 25 is 16.4 percent, or more than double the rate for the general population.

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Supreme Court decision on federal health care law could fire up young voters

With schools hurting due to the tough economy and state education cuts, a reckoning may be fast approaching for the Northeast Pennsylvania School Districts Health Trust, the group of area public school entities pooled together to increase health care bargaining power.

In a cost-saving effort, at least three school districts within the trust are signaling their intent to pull out next year, and more are considering it. Some school administrators complain that because the 11 members all have different health care requirements for their employees, the trust is not able to accurately calculate premiums, forcing some members to pay more than they spend and forcing some taxpayers to subsidize districts outside their own.

They also say that because the unions are happy with their current health care arrangement and have equal voting power with management on the trust's board, the trust has little motivation to find a better deal, which would in turn save taxpayers money.

"It's like an onion," said Jim McGovern, Lake-Lehman School District superintendent. "There are so many layers you have to get through to make change."

Seeking more autonomy and saying it could save $1 million, Lake-Lehman announced its intent to leave the trust last week. Administrators from Hanover Area and Northwest Area school districts have also said they will give their one-year notice, pending school board approval. And Hal Bloss, the executive director of the Luzerne Intermediate Unit 18, said the Kingston-based LIU may also submit its notice, but won't do so without union approval.

The goal for some of the members is not necessarily to leave, but rather to put pressure on the trust to more aggressively negotiate for better rates while still keeping the door open for a departure, administrators from those schools say.

"The best case scenario is that we stay in," Northwest Area Superintendent Ronald Grevera said.

Andy Marko, executive director of the trust and former superintendent of the Wyoming Valley West school district, denied claims the trust wasn't already searching for the best rates.

"It has worked for them. It has always worked for them," Marko said.

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Fractured health care trust reeling

One of the biggest drivers of municipal budgets each year is the rapid rise in annual health care costs. In an attempt to slow this rising expense, Manchester officials are asking employees to pay more for their insurance, take better care of themselves and go to less expensive doctors.

Last fiscal year, Manchester paid a total of $44 million in health insurance claims. Of that, $19.5 million was on the city side, a 16 percent increase from the previous year, according to information from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield New Hampshire. The city paid out about $6,000 per member last year, which includes employees and their families. This amount is 14 percent higher than the norm for Anthem customers in New Hampshire.

The city of Nashua, by comparison, paid out $25 million for employee health insurance. Nashua's health care costs rose about 6 percent last year. A projected 11 percent increase was avoided by implementing health care changes that included a 10 percent increase to premium-cost sharing and changes in plan design that introduced deductibles and slightly increased co-pays.

According to Anthem, Manchester offers a very robust plan and pays a higher percentage of their employees' health insurance benefits than any other city or company in Anthem's New Hampshire book of business.

These statistics are why the city pushed so hard to get concessions on health care costs from unions this year. These concessions have freed up millions in vital funds during the city's first budget under the tax cap, but officials are still looking for ways to manage rising costs in the long term. Officials are also looking to programs that encourage employees to live healthier and shop for better deals for common medical procedures.

Making choices

An Anthem study of city employee insurance claims last fiscal year showed that 25 percent of emergency room visits could have been treated in another setting and 52 percent of claims were related to lifestyle issues, including overeating or smoking.

In Nashua, programs were started to address some of the issues that contribute to increased health care costs. An annual wellness fair provides city employees with a variety of information on diet and healthy living. Cholesterol testing, blood pressure reading and other screenings are available at the event.

Lunch and Learn events educate people in an informal setting. Walking programs and a program that contributes to the cost of joining weight watchers are two more services offered in Nashua to address specific concerns.

Manchester hosts annual health initiatives to get employees to exercise more, and for the past two years it has offered employees cash incentives through the COMPASS Smart Shopper if they opt to go to a less expensive provider for more than 40 common procedures whose costs can vary by thousands of dollars.

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Taxpayers share burden of health care costs

15-05-2012 14:25 President Obama delivers remarks at an annual ceremony honoring law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty in the previous year. May 15, 2012.

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President Obama Speaks at the National Peace Officers' Memorial Service - Video

by Dr. Jon Hallberg, Minnesota Public Radio

May 16, 2012

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ST. PAUL, Minn. Palliative care is an approved medical subspecialty that's present in 85 percent of larger hospitals. But a new survey in the Journal of Palliative Medicine shows that many patients and health care professionals are still confused about the concept. Many even confuse palliative care with euthanasia.

MPR's medical analyst Dr. Jon Hallberg discussed the concept of palliative care with Tom Crann of All Things Considered on Wednesday. Hallberg is a physician in family medicine at the University of Minnesota and medical director of the Mill City Clinic.

An edited transcript of that discussion is below.

Crann: What is palliative care?

Hallberg: The World Health Organization puts it this way, it says that palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families when they're facing problems associated with life-threatening illnesses.

Crann: What sort of treatments are we talking about?

Hallberg: I think the thing we all think about immediately is pain control...But it also might include being very short of breath, being very aware of that, and so managing that as well.

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Dr. Jon Hallberg: Clearing up confusion about palliative health care

South Dakota received $5.8 million on Wednesday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help cover the costs of implementing a state-run health insurance exchange program.

But as far as Gov. Dennis Daugaard is concerned, the money doesnt change anything in terms of his opposition to health-care reform.

Daugaard released a statement Wednesday saying that South Dakota has not decided whether to pursue a state-run health insurance exchange. The governor said the grant announcement has no effect on the states decision to wait until the U.S. Supreme Court makes a decision regarding the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

South Dakota is one of 26 states challenging the act, a case pending before the Supreme Court. A decision is expected in June.

Under the Affordable Care Act, all states are required to have a blueprint for their individual state plan by Nov. 16. Exchanges are competitive marketplaces where individuals and businesses can access health insurance at affordable prices, according to the HHS. Under the act, all Americans eventually will be required to acquire health insurance.

Under the act, states can create a state plan or design a joint state/federal plan. If they do not create their own by Nov. 16, a federal plan can be implemented and operated for them.

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday that 34 states already have begun creating the exchanges. Other states are making real progress, she said.

Sebelius said the federal government doesnt want to run the exchanges.

We start with the premise we want every state to operate their own, said Sebelius, adding that the $181 million in grant money for six states announced Wednesday is designed to help them do that.

Daugaard previously has said that he never wants to see a federal plan in South Dakota. Yet some experts believe that is exactly what could happen for states that do not begin planning soon.

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State receives health care grant; plans to wait

Obama signs the health care law in 2010.

If the Supreme Court doesnt scrap President Obamas landmark health care law, the effects for LGBT people are legion. On prevention alone, the HealthCare.gov website lists more than 80 types of free tests, immunizations, and other preventive measures.But all that complexity boils down into one simple piece of advice.

Go to the doctor, emphasizes Kellan Baker, a health policy analyst with the Center for American Progress, which teamed up with the National Coalition for LGBT Health to write a 31-page report titled What Health Care Reform Means for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Americans. A lot of LGBT people often dont feel comfortable going to the doctor, says Baker, a coauthor of the report. The medical profession has a checkered history with LGBT patients, but staying home is like staying in the closet, and Baker warns, When you catch something later, its worse.

LGBT people suffer higher rates of some cancers, often because of their disproportionate rate of smoking. Discrimination and other stresses put gay people at increased risk for mental health problems, which the new law also targets with screenings.

The Affordable Care Act established a task force whose job it is to grade new preventive procedures on their effectiveness. Anything getting an A or B becomes mandatory for insurers to cover without co-pay.

The government is mandating that preventive care be essentially free because it saves so much money in the long run. Estimates are that investing $1 in prevention returns savings of $5.60 over time, and thats part of the purpose of the Affordable Care Act, Baker says, to turn the sick care system into a health care system.

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How the Health Care Law Offers an Ounce of Prevention

The Missouri House approved legislation Wednesday that would allow health care workers, medical centers and others to refuse to provide contraception or carry out procedures that violate their religious or ethical beliefs.

Doctors, nurses and other medical workers could not be punished or discriminated against if they refuse to participate in abortions, embryonic stem-cell research or other procedures. Employers and health plan sponsors could not be forced to provide coverage for abortion, contraception or sterilization procedures, and pharmacies would not be required to stock particular medication or devices.

The House passed the measure 117-37, and it now returns to the state Senate where lawmakers either can accept the House's proposal or request negotiations. To send the legislation to Gov. Jay Nixon, both chambers must approve the same version of the bill. Time is running short before the Legislature's mandatory adjournment at 6 p.m. Friday.

House Majority Leader Tim Jones said religious and conscience rights are a "bedrock" principle that Missourians demand be protected.

"This is a comprehensive bill that goes far to protect religious freedoms and liberties and conscious rights of workers across this entire state," said Jones, R-Eureka. "Why you would not want to support this is beyond me."

Most of the opposition in the House came from Democratic lawmakers representing districts near St. Louis and Kansas City who argued the legislation would inhibit access to health care for some Missourians. Several opponents said it seemed the measure was aimed particularly at birth control.

Rep. Stacey Newman, D-St. Louis, said the medical procedures at issue in the legislation would affect women most directly. Speaking with a male opponent of the measure, Newman said "You will be putting your stamp on what you think I should be doing and also deciding if your religious beliefs will supersede my religious beliefs and my moral convictions."

Rep. Sandy Crawford, who sponsored the legislation in the House, said she would be horrified if she had to participate in some of the medical procedures covered by the measure. Crawford, R-Buffalo, added nothing would stop Missouri women from purchasing birth control on their own if their insurance did not cover it.

House members folded several pieces into the health care legislation.

The conscious objections for medical workers would shield employees from termination, suspension, demotion and loss wages if they invoke it. Health care institutions such as hospitals, clinics and medical or nursing schools also could refuse to perform procedures to which it has moral objections.

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Missouri House endorses health care legislation

Canadians don’t think shovelling money into our ailing health-care system is necessarily a cure.

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Clancy: Unhealthy obsession with big spending

2012 CSQI shows progress in Ontario's cancer system but more needs to be done

TORONTO, May 16, 2012 /CNW/ - The Cancer Quality Council of Ontario's eighth annual Cancer System Quality Index (CSQI), released today, shows that while Ontario's cancer system has seen substantial improvement over nearly 10 years, there's more that needs to be done.

A North American first, launched in 2005, the CSQI is a web-based public reporting tool that enables the Cancer Quality Council of Ontario (CQCO) to track the quality and consistency of key cancer services delivered across Ontario's cancer system, from prevention through to end-of-life care. It is one of the most comprehensive reports of its kind in terms of its breadth of measurement, jurisdictional comparisons and international benchmarks.

"We've taken significant steps, with the help of our dedicated partners, to improve cancer care in Ontario and ensure better outcomes for patients. I'm pleased with the progress we've made to increase survival rates but I know we have more work to do to prevent cancer and to provide the highest quality of care for those living with cancer," said Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

"When it comes to cancer in Ontario, we are measuring more, we know more, and we are taking the quality of the cancer system seriously while ensuring accountability for improvement," said Dr. Robert Bell, Chair of the CQCO and President and CEO, University Health Network. "While we have made gains, there are approximately 72,000 new cancer diagnoses anticipated in the province this year alone. There's more that needs to be done to ensure that Ontarians continue to receive a high level of care and the best experience possible when going through the cancer system."

The report also indicates that because the cancer survival rate in Ontario is favourably high and high compared to international jurisdictions, Ontarians are living longer with cancer as a chronic disease. Results from this year's report show that the Ontario cancer system needs to focus on the quality of life of survivors, both during and after active treatment. This includes a need to continue to improve patient-centred care, especially in relation to measuring the patient experience. It also requires seamless integration of services across the health system to achieve greater efficiency without compromising quality of care.

"At Cancer Care Ontario our vision is to work with our partners to create the best health systems in the world. A great deal has been achieved in improving quality, performance and access to care within the cancer system for the people of Ontario," said Michael Sherar, President and CEO, Cancer Care Ontario. "This year's CSQI highlights an opportunity for us to increase our efforts in prevention of cancer, and to drive the delivery of more patient-centred, integrated care while getting greater value from every health dollar we spend to help ensure a sustainable health system for all Ontarians."

The 2012 CSQI measures a total of 32 indicators. Visit http://www.csqi.on.ca to review all the indicators and this year's interactive report.

About the Cancer Quality Council of Ontario The Cancer Quality Council of Ontario (CQCO) is an advisory group established in 2002 by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) and is quasi-independent to Cancer Care Ontario (CCO), set up to provide advice to CCO and the MOHLTC in their efforts to improve the quality of cancer care in the province. The Council is composed of healthcare providers, cancer survivors, and experts in the areas of oncology, policy, performance measurement and health services research. The CQCO has a mandate to monitor and report publicly on the performance of the Ontario cancer system and to motivate improvement through national and international benchmarking. For more information on the CQCO, visit http://www.cqco.ca.

Backgrounder - http://www.cqco.ca/common/pages/UserFile.aspx?fileId=133011

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Health Care Improving For Ontario Cancer Patients

Canada Health Infoway announces recipients of ImagineNation Outcomes Challenge Trailblazer Awards

TORONTO, May 16, 2012 /CNW/ - Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) today announced the recipients of the Trailblazer Awards, as part of the ongoing ImagineNation Outcomes Challenge.

"Innovation is about translating great ideas into results," said Richard Alvarez, President and CEO of Canada Health Infoway. "With the Trailblazer Awards, we are recognizing teams that not only have innovative e-solutions, but also have creative, practical plans to extend the use of their solutions for the benefit of the patients, clinicians and others."

Participating teams submitted a video describing how they use an innovative e-solution to provide value to clinicians and patients, as well as a written plan outlining actions they will take to increase the volume of use and the number of users of their solution.

There are four categories in the Challenge:

Trailblazer Award Recipients

The top three teams in each of the four categories were selected by a panel of more than 30 judges from across Canada. The award recipients are:

e-Scheduling

1st place: University of British Columbia Student Health Service (Vancouver, BC) 2nd place: Uptown Family Health Team (Richmond Hill, ON) 3rd place: Westmount Square Medical Center (Montreal, QC)

Patient Access to Health Information

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Innovative health care e-solutions recognized