January 2010

Dear Reader,

The beginning of the New Year is an ideal time to gain practical new skills and knowledge. It is also the perfect time to start preparing for this year’s upcoming changes, such as HCAI and the new legislature.

We are excited to announce that Antibex is developing classroom training programs that will introduce you to powerful features of Universal Office, including the completion of OCF-18s, OCF-21s, and OCF-22s; as well as the tracking of Adjuster Responses, IEs, and other important due dates. In addition, the group training sessions will cover completing Extended Health Insurance Claim Forms, recording benefits schedules, tracking maximum coverage, and working with WSIB program of care files. Finally, there will be training seminars designed to provide you with practical knowledge about topics such as SABS and HCAI.

In our future newsletters, we will keep you informed with a list of available classroom programs. Meanwhile, we would appreciate your feedback about the topics that interest you, as well as your availability (both days and times) throughout the week. Please forward your emails to seminars@antibex.com.

Table of Contents

HEALTH INDUSTRY NEWS

1. A Critical Review of Not-At-Fault Claims
2. Outpatient physiotherapy program cut from the budget
3. Saskatchewan faces a shortage of occupational therapists
4. PEI struggles to find physiotherapists
5. Comfort from home: Chiropractors send pillows to Canadian troops in Afghanistan

When it comes to compensating not-at-fault property damage claims in Canada, most provinces follow a third-party model. However, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick follow a first-party model. Essentially, this means that Ontario insurers cover their own insured for not-at-fault vehicular claims. While the first-party model improves the speed and cost of claims, it also increases the costs of premiums for all insured. It is important to note that in a first-party system, there is room for insurance companies to gain a competitive edge by classifying the riskiness of insured correctly.

The North Simcoe Hospital Alliance (NSHA) entered 2010 with a 1.6-million deficit and a dramatic cost-cutting plan. This plan included the elimination of outpatient physiotherapy and occupational therapy programs, and the outsourcing of these services to community-based providers.

» Read full story

Saskatchewan is lagging behind its neighbours with a significantly lower number of occupational therapists per capita. In the Canadian Institute of Health Information’s annual report on occupational therapy, Saskatchewan had a mere 24 occupational therapists per 100, 000 people, compared to a nation-wide average of 38 per 100,000. Although the number of registered occupational therapists in Saskatchewan increased by 5.3% from 2006 to 2008, this was lower than the national increase of 6.8%.

At the end of 2008, the Canadian Institute of Health Information released its annual report on physiotherapy. It identified PEI as the province with the least physiotherapists, at 38 per 100,000 population compared to the nationwide average of 51. Some areas, such as West Prince, do not have any physiotherapists at all. Patients often resort to commuting to a nearby city to receive treatment.

When Cpl. James Arnal used to return to his post, he always brought back pillows from home. This everyday item was a luxury for the Canadian troops in the harsh desert conditions of Afghanistan. When Cpl. Arnal was killed by a roadside bomb in July 2008, his former employer decided to commemorate his service by starting a pillow donation fund.

» Read full story