Alberta Consumers' Association Investigative Reports
An important part of the work that
we do results in reports. A number of these have been included here. These files
are in PDF format and can be read using the
Adobe Reader
which can be obtained free of charge from
their website.
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Taking Stock (1996) An easy to read 36 page report on how healthcare
costs were shifted to individuals, families, and employer sponsored benefit
plans as care moved out of hospitals during the early 1990s. Many "real person"
examples.
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The Consumer Experience with
Cataract Surgery and Private Clinics in Alberta: Canada's Canary in the Mine
Shaft (2000) Will more reliance on private healthcare facilities,
private insurance options, and people paying out of pocket for procedures
shorten waiting lists, reduce costs and make costs and quality of care more
sustainable? This in-depth 100 page report delves into Alberta's 30 year history
of proliferating private surgery clinics to find answers. It documents how the
growth of private surgical clinics and private payment options affected the
price and wait for cataract patients and the very nature of our healthcare
system today.
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Eldercare - On the Auction Block (2002) Confused and bewildered by
terms such as "Assisted Living" and "Aging in Place"? Read this 36 page report
to understand the new language and realities facing baby-boomers and their
children.
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Report, Privacy and Health Information (2002) A report based on focus
groups with Canadians on secondary uses of personal health information. This included
an Alberta focus group session conducted by the Alberta Consumers' Association.
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Consumer Representatives - Linking
Them to Consumers (2003) A revealing look at the challenges facing
consumer groups today and the changing definition of "public" or "consumer"
representation in public policy making.
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Who's Minding the Store? Emerging
Consumer Issues in New Private Medical Markets
Over the past decade, more and more Canadians have been choosing to undergo
laser eye surgery, an invasive, discretionary medical procedure, as an
alternative to wearing contact lenses or glasses. Media coverage of life
changing outcomes, both good and bad, has been extensive, adding to a polarized
debate between service providers, who argue there is little risk when the
surgery is done correctly and consumer advocates, who argue that the risks are
being whitewashed. This debate, while worthy of study in and of itself, given
that approximately one half of Canadians will need some sort of visual aid
during their lives, is of even greater importance as a test case of the
implications of greater privatization and commercialization of medical services
in Canada. What lessons can be learned from ten years of experience in this
sector?
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