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Foundation - The Line Forms Here - e-Activist Channels Patient Frustration to Politicians
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The Line Forms Here
e-activist channels patient frustration to politicians
Dennis Jeanes
Special to the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation
Toronto, ON
All too often, orthopaedic surgeons and clinic staff are on the receiving end when patients decide to vent their pent-up feelings about lengthy wait times and poor access to medications and medical devices. So COA members will be relieved to know that a new service on the Foundations web site should take some of the pressure off.
Thanks to a license for E-Activist, donated by AstraZeneca, you now have somewhere to send irate and upset patients thats positively therapeutic. Just direct them to the Foundations new home page.
Note: COA members can direct their patients to advocacy on-line with confidence because the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundations Privacy Policy protects you and your patients. As per our Privacy Policy, we will not sell, barter, trade or give away personal information to third parties.
Its been really frustrating, says Foundation President Dr. Paul Wright. All we could tell our patients was to call their MPP, which wasnt very effective. Now we have a mechanism for them to channel their displeasure to the provincial politicians who represent them. With just a few clicks of a mouse, they can tell their personal stories to the people who have the power to effect change in the delivery of care.
Once theyve arrived at the Foundation homepage, patients or family members can select Patient Advocacy from the left-hand menu. The page that appears provides visitors with a brief overview of the challenges facing orthopaedics in Canada, as well as access to a number of the Foundations public positions on current health care issues, such as waiting times. An option to Join Our Campaign opens a window requesting the users postal code, which then sets E-Activist in motion. The next thing to appear is an e-mail template addressed from the user to his/her MPP with a pre-written message. The simplest option is to send the form letter as is. However, senders are strongly encouraged to personalize the e-mail by describing their experiences with the health care system to their elected representatives.
It is the constituents personal story thats of interest to politicians, and our advocacy section emphasizes the point, says Foundation Executive Director Angelique Berg. That said, we know from the experience of other non-profits that not all visitors take the time to create a personal story, so we provide a form letter that makes our main point: Patients need timely access to quality orthopaedic care.
E-Activist is the brainchild of Advocacy On-Line and, as an exercise in on-line democracy, appears to be quite effective at capturing the experiences of people who might otherwise never be heard. The Canadian Diabetes Association used E-Activist recently as part of a successful campaign to secure increased government funding.
The timing of the E-Activist service on the Foundation web site couldnt be better. The recent Medicare agreement between the federal and provincial governments designated $5.5 billion out of a total $41 billion over 10 years to reduce waiting times. And the financial commitment was reiterated in Octobers Throne Speech. That means that the front-line on how these designated dollars are spent has shifted back to provincial and territorial jurisdictions and the regional politics of delivering health care. A steady flow of e-mail to MPPs from unhappy orthopaedic patients would go a long way to validating and complementing what surgeons have been advocating all along through the COA and their provincial associations, says Berg. After all, people waiting for orthopaedic care have an unassailable moral authority. Their only possible ulterior motive is to want to get better.
Paul Wright feels that, with a little nudge in the right direction from COA members, the E-Activist campaign could catch the attention of MPPs and health ministers. The personal stories should show the real impact of delaying orthopaedic care and the suffering it causes. Canadas orthopaedic surgeons are always ready to work with government at all levels to identify solutions so that orthopaedic patients get the treatment they need when they need it.
So, the next time a patients jaw drops in disbelief when confronted with a lengthy wait for treatment, and you feel youre about to get an earful, send him or her to E-Activist at www.canorth.org . Theyll have the very real satisfaction of speaking their minds to the people who should be listening.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 21 March 2007 11:23 |
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