Some family doctors are voicing their concerns about a new Telus Health app being introduced by the province that allows Albertans online access to a doctor.
Babylon is a free downloadable app developed by Telus Health that lets Albertans meet with licensed physicians in one-on-one video consultations through their smartphone.
The app can be also be used to check symptoms — including those of COVID-19 — book appointments and get prescriptions and referrals, all covered under Alberta’s public health-care insurance.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Thursday the joint initiative with Telus Health comes at a time when the health system is asking people to self-isolate as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the announcement prompted many Alberta physicians to complain that the service is deeply flawed.
Katherine Bisby, a family physician in Calgary, said she’s not opposed to adding this tool to the mix — especially to keep patients and doctors safe during the pandemic.
But she said it appears to undermine family doctors who already offer a virtual service by phone — and who have been asking the government to increase their virtual billing rate, which is just $20 per call.
Calgary family physician Dr. Jennie Herd told CBC News in an email that the $20 per call billing rate is unfair, especially given that Babylon doctors are paid more.
“Clinic overheads remain the same at an average of $60-80 per hour per doctor. So, at four patients per hour at our current rate of seeing them we are just covering clinic costs and providing this service for free,” she said.
“I am very upset as a physician in practice for over 20 years that the government is promoting and funding a service for my patients to call an unknown physician, with no access to my patients’ charts, when I am available for the same service,” wrote Edmonton general practitioner Dr. Alice Bedard.
According to Alberta government spokesperson Steve Buick, doctors with Babylon are paid under an Alternative Relationship Plan based on the fee for a basic office visit of $38.
Continuity of care
Some doctors also said the app won’t give patients the continuity of care they would receive with their own family doctor.
Dr. Ruoh-Yeng Chang said Babylon seems like the equivalent of a walk-in clinic where whoever answers the call will not know a patient’s history.
“This is an undermining of existing family practices and the relationship between family doctors and their patients,” she said.
“We are the medical home. Patients can call us with concerns and we will talk to them. Now they are being told to call someone else instead.”
Other doctors raised similar objections.
Community pediatrician Dr. Natalie Forbes said the introduction of Babylon undermines the important goal of ensuring all Albertans have a “medical home” to receive care.
“Babylon is substandard private health care, funded by our government, putting money into the pockets of Telus,” she wrote.
Appropriate compensation
Dr. Kimberly Dary, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Hospital, said it’s going to be increasingly important that the doctors in her field are able to continue to treat patients as the health crisis evolves.
“Right now, families are experiencing heightened anxiety, significant panic, children are not in school. There’s going to be an escalation of psychiatric emergencies,” she said.
But the emergency room is the not right place to see those patients during a pandemic, she said.
Dary said it’s vital that the government quickly find a means of appropriately compensating physicians as they are forced to move to virtual delivery of health care.
“This is not a 10-minute phone call. Our assessments and followups are very in depth,” she said. “Right now, there’s no support from the government to moving us to doing this.”
Buick said in an email to CBC News that the Babylon platform is not intended to replace the traditional family practice.
“It provides a new and convenient option for publicly funded virtual physician visits to supplement existing services,” he said.
Health Minister Shandro promoted the new app on Twitter, where there were also several posts critical of the service.
Albertans can now meet with Alberta-licensed physicians through their smartphone, thanks to the new <a href=”https://twitter.com/TELUSHealth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@TELUSHealth</a> Babylon app. <br><br>The app is now available in Alberta at a time when our health system is actively asking people to self-isolate as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. <a href=”https://t.co/cW8hvOvBAr”>https://t.co/cW8hvOvBAr</a>
<a href=”https://twitter.com/TELUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@telus</a>: This Babylon tele-health mess is making me seriously consider switching to <a href=”https://twitter.com/shaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@shaw</a>. Do you really want to be associated with the harm done to Alberta physicians by the self-interested <a href=”https://twitter.com/shandro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@shandro</a> and the UCP?
I don’t believe that this Babylon-Telus partnership will save any money in the long term. These are large, for-profit companies. Alberta Health pays for the consultations; who knows what the client will end up paying for. I’m sure we’ll find out.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
