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Summer 2006 |
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H
e a l t h P r o m o t i o n
New member
program helps doctors tackle “invisible epidemic”
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CMA Photo |
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The CMA and the NLMA
recently launched Canada’s Doctors: your partners in healthy living,
a pilot project designed to promote a positive image of the profession
and provide members with resources on health promotion topics.
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By CMA Staff |
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The CMA and the NLMA recently launched
Canada’s Doctors: your partners in healthy living, a pilot
project designed to promote a positive image of the profession and
provide members with resources on health promotion topics.
The topic of the pilot is unintentional
injuries, which has been dubbed an “invisible epidemic” by public health
physicians because injuries are a leading cause of death up to age 44
and a leading cause of morbidity in the elderly. In a typical group
practice, the physician will see one child die and 66 children
hospitalized as a result of an unintentional injury within their
careers. Further, every year that they practice, one senior will die due
to a fall.
In mid-May, all CMA and NLMA members in
the province were sent a resource kit with tools to help provide
information and support to their patients on injury prevention issues.
Members can order additional copies of the resource materials free of
charge. The mass media component, a mix of television, radio and print
advertising, emphasizes the physician’s commitment to their patients’
healthy living.
“As doctors, we see the tragic results of
preventable injuries on a daily basis,” said Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai,
president of the CMA, to mark the launch of the pilot. “By counseling
our patients who are at high risk of injury — in other words children
and seniors — as well as their families, we can help to raise awareness
and to reduce this toll in Canada.”
If the pilot is successful it will become
a national, long-term member benefit program that will cover a wide
range of healthy living topics of interest to both primary care and
specialty practices, with new topics and supporting materials being
introduced periodically.
“The relationships we have with our
patients are strong and often last a lifetime. We see our patients
through good times, such as the birth of a baby, and through challenging
times, such as serious illness or injury. We are also there for them
with advice and support to help them prevent illness and injury, and
take steps toward healthy living,” said NLMA past-president Dr. Tom
Costello. “This program is a new tool for doctors that will help us
raise awareness and inform our patients about injury prevention, an
important aspect of healthy living.”
Visit
cma.ca/doctorsforhealthyliving to see the program components and to
order materials. If you are a member and don’t already have a sample
kit, you can obtain one by visiting the web site, calling (888)
855-2555, e-mailing to
healthyliving@cma.ca or faxing to (866) 262-9322.
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