Atrial Fibrillation Heart News Releases and Coverage

Letter: We need patient centred care, province-wide (SPH)

We need patient centred care, province-wide (Photo credit: The Rossland Telegraph)

Dear Editor,

As I write this, patients are travelling long distances for consultations with specialists. Many of these journeys, for simple face to face meetings are made even though the required workup has been completed and the results forwarded.

In 2017, when I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, a disruption in the rhythm of the heart which is caused by chaotic electrical signals and can potentially lead to a stroke. All the diagnostic work was done in Kamloops, and I was referred to the atrial fibrillation clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver for a catheter ablation (cauterization of the areas in the heart causing the arrhythmia). In January 2018, I travelled down for what turned out to be a 15-minute chat with the cardiologist. The distance from Vancouver to Kamloops is 350 km; I flew down and bussed back. The trip cost me about $400, when a videoconference would have sufficed.

Click here to read the full story on The Rossland Telegraph.

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