Docs to toe income line DOCT ORS ARE getting a fee increase but they won't be gelting any more moncy, Ina complicated financial deal announced last week doc- tors agreed to cap the overall amount of money they’ll receive this year from the provincial medical services plan to what they received last year. While there are fee increases within that $1,407 billion cap, doctors have agreed to reduce costs and procedures where possible to keep to that limil, And if they don't, there are provisions in the deal be- tween doctors and the province to cut payment toward the end of the year if it looks like costs will go over the cap. The deal means the provincial government won't have to pay an additional estimated $28 million in medical ser- vices plan costs for this year. Dr. Victor Dirnfeld, president of the B.C. Medical Asso- ciation, said that although doctors had a deal with the pro- vince for an average two per cent fee increase this year they agreed to the cap because of the provincial govern- ment’s desire for lighter financial controls, “We were aware of what’s going on in other jurisdic- tions. We decided to be proactive,” he sald in a reference fo the Ontario provincial government's plan (o cut doctors’ salaries there by up to 10 per cent. Cutting medical services plan costs has already been the subject of various committees and that work will continue, said Dimfeld. “We'll be looking at specific fee items such as the use of labs and being smarter with the use of information,’ he said. Thal’ll mean, for instance, that doctors referring patients to specialisis will include as much information as possible to avoid repeats of tests already done, “Same fee items for tests, for instance, are sel at rates five to 10 years ago, With new technology, the costs may be reduced and so will the fees,’’ Dirnfeld continued. Also on the list of cost trimming are procedures consid- ered not medically necessary. These include not doing x-rays for ankle injuries, depending upon the person and how the injury happened, These restrictions went into effect in February. Coming soon are guidelines restricting the number of ultrasounds conducted on pregnant women. : The average now is 2.6 ultrasounds for cach pregnan woman but that might be reduced to one depending upon the woman and the state of her pregnancy. Dirnfeld described the cost uimming as necessary given the provincial government’s financial situation. The deal, which still has to be ratified by doctors, also gives them access to a $25 million medical services plan reserve account. That'll be tapped should the $1,407 billion cap be ex- ceeded. But health ministry officia! Debra Shera doubted if this will ever happen. **That’s alot of money and I don’t see that needing to be used,’’ she said of the reserve account. The provincial government now says it'll take that $28 million it would have paid to doctors this year and spend it on reducing waiting list for some types of surgeries. RADELET Barristers & Solicitors, Vancouver, B.C. COMPANIES « TRUSTS « TAX DISPUTES James W. Radelet Phone 604-689-0878 + Fax 604-689-1386 | Victorian fampshade Class Coming to your area soon! Learn how to create authentic Victorian Lampshades for pleasure or for profit. These shades sell for hundreds of dollars in the stores, This class teaches yau all the techniques used to make these beautiful shades including pleating and shurring. Class includes all supplies needed for your first shade, THIS 1§ NOT A HOT GLUE METHOD! Our Instructor will be in your area Wed, & Thurs. Evenings, April 17 & 18, 1996 For more information or to register please call 1-800-424-8855 Haad Office: Kalowna, B.C. THE WORLD AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Kor as little as 2.5¢ per ounute Skeena Net will connect you ta the ; Aateruet including the World Wide Web and Eanaile Fora limited eme, $40.00 gets you booked-up, 10 hours of Internet access, plus an Interiiet orientatian. There are no monthly fees or hidden charges. CALL Skeena Net at 638-1557 for moce information i your on-ramp to the information highway 638-1557 wwe [3SKEENANET WORKERS BRAVE blustery spring weather conditions while putting up a fence The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 10, 1996 - A3 around the correctional centre here. It'll provide for an extra fevel of security and permit the centre to accept prisoners who haven't yet had their day in court. Fence being installed A FENCE is going up around the Terrace Correctional Centre this weck. The fence is part of the centre’s prepara- tions in getling ready to accept remand prisoners, Those are prisoners who are waiting their trial date. In the past remand prisoners from the northwest had to go to Prince George. Then they were often sent back here. But as of May 1 those prisoners will be staying in Terrace. “‘We’ll only consider taking non-violent offenders,’’ said corrections centre director Patricia Walker. The criteria they use to de- cide whether they will take remand prisoners will be the same as the criteria they use for deciding what type of con- victed inmates to take. “We won't be looking at anything dif- ferent,’’ said Walker. Currently the correc- tions centre typically takes inmates serving sentences under a year. “The safety of the communily is a big priority for us,”’ said Walker. “And we'll take the victim’s wishes into account too.’”” The correction centre can house up to 32 inmates. They are required to take part ina work programs while they’re al the centre. Much of the work they do benefits the com- munity. Inmates shovel snow for seniors, build picnic tables for the handicapped, chop firewood and more. But the primary benefit of housing remand prisoners here is to keep them closer to their family, friends and their law- yer, said Walker. And the province wan't have to pay for the inmate's and escorl’s travel to and from Prince George. yom Bete se Beye teed News In Brief Greenhouse up in flames A TERRACE man will likely think twice before flicking a cigarette butt into the dry grass again. That's what happened on March 27 in his back- yard on Hamer Ave. Firefighters say the man was outside working on his greenhouse when he dropped his cigarette butt before going into the house. The next time he looked outside, the greenhouse was going up in flames. It burnt about halfway to the ground before firefighters arrived. No-one was hurt. Mega clinic set to open on Park Avenue MOVING DAY for slaff at the city’s two major medi- cal clinics has been set for Friday, Apr. 19. Dr. Bill Redpath says doctors, nurses and staff at The Medical Clinic and the Emerson Medical Clinic will Stop work at noon that day and begin moving into the new Park Avenue Medical Centre. “We'll spend the rest of the afternoon and weekend moving and then we'll be up and running on the mom- ing of Monday, April 22,’’ Redpath said, Not everything will be finished, however. The ex- terior stucco and painting has to wait for warmer weather, and landscaping will also wait a litle longer. The parking lot paving will be completed on time. Northem Health Care won’t be open at its location on the main floor when the centre’s doors open, but Omineca Medical Laboratory will be open in the new location. Redpath says efforts are continuing to get a licence to provide ultrasound and x-ray services in the new building, New specialists expected to join the clinic include neurologist Stephen Clark, presently head of neurology at St. Pauls’ Hospital in Vancouver, podiatrist Michael Feist, and dermatologist Julian Hancock. Redpath says project managers have managed to keep the five-storey building on budget. The building itself is costing about $4 million, but leasehold improve- ments should push the final value over $6 million. The Emerson Medical Clinic is listed for sale, and The Medical Clinic’s offices are available for lease. Mad-cow hits home IF YOU thought the dairy case at the Terrace Safeway store was a little emptier than usual last week, you were right. On March 26 Canada Safeway ordered its stores to remove all British diary products from the shelves over | concerns about mad cow discase, ‘‘We did this as a precautionary measure until we heard from Health Canada,”’ ‘says Safeway’s Mark Stortz in Vancouver. And on April 2 Health Canada ruled the British dairy products posed absolutely no health risk, and Safeway | and the products were back on the shelf that day. It could be in your basement. Or your garage. Guzzling monstrous amounts of electricity. So let B.C. Hydro pick up that old fridge* of yours for free. We'll sufely recover the ozone-depleting CFC refrigerant, even recycle the metal. You'll be doing the environment — Lower Mainland. There’ A Monster In Yo Let B.C-Hydro take it away—for free! | BChydra *Fridges miust be in working condition, B.C vere customers ails, pledse, Limit of two fridges per custoier a favour and saving money on your electricity bills. For [ree pick-up of your operating | fridge, call 1-800-663-2274 throughout British Columbia or 683-2274 in the BY WER SIMA Saves More Than Money