. Page 10, Tha Herald, Wednesday, Apri 4 ‘984 OTTAWA (CP) — medicine and big money go hand in hand, but doctors - believe they’re underpald by about $18,000 a year; -That's one of the findings of a study of doctors’ attitudes toward medicare done by York University professors MalcolmG. Taylor and Michael Stevenson ‘and ‘research associate Paul Williams. The study also found that: ; — Doctors are seeing more patients to raise their incomes “=< ‘even though many already feel overworked; f -= Only oné doctor. in three believes: in striking for higher fees; — Most doctors think their patients should be paying more for their treatnent; and . — While doctors often complain about medicare as a matter of principle, they're reasonably satisfied with the way the system works. The study, financed by a federal grant, was based on questionnaires completed in late 1982 and early 1983 by 2,087 doctors in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scctia, Taylor, Stevenson and Williams say the answers are probably representative of the profession as a whole. , LOSING GROUND The vast majority of the doctors surveyed believe Many people think practising : a and need an extra $18,000 or 30 a year to ‘meet their income ‘expectations. _ That would give general practitioners In the five - provinces an average net income of $84,200. a year before taxes. Specialists would have an average net * income af $105, 200. The amount of the increases eyed by doctors varied from province to province and. was based on estimates of what they thought other doctors ‘were earning. Many surveyed said they considered their own - incomes lower than those of their colleagues, _ One of the obvious ways for doctors to boost their incomes without any change in thelr fee achedules Is to see more patients. The survey showed that doctors had increased the number of patients they see each week during the previous 12 months by eight or nine per cent “specifically because of* the need to maintain an adequate income.” Doctors. in general practice saw more ‘than ‘98 patients a week, worked about 48 hours and remained “on call” for nearly,27 hours more. Specialists saw more than 76 patients a week and worked alightly longer hours. Doctors in both groups said they didn't have Revenue Canada threatens charity groups ss OTTAWA (CP) — A growing number of charitable organizations are being threatened by Revenue Canada with loss of their ability to accept tax deductible donations if they take stands on public policy issues, the genera] director of the Canadian Mental Health Association said Tuesday. George Rohn said most groups are too fearful of challenging the department in court and . possibly losing their charity status to fight the Revenue Department. Rohn said he knew of more than 16 charitable groups, including his own, that have recelyed form letters from the Revenue Department warning they - could lose their ability tosupply receipts to donors for tax deductions if they attempt to influence municipal, provincial or federal polidies or legislation. Ian Morrison, chairman of the 126-member — National Coalition of Voluntary Organizations, said many charitable groups won't admit they've been contacted by the tax department “because the organizations don't want to draw attention to ’ themselves. “The smaller organizations that have received such letters are scared out of their wits because the charitable status number that Revenue Canada grants them is really their licence to participate in the voluntary sector," he said in an interview. Morrison cited the example of the Quebec Association of Social: Rehabilitation, which: sought charitable atatus to be able to raise money from ' private sources to be lesa dependent on government funding. HELPS EX-CONS Revenue Canada refused, Morrison said, because the group, which helps rehabilitate former convicts, . had publicly opposed government plans to build more prisons, Other groups that have had run-ins with Revenue Canada include Oxfam Canada, the international aid organization, Planned Parenthood, which advocates \ family flarining; and the Quebec + Alzactate ‘for International Co-operation, which was advised. it’ couldn't receive charitable status because. it campaigned against parents buying military toys for their children. But Morrison said he didn't blame Revenue Canada for the offensive. “It's not a queation of administration, it’s a question of the law. The law needs to be changed in order to eliminate an antiquated understanding of charities." The Revenue Department letter, received March 19 by the mental health association, said a statement of the group's purposes and objectives attached to a tax form indicates the organization “might not quite be satisfying the requirements of the Income Tax Act, regarding certain activities.” The association's 20-year-old bylaw says its role of improving care, treatment, prevention and rehabilitation of the mentally ill includes securing public support and “to urge governments at all levels to take legislative and financial action to further these objectives.” BANS PROMOTION °« The department said that under the Income Tax Acta charity could suggest “corrective measures" to governments, “provided it does not undertake a program to. promote its recommendations, Moo, *The-letter adds that canvassing’ MPs or other legistators and lobbying “must not be undertaken by — a registered charity.” Rohn said the only recoursefor a charity up.against Revenue Canada is the Federal Court of Canada's appeal division'‘a potential killer for any voluntary organization,” because of the expense, time and possibility of losing charity status. ‘Revenue Minister Pierre Bussieres has been evasive in the Commons on the issue, refusing to comment on specific cases that have been brought up in recent weeks. Computer fears groundless — Many consumers are afraid to buy a home Computer, expecting it to become outdated overnight, But the fear is often groundless, Best-selling | machines — including models made by Commodore, Radio Shack and Apple — have remained essentially unchanged for years. Home computers lag behind developments in the field of desk-top business computers, where fierce competition among dozens of practically identical | machines and the customer's willingness to pay mean new technology is adopted quickly, But it’s a different story in the home, where the benefit of computers is still to be proven and the most. important feature is a machine's low price. “Itis physically impossible to build a Cadillac and offer it at a Volkswagen price,” says James Copland, vice-president of marketing for Commodore Business Machines Ltd. of Toronto, Fhe Commodore 64, which sells for $350 to $400, is still going strong two years after it was introduced. The computer lacks some of the latest features of more expensive hardware, but it offers “full _ Performance at the lowest possible price,’ Copland said, TOPS IN SALES | Commodre dominates the home computer market, with anywhere from 65 to 80 per cent of the business in Canada, depending on who you talk to and how the market share is calculated, The high figure is Commodore's, the low from independent industry observer Evans Research Corp. The Commodore 64 is the company’s mainstay product, with 100,000 to 150,000 sold in Canada in 1983 and projections for between 250,000 and 300,000 this year, Bald Copland. “We are successful because we appeal to the masses,’ Copland said. ‘That means making a machine-that gives the greatest bang for the buck.” An aggressive advertising campaign also has had much to do with Commodore's success, In fact, Copland said the company apent more on advertising in 1983 thin all other home computer companies combined and will continue that trend this year. Commodore plans to spend $5 million to §7 million Promoting {ts products in Canada in 194, Copland said, slightly more than last year. PROGRAMS GROW The longevity of the Commodore (4 Is partly attributable to a growing volume of software for the machine. A computer without software — the programs that make it play games, process Words or keep a budget — la as usoleas as a record player without records. All those Commodore owners create a demand for software which indpendent software companies are eager to satisfy, And aa more programs become . available, the machine becomes more appealing to computer shoppers. Apple'slowest-priced machines have also benefited from the availability of lots of software. Another strategy Apple used to keep the Apple I alive was to _ make the machine easily upgradable. The Commodore 64 cannot be upgraded in at least one key area — memory capacity (the name refers to the 64,000 character memory), But Copland says ‘there isn’t any obsolescence factor in the emmodore 64," HAS MANY USES The avatlabi ity of good software for the machine means it can continue to be used for a variety of purposes, Asked about the possibility of eventually phasing, out the machine, Copland said: ‘As long as the, customer demands the product-be made and its ‘economically viable to make it, we e will continue to narket It." “Cancer can - be ' feet ones boy be EE Eg oat : ‘ pas With portiape one. of. every’ seven or eight: ‘patients they Saw. ey HUGE WORKLOAD . : The huge ‘workload of doctors raises obvious questions about the quality 6f care they are e able to give, the report said, \ “What is of particular concern is that overwork and inadequate attention to patients is apparently tled — for some physicians at least — to their own decisions to Increase patient | loads for atrictly. economle reasons." Yet, many doctors were upset by people coming to e them for relatively minor problems, The survey 51 ggested that medicare has stimulated an increased demand for doctors’ services, causing more people to seek treatment for frivolous reasons... The survey also touched issues often raised during fee disputes between provincial governments and their medical associations or in the running debite on the Canada health act now before the Commons, . With the advent of medicare more than.a decade ago, doctors had to bargain for fees with the provinces in frequently bitter and difficult disputes... ' Striking is generally viewed aa (he ultimate weapon _ against tight-fisted provinces, but the survey showed ‘barely one-third of the doctors polled approve of that tactic, ; Nearly 53 per cent of the doctors approved of binding abritration. SETS PENALTY . Another option in all provinces except Quebec is to bill patients for more money: than doctors get from medicare. The Canada health ‘act- would ‘penalize provinces that continue to allow extra billing after June 30, ; An overwhelming percentage of doctors surveyed opposed the proposal, Yet, more than six of every.10 . doctors said they would : ‘support: an end’ to extra billing if fee schedules were similar to those sought by their medical associations. ' Both the Canadian Medical Association and its provincial affiliates have coinplained for years that not enough money is being spent on health care and business SATELLITE VINYL, FABRICS & CANVAS WORKS Boat Tops Let us repair your ald boat top or make you a new one or re-caver your seats. 635-4348 ROLAND PUETZ RR3 Johns Rd, Terrace directory _ future, 0 “ ‘The survey showed most doctors agree ‘with that ‘eve that people have to dip deeper into + sd lobe to defray the cost of their own ore, Raising personal income taxes — an option tha would hit doctors and other high-income people tt the hardest — was extremely unpopular, FAVOR PREMIUMS Health care premiums and user fees are among the a sources of additional revenue most favored by doctors. Moat favor higher sales taxes oh cigarettes and 7 alcohol, probably because users of those products are’ more apt to have health problems. - Nearly half of the doctors supported the idea ofa an annual “deductible” for health care that would have families pay up to $200 a year of the cost of the care . they receive. | Finally, the survey showed strong support among doctors for the way medicare works — despite: widespread doubts about the principles of public health insurance. Nearly three of every four doctors believe health care is better than 10 years age; ee as many rate their provincial programs g very good o excellent; and six in 10 feel satisfied or very satisfied actising under medicare. ' prcCanadian physicians have major criticiams of medicare in principle, but a substantial majority « of them give positive overall evaluations of medicare in practice,” the report said. The split between views of medicare in principle and in practice was most noticeable for doctora who have served as officers or executives of medical associations. Nearly half of ‘the executives polled favored as Feturn to a voluntary and commercial health care system, compared to less than 31 per cent of ordinary — association members. Yet executive members were somewhat more inclined than ordinary members to rate their provincial medicare plans very good or excellent. KERMODE SHAKE HANDSPLIT RESAWN. CEDAR SHAKES -No.1-24", No.2-24" & No.1-18" ' also bundled cedar kindling | Bagged cedar sawdust Robert Jésson 638-1912 RR¢ ; Old Remo Rd, Terrace SEAR Sh hoe ws Go RERAIR 125-4741 Skeora Mall Phome Terrace, B.C. 635-6703 REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS & CONSULTANTS eer eine ay ome ae STEVE R. CULLUS BOK 441 TERRACE. 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