JointHealth
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JointHealth™ express   May 13, 2013


On election day, how will you vote?



Arthritis affects 1 in 5 British Columbia residents, so healthcare to treat the more than 100 different types of the disease is extremely important to the more than 600,000 British Columbians living with the disease. Any party that wishes to become government needs to consider these constituents. To help the parties understand this, Arthritis Consumer Experts sent a questionnaire to the candidates of the BC Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party.

Leading in with background information about the high number of people who undergo joint replacement surgeries due to arthritis, the questionnaire asked the following questions:
  1. Reliable and valid screening tools to help detect and appropriately diagnose arthritis exist, but have not been introduced in Canada. How will your government bring basic diagnostic standards to British Columbia?
  2. Where you live can be more important in determining treatment than how sick you are. What will your government do to bring a consistent standard of healthcare for arthritis to all of BC?
  3. There are significant gaps in Aboriginal arthritis healthcare in BC. What will your government do to improve the healthcare and lives of Aboriginal British Columbians with arthritis?
  4. How will your government establish and enact better healthcare guidelines so we can prevent the detrimental impacts of arthritis and related conditions on the economy?
Both the BC Liberal Party and the BC New Democratic Party responded to ACE’s questionnaire*. Follow these links to view their responses: If you have comments, questions, or concerns about any of the answers provided, please take the time to contact the parties.

You can reach the BC Liberals at 604-606-6000, toll-free at 1-800-567-2257, or by email.

The BC NDP can be reached at 604-430-8600, toll free at 1-888-868-3637, or through their online contact form here.

Did their responses help you decide how you will vote tomorrow? Tell us what you think of their answers. Please contact us by email.

*Full questionnaires available here: to BC NDP, to BC Liberal Party