Hargarah: It's great you got the CD. However, be sure to also ask your neuro for a print copy of the report. If your neuro made the referral for you to Toronto Medical Imaging, hopefully that means he is somewhat supportive of CCSVI.
PCakes: Yes, OHIP is Ontario Health Insurance Plan--the publicly funded health system. The information about Toronto Centre for Medical Imaging was posted on this website and on another one a few weeks ago.
On the other website, a woman from Nova Scotia reported she went to Toronto Medical Imaging Centre, presented her Nova Scotia health card and was covered for her Doppler ultrasound. However, she expected she might get a bill from Nova Scotia Health. I haven't heard if she did.
I think the technologist in Toronto was trained by Angie, Dr. McDonald's tech. Angie was the first tech in North America to train with Dr. Zamboni and is the only technologist in North America qualified to teach Zamboni's protocol to other technologist. She has (or will train) the technologists in Albany. A few months ago, Dr. Zamboni asked Angie to return to Italy to train international techs, which she did. So, if the Toronto tech was trained by Angie, he was well trained.
Here is a link to the website for Toronto Centre for Medical Imaging.
http://www.tcfmi.com/
Click on this link for more information about them. Last month, there was only a wait of a week or two to get in, but that may be longer now that the word is out that they are doing testing for CCSVI.
I don't think the website specifically mentions CCSVI testing. Their Toronto location is downtown, close to the train station. They have a second location in Port Perry (east of Toronto).
In terms of Ministry of Health then being responsible for treating, I sent a copy of my Doppler, which was done by Angie and interpreted by Dr. McDonald to Deb Matthews, Ontario Minister of Health.
I told Ms. Matthews that this indicates I have a vascular problem requiring vascular treatment. I also advised I and other Canadians are being denied this treatment for one reason and one reason only. We have MS.
I also stated I consider this discrimination based on disability and that I consider this unacceptable in a country and province which prides itself on excellent universal health care and inclusion for people with disabilities.
In her reply, Ms. Matthews advised her grandfather had MS. She also gave all the expected reasons why this is not covered: "experimental, insufficient evidence, etc."
However, she also said something which surprised me. She said "When it comes to medical services which are not publicly funded, the decison on whether to offer the service lies with the individual hospital and doctor. Hospitals have their own protocols in place to review new services and treatments, such as Research Ethics Boards and Medical Advisory Committees. Doctors are regulated by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario which has a mandate to ensure doctors are operating in a safe and ethical manner. The Ministry is not involved in these decisions."
That was a total shock. I was left not knowing who we are fighting in terms of getting service on a fee for service basis. I know Dr. McDonald would have been treating months ago if he had approval from to do so.
I provided a copy of the letter to Angioplasty for All, the group who is launching the Charter Challenge.
If anyone would find it useful, I can post a copy of the full letter from Minister of Health here.