Lobbying: Cost for doppler clinic?
Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 7:56 pm
I'm trying to think about how to proceed in the lobbying effort.
Here in Canada, it's not the hardest thing for any group of twelve constituents with letterhead and an email address to get a meeting with an MP (federal representative) or, even easier, MLA (provincial). In my experience, that MP or MLA usually only nods and smile while an aide pretends to write things down until - unfortunately - their time is up , of course, but every little bit helps.
Still, once the meeting was set up, there would be some numbers it would be useful to have to hand. Some - drug cost per patient, number of MS patients in the country, and so on - are easy enough.
But to spitball the cost of, say, a dedicated diagnostic centre for CCSVI, does anyone have some rough numbers for:
- cost of a machine to do the trans-cranial doppler ultrasound
- cost of one of Zamboni's 3-day training seminars
- average salary of an ultrasound tech
I think of a diagnostic centre as a place to start because if CCSVI pans out there are going to be AN AWFUL LOT OF TESTS NEEDING TO BE DONE.
And at this stage any area that has such a clinic would begin drawing a large number of outside visitors. In terms of a provincial budget, I’m guessing it might become a paying proposition fairly easily.
-d
Here in Canada, it's not the hardest thing for any group of twelve constituents with letterhead and an email address to get a meeting with an MP (federal representative) or, even easier, MLA (provincial). In my experience, that MP or MLA usually only nods and smile while an aide pretends to write things down until - unfortunately - their time is up , of course, but every little bit helps.
Still, once the meeting was set up, there would be some numbers it would be useful to have to hand. Some - drug cost per patient, number of MS patients in the country, and so on - are easy enough.
But to spitball the cost of, say, a dedicated diagnostic centre for CCSVI, does anyone have some rough numbers for:
- cost of a machine to do the trans-cranial doppler ultrasound
- cost of one of Zamboni's 3-day training seminars
- average salary of an ultrasound tech
I think of a diagnostic centre as a place to start because if CCSVI pans out there are going to be AN AWFUL LOT OF TESTS NEEDING TO BE DONE.
And at this stage any area that has such a clinic would begin drawing a large number of outside visitors. In terms of a provincial budget, I’m guessing it might become a paying proposition fairly easily.
-d