Managing the Cost of Healthcare for an Aging Population: British Columbia Confronts its Glacier

Artificial pruning can increase the quantity of high-value clear lumber harvested from Douglas-fir, but the pruning cost per tree is relatively high. To prune a young Douglas-fir to 6 metres in one lift and two lifts took, respectively, 9.5 and 10.1 minutes in 14- and 18-year old stands with average spacing between trees of about 3 metres on flat or 0-30% south-facing slopes in coastal British Columbia. The associated costs were $2.09 and $2.22. This included minor travel time between trees, but excluded the cost of travelling to the site, selecting and marking trees to be pruned, and purchasing and maintaining the pruning equipment. Differences in pruning time between one-lift pruning and two-lift pruning, in one or two passes, were small. A D-handled saw was preferred to the more strenuous snap-cut pruner with ratchet-style pinions, based on observations on a pruning time-study of 5 operators. Key words: pruning saw, snap-cut pruner, pruning time, one-lift pruning, two-lift pruning

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Economic Priorities for Reforesting Unstocked Forest Land in British Columbia

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc62522-6 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 62 (6) ◽

pp. 522-528 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peter H. Pearse ◽

Andrea J. Lang ◽

Kevin L. Todd

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Forest Growth ◽

Site Quality ◽

Forest Land ◽

Site Class ◽

Limited Budget ◽

Wide Range ◽

Forest Lands ◽

The Cost ◽

Forest Rehabilitation

The cost of rehabilitating the accumulated backlog of unsatisfactorily stocked forest lands in British Columbia is calculated for each site class and type in each region. These estimates suggest that, at 1983 silvicultural costs, it would require almost $1.3 billion to reforest all the existing backlog, or $570 million to reforest only the good and medium sites.These cost estimates, supplemented with data relating to forest growth on various land categories, enable calculation of the cost of producing timber by rehabilitating unreforested land. This reveals a very wide range of costs, depending on site quality and region.It provides a framework for establishing economic priorities for silvicultural effort.The analysis demonstrates that the benefits generated with the limited budget available for forest rehabilitation can be substantially enhanced if funds are allocated according to economic priorities rather than by non-economic criteria.

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Cost-Effectiveness of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Therapy in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea in British Columbia

Canadian Respiratory Journal ◽

10.1155/2008/719231 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 159-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

MCY Tan ◽

NT Ayas ◽

A Mulgrew ◽

L Cortes ◽

JM FitzGerald ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

British Columbia ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Quality Adjusted Life Year ◽

Third Party ◽

Cpap Therapy ◽

Obstructive Sleep ◽

The Cost ◽

Quality Adjusted Life

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea (OSAH) is a common disorder characterized by recurrent collapse of the upper airway during sleep. Patients experience a reduced quality of life and an increased risk of motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which is the first-line therapy for OSAH, improves sleepiness, vigilance and quality of life.OBJECTIVE: To assess the cost-effectiveness of CPAP therapy versus no treatment for OSAH patients who are drivers.METHODS: A Markov decision analytical model with a five-year time horizon was used. The study population consisted of male and female patients, between 30 and 59 years of age, who were newly diagnosed with moderate to severe OSAH. The model evaluated the cost-effectiveness of CPAP therapy in reducing rates of MVCs and improving quality of life. Utility values were obtained from previously published studies. Rates of MVCs under the CPAP and no CPAP scenarios were calculated from Insurance Corporation of British Columbia data and a systematic review of published studies. MVCs, equipment and physician costs were obtained from the British Columbia Medical Association, published cost-of-illness studies and the price lists of established vendors of CPAP equipment in British Columbia. Findings were examined from the perspectives of a third-party payer and society.RESULTS: From the third-party payer perspective, CPAP therapy was more effective but more costly than no CPAP (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio [ICER] of $3,626 per quality-adjusted life year). From the societal perspective, the ICER was similar ($2,979 per quality-adjusted life year). The ICER was most dependent on preference elicitation method used to obtain utility values, varying almost sixfold under alternative assumptions from the base-case analysis.CONCLUSION: After considering costs and impact on quality of life, as well as the risk of MVCs in individuals with OSAH, CPAP therapy for OSAH patients is a highly efficient use of health care resources. Provincial governments who do not provide funding for CPAP therapy should reconsider.

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Intensive forest management: Its relationship to AAC and ACE

The Forestry Chronicle ◽

10.5558/tfc78255-2 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 78 (2) ◽

pp. 255-259 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Gordon Weetman

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Forest Management ◽

Sustainable Forest Management ◽

Good News ◽

Public Confidence ◽

Intensive Forest Management ◽

Stable Operating ◽

Reliable Performance ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

The Cost

Forest companies in British Columbia and Alberta have requested increases in allowable cuts on their public land tenures. The present regulatory framework about allowable cut effects is briefly outlined for each province. Seven requirements are proposed for granting an ACE, including consistent and reliable performance, risk assessments, stable operating and market conditions, robust age class distribution, government and public confidence, adequate benefits, and no unacceptable negative impacts on non-timber values. Some of the important "bad" and "good" news about allowable cuts is itemized, together with the drivers for change in sustainable forest management (SFM). It is concluded that professional and technical rigour is required in requests for an ACE. The cost of access to Crown timber has been increased by SFM and foresters and the industry are challenged to produce credible scenarios using new computer technologies, and then to carry them out. Key words: annual allowable cut, allowable cut effect, sustainable forest management, British Columbia,Alberta, forest regulation

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The Effectiveness of Semi-Natural Rearing of Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) at the Nitinat River Hatchery, British Columbia

The Open Fish Science Journal ◽

10.2174/1874401x01407010023 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 23-28

Author(s):

Robert Brouwer ◽

Amanda Ross ◽

Ian Trepanier ◽

Ronald W. Tanasichuk

Keyword(s):

British Columbia ◽

Survival Rate ◽

Coho Salmon ◽

Oncorhynchus Kisutch ◽

The Other ◽

Adult Fish ◽

Male And Female ◽

Rearing Method ◽

Two Phases ◽

The Cost

We compared: 1) rearing mortality, 2) size at release (mean length), 3) jack, male and female sizes, and 4) jack, female, and adult returns of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) from three consecutive brood years reared at the Nitinat River hatchery using a conventional or a semi-natural rearing method. The semi-natural method included feeding restrictions, shading of the rearing ponds, lower rearing temperature and rearing densities, exposure to a predator and a volitional release. We found no significant effects of brood year or rearing method on rearing mortality; it was significantly lower during the marking to release phase than during the other two phases (eyed-egg to ponding, ponding to marking). Conventionally reared smolts were significantly longer. Conventionally reared males were longer. As a proportion of number of smolts released, semi-natural rearing produced 86% fewer jacks, the same proportion of females and 15% more adults. Adult production trends, described as marine survival rate (returning adults • smolt-1) for Nitinat River Hatchery coho, and as ln recruits • female spawner-1 for a nearby wild coho population, were similar. Jacking rates were lower in Nitinat River hatchery coho than for the nearby wild coho population. We concluded that the semi-natural rearing methodology produces adult fish more efficiently than the conventional rearing method does, and at 73% of the cost.

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