Medtronic is one the worlds largest producers of cardiac and neurological pacing equipment.

Imagine your hands shaking so bad that you can not feed yourself, or not being able to stand anymore because your legs are trembling.  For Canadians who have have Parkinson’s or Tremors, these are real and everyday events.

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and Intrathecal Bacolofin pumps,  allow people to manage the disease without the need for heavy narcotics or irreversible surgeries.  But It wasn’t always this way.  Provincial governments across Canada, though it had FDA approval and health Canada approval still would not pay for the devices except in extreme cases.  In those cases they would pay for a patent to go out of province to get the procedure–at a substainally higher cost financially to the province and to the family.

Changing the situation meant changing the way government thought about wireless implantable medical devices.   We orchestrated a stakeholder review and education program that involved the media, creation of patient community’s,  and a financial analysis for the medical services plans  that summed up the net benefit to the public of the devices.  We worked tirelessly with the government and physicians to see each others point of view.

It took about three years  before the medical service plans approved the payment for anyone who needs DBS.  The success of the program can be judged by the  hundreds of people who are now able to live their life to the fullest.

Click here for more information on   DBS
Click here for more information on Intrathecal Baclofen Pumps