Medcan Clinic

The Medcan Clinic is a medical clinic located in Toronto, Ontario that specializes in preventive medicine. Medcan is one of the few medical clinics in Canada that derives most of its income from payment from firms, individuals, or private health insurance plans, rather than government-run insurance providers, such as the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
Medcan's flagship service is its CAD$2,500 "executive" physical examination. It consists of 12 to 15 tests, screenings and consultations with medical professionals.
Physical examination
Medcan's flagship service, its five-hour "executive" physical examination, begins with the client changing into gym clothes at the clinic. The client provides a urine sample, then undergoes a battery of scans and tests as well as an interview with a doctor. About half of the client visits are covered by the clients' employer, or the employer's health insurance. Through such appointments, Medcan claims that it detects previously undiscovered medical ailments in 48% of its clients. Medcan's President & COO, John Mozas, has been quoted as claiming between 2% and 5% of previously undiagnosed diseases discovered by the comprehensive health assessment are life-threatening illnesses that are asymptomatic.
Pharmacogenomics and genetic screening
In October 2007, the clinic became the first clinic in the province of Ontario to provide clients with services related to pharmacogenomics, a scientific technique that uses DNA analysis to cater drug treatment to individuals. Many pharmaceuticals are designed with an average individual in mind; typically, a middle-aged male with a mass of 70 kg (154 lb). But increasingly, such drugs as blood thinners and anti-depressants must have their dosage customized for a specific individual. That customization process can be laborious and stressful. It may also trigger adverse side effects. The clinic uses pharmacogenomic techniques to minimize such inconveniences by employing DNA analysis to cater the dosage to the specific individual.
History
The clinic was founded in 1987 by a doctor named Robert Francis. He attended medical school at McGill University. In 1974 he set up shop on the 27th floor of Toronto's Toronto-Dominion Centre. The first company to contract Dr. Francis to manage the health of its executives was the Cadillac Fairview corporation then controlled by the Bronfman family. Since 2002, Medcan's CEO has been Dr. Francis' son, Shaun Francis, whose previous endeavors included undergraduate studies at the United States Naval Academy, working as an investment banker at New York's Morgan Stanley and taking an MBA from the Wharton School.
Flu vaccine controversy
During the 2009 flu pandemic, the clinic received 3,000 doses of the H1N1 influenza vaccine. Media reports indicated the clinic was offering the vaccine to its clients despite an Ontario Government declaration limiting vaccine doses to high-risk cases. Controversy erupted that these patients may be jumping the line for money. Soon after, however, Toronto Sun columnist Rob Granatstein established that Medcan was voluntarily giving out its share of the vaccine free of charge to anyone who wanted it, regardless of whether the patient was a Medcan client.
Medcan's Medical Director, Dr. James Aw, confirmed Medcan was not charging for the vaccine and that during the vaccine shortage, Medcan was following public health guidelines and only giving the vaccine to those considered high risk. “We're just trying to co-operate with public health in terms of inoculating Canadians,” Dr. Aw said. “They've deemed us as a medical clinic that should receive a limited supply of vaccine to help inoculate people at risk of developing severe disease from this H1N1. So we're following guidelines, we do have to document who gets the vaccine, we have to report that back to public health."

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