Medcan
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.
What It Does
As suggested by its corporate motto, "Keeping Busy People Healthy," Medcan uses the tools of preventive medicine to manage a client base of approximately 30,000 people. Its best-known service is the comprehensive health assessment, a five-hour physical. The clinic also provides nutritional counseling and markets a line of nutritional supplements, in addition to other aspects of medical care.
Comprehensive Health Assessment
Medcan's five-hour "executive physical" 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 saying between 2% and 5% of previously undiagnosed diseases discovered by the comprehensive health assessment are life-threatening illnesses that are asymptomatic.
Medcan's comprehensive "physical", designed to be provided annually, includes the following evaluations:
- audiometric (hearing) tests
- visual acuity and pressure tonometry (to examine glaucoma risk)
- routine immunization check
- chest x-ray and overall respiratory exam
- 12-lead electrocardiogram stress test on a treadmill
- blood and urine analysis
- abdominal ultrasound to screen for possibility of aortic aneurysm and other risk factors
- prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for men; pap smear, pelvic exam and transvaginal ultrasound for women
- bone density screening (identifies risk of osteoporosis)
- ankle brachial pressure index (measures ankle blood pressure to test for arterial hardening)
- fitness appraisal
- nutritional evaluation
Nutritional Counseling
Medcan offers nutritional counseling by dietitian Leslie Beck. The counseling aims to educate clients about how to maintain a balanced diet and a healthy weight as well as meeting nutrient needs. Medcan also markets a line of nutritional supplements, called Medcan Elements Daily Packs, which feature a range of vitamins and minerals, including omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants such as coenzyme Q10 , lycopene and lutein.
Pharmacogenomics and genetic screening
In October 2007, the Medcan Clinic became the first medical clinic in the province of Ontario to provide clients with services related to pharmacogenomics, a Scientific technique that uses DNA analysis to cater [...] treatment to individuals. Many pharmaceuticals are designed with an average individual in mind; typically, a middle-aged male with a mass of 70 kgs. 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 Medcan Clinic uses pharmacogenomic techniques to minimize such inconveniences by employing DNA analysis to cater the dosage to the specific individual.
In addition, Medcan genetic consultants provide genetic screening services to clients to assess risks of such adult-onset diseases as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The screening can also establish whether the client will pass on conditions or maladies to children.
Other services
Medcan provides the following additional services to clients:
- travel clinic, including vaccinations and follow-up examinations for such maladies as dengue fever, malaria and Japanese encephalitis.
- endoscopy clinic
- fitness training in Medcan's private facility with a team of personal trainers
- medical advice by e-mail during business hours, or by telephone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- massage therapy
- prostate clinic
- dermatology centre
- back pain therapy centre
History
The Medcan Clinic was founded in 1987 by a medical doctor named Robert Francis. Francis was raised in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, the son of a rail worker and a grocery store manager. He graduated from St. Francis Xavier University with a bachelor of science degree at the age of 19. Encouraged by his family doctor to go into medical school, Francis enlisted in the Canadian Navy because the military branch would pay for his medical schooling. He attended medical school at McGill University and completed a residency at the Toronto General Hospital in internal medicine. 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.
Affiliations
The Medcan Clinic has a partnership agreement with John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. The agreement allows Medcan's clients to receive treatment and medical advice from the doctors and healthcare professionals at the U.S. hospital, which is the #1 hospital in the United States according to U.S. News & World Report.