Drunk: the impact of alcohol abuse on our health care system

Drunk: The impact of alcohol abuse on our health care system

Defined as someone “having the faculties impaired by alcohol” (or a more practical version: “When you have to hold onto the grass to keep from falling off the earth“), those of us who work in an acute healthcare facility are witness to many illustrious examples of drunk patients coming through our doors. Underaged kids passed out

Canadian pharmacare: an ongoing failure

Steve Morgan Healthydebate.ca blogger

At this time of year, most Canadians are stocking up for the holidays. But a surprising number will also be stocking up on prescription drugs. This is not because they believe in doomsday predictions or because they are abusing the health care system. It is because, for a growing number of Canadians, prescription drug coverage only kicks

The missing link in overdose prevention

Kathy Hardill healthydebate blogger

Long-established medical practice supports prescribing pre-loaded syringes of epinephrine to people having severe, life-threatening allergic reactions to allergens such as bee stings, nuts and shellfish. Patients, including children, are taught how to use them and carry them with them at all times in order to administer the drug without delay when they have a reaction.

Test results: whose job is it to tell the patient?

Lisa Priest Personal Health Navigator Sunnybrook healthydebate.ca

The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: Is it the family physician’s job to gather test results and explain the outcome of those tests – blood tests, ultrasounds, X-rays and CT scans – and

Improving decision-making and promoting generalism in medical education: a return to the rotating internship may not be the answer

As Director of Specialty Education at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, I was interested to read Kieran Quinn’s recent blog post entitled “Should we Embrace a Return of the Rotating Internship?” Mr. Quinn’s thoughtful post echoes many of the sentiments that the Royal College has recently embodied in its initiatives and

The talk the food industry couldn’t bear to hear

Yoni Freedhoff healthydebate blogger

A little over a month ago I was invited by the Ontario Medical Association to give a talk at a food industry breakfast. I was asked to speak about what I thought the food industry could do to help further public health. 3 days prior to the talk, after my flights and hotel were booked,

Alcohol and diabetes: a potentially dangerous mix

Lisa Priest Personal Health Navigator Sunnybrook healthydebate.ca

The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: How does alcohol consumption affect diabetes? I work with street people who don’t always eat properly. Does it worsen their diabetes? The Answer: Intuitively, you would think that

Why aren’t Canadian family doctors embracing e-communication?

Tara Kiran Healthy Debate Blogger

In the last decade, technology has revolutionized the way we live and work. We email and text more often than we phone or fax. We share photos with friends using Facebook and debate with colleagues in real-time using Twitter. We pay bills, book plane tickets, and buy clothes on-line. We can effortlessly post opinionated blogs

Reflections on team-based maternity care

Integrated Maternity Care

In my second year of medical school, I had the opportunity to take part in a project aimed at midwifery students, medical students and nursing students interested in maternity care. A group of twelve of us met weekly to learn about labour and birth, and also to receive some basic labour support training. It was

Heads up: there are lessons for Canada in U.S. health care reform

Robert Bear healthydebate.ca blogger

If you could design a health care system from the bottom up, odds are that you would create one that would focus on the comprehensive health care needs of all citizens, from disease prevention to chronic disease management to palliative care. Innovation would be rewarded. There would be fewer hospital and long-term care beds and

Pain control: how to stay on top of it after surgery

Lisa Priest Personal Health Navigator Sunnybrook healthydebate.ca

The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: Before I undergo a knee replacement, I have to see an anesthesiologist. I know the visit is to go over details to put me under during the

Improving quality and access in Ontario’s privately owned colonoscopy clinics

Improving quality and access in Ontario’s privately owned colonoscopy clinics

Five years ago, researchers in Ontario raised concerns about access and quality in privately owned clinics that performed colonoscopy, suggesting that the quality in these clinics was significantly below the standard of care in public hospitals. Privately owned clinics can be either for-profit or not-for-profit. Medical services provided at these private clinics are paid for

What cancer patients need to know about clinical trials

Lisa Priest Personal Health Navigator Sunnybrook healthydebate.ca

The Personal Health Navigator is available to all Canadian patients. Questions about your doctor, hospital or how to navigate the health care system can be sent to AskLisa@Sunnybrook.ca The Question: I have run out of conventional medical treatments for my cancer, which has metastasized. How do I join a clinical trial? How do I increase my chances