Removing the barriers to referrals can save lives – like mine
Wait Times/ Access to Care
We must protect the elderly as we move to virtual care
COVID-19 exposing cracks in our universal healthcare
I’ve got cancer. Will I get the care I need during a pandemic?
Is less really better? Eliminating 3- and 4-bed ward rooms in long-term care homes
Economic abuse: The disproportionate impacts on Black women
Free e-book: A patient’s guide to navigating Ontario’s health care system
Ontario’s health care system can feel like a maze. The system has become so complex that even people who work in it every day often struggle to navigate it. So for members of the public – who often encounter the system at a time of crisis – it can be hopelessly confusing and frustrating. In …
Improvements suggested to the health system that failed Greg Price
Greg Price died at the age of 31. His death may have been preventable had he been diagnosed and treated earlier for testicular cancer. He was left alone to navigate the health system and follow up on referrals, while experiencing major delays and the absence of communication and information. His journey through the health system, …
Improving hand offs between police and emergency departments
Police have been described as “street corner psychiatrists.” They are often the community resource that responds at all hours when emergency calls come in for someone in mental health crisis. Police also serve a gatekeeper function in determining what services are required for an individual in crisis. They are tasked with the important and difficult …
Accessing reconstructive surgery after breast cancer treatment
One in nine Canadian women will develop breast cancer in their life time. The growth of screening programs means that breast cancer is being caught and treated earlier. Often, treatment involves surgery – lumpectomy or mastectomy. Increasingly, women are also choosing to undergo breast reconstruction surgery following treatment. However, only some of these breast cancer …
Urgent surgery: a forgotten wait time?
There is a growing body of research suggesting that patients with urgent surgical needs are waiting too long for surgery. From the time that they present to an emergency department to being booked in for surgery, they can experience many periods of prolonged waits. While wait times for elective surgery are measured in Canada, waits for urgent surgery are not.
Wait times for “non-priority” surgeries
Katie’s story Three years ago, Katie (name and some details changed to protect her identity) was in a car accident on a rural road two hours outside of an urban centre. Her ankle was crushed in the accident, and after a delay of several hours due to weather, she was air-lifted to the nearest trauma …
When cancer spreads and standard therapy no longer works
My wife has colon cancer that has metastasized to her liver. She has been receiving cancer treatments in Winnipeg since June 2012. I understand from Biocompatibles Inc. that Ontario hospitals may offer Debiri treatments with respect to the liver. I would be grateful if you could let me know if these treatments are available and how I might be able to access them.
Maternity services disappearing in rural Canada
The plan to eliminate obstetrical care at Banff’s Mountain Springs Hospital, and to replace it with enhanced vascular and plastic surgery services, was labelled a potential “quick win” in a 2012 community and rural health planning document. Babies would no longer be delivered in Banff (population about 8,200) and instead obstetrical care would be “consolidated” …
Waiting for pathology after a cancer diagnosis
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 recently been diagnosed with uterine cancer and have been told it is a “high grade.” I was referred to a surgical oncologist two weeks ago. …
Three walk-in clinics, no family doctor and one patient with abdominal pain
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: Late one afternoon, my sister, who is in her 30s, started having bad stomach pains. She decided to wait it out a little. But, the pain persisted …
Diagnosed with a rare cancer, a patient needs a plan
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: My Godfather was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer a couple of weeks ago. He went into hospital with stomach pain and had emergency surgery for a tumor obstructing …
Birth tourism: The pregnant patients most Canadian doctors cannot accept
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 am pregnant and my expected due date is in June. I currently live outside Canada, and would want to go back to Toronto for delivery. I …
International patients: what care can’t be bought at the hospital
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 would like to know if Canadian hospitals accept international patients and if so, what is the process? My brother needs a full check up. The Answer: You …
Why doesn’t Ontario report complete data on wait times?
Jane’s story Jane is a 60 year old woman living in Waterloo, Ontario (a number of details of Jane’s case have been changed to protect her confidentiality). For several years she has been experiencing worsening back pain, which was recently diagnosed as spinal osteoarthritis (a degenerative condition that can cause severe back pain). The pain has grown …