Shayna Bejaimal

Contributor
3446 Contributions
by Patricia Trbovich Rolf Gronas

You can’t have patient safety without good system design

In modern health care, we still behave as though safety is primarily a function of individual vigilance. When something goes wrong, health-care providers will instinctively ask “what could I have done differently?” instead of addressing a more uncomfortable question “how did our systems make this mistake more likely?” This is understandable as many enter the health-care profession firmly grounded in the principle of “first, do no harm.”
by Nkechi Ikeaba

Addiction is not a moral failure: Why harm reduction matters

During a rural posting in West Africa, I once saw people at a religious centre locked up, chained to poles and subjected to harsh conditions because they were “addicted to drugs,” brought by their family members who believed they were “demon possessed” or needed “spiritual deliverance.” I remember being shocked and moved to tears at these attempts to detoxify or rehabilitate – but without evidence-based care, compassion, dignity or an understanding of the illness itself.
by Tess Lanzarotta

Canada must take the lead on hepatitis C vaccine research

Hepatitis C kills hundreds of thousands of people worldwide each year; in Canada it results in more lost years of life than any other infectious disease. An effective treatment exists, but it is unavailable to many because of cost and other access obstacles. And there is no vaccine. Canada has the researchers, the policy framework and the capacity to help change that.
by Danyaal Raza Sheryl Spithoff

If AI scribes were the test run, Supply Ontario has lessons to learn

In May, Ontario’s Auditor General released a special report on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Ontario government, including medical “AI scribes” that are increasingly being used by doctors, including us. While headlines and coverage focused mainly on so-called scribe hallucinations of these AI note-taking systems, that wasn’t the biggest news in the report.
by Tara Moroz

‘Authentic’ health advice isn’t the same as evidence-based

Scrolling through social media, it’s easy to feel like health advice is everywhere. A creator shares a routine that “changed everything.” Another explains how they fixed their gut health. A clinician posts quick tips between patient visits. The tone is confident, personal – and above all, authentic.
by Margaret Hess Naomi Berlyne

Low-income seniors losing out on government pensions

Many low-income seniors are standing on the edge of a financial precipice. As family physicians and health promoters at St. Michael’s Family Health Team, we do everything we can to support our patients through these challenges. But for every person we help, thousands of others fall through the cracks with no one to catch them.
by Fallan Curtis

Keep the doors open: What can Alberta’s addiction policy learn from youth care

Alberta does not have to choose between recovery and harm reduction. A serious recovery-oriented system would protect both, investing in treatment beds and recovery communities, but also in the low-barrier services that keep people alive long enough to use them.
by Mohamed Elsayed Elghobashy Kanish Baskaran Edwin Wong

The cost of neurophobia in Canadian medical training

We have mapped the stars, descended into the ocean depths, yet the human brain remains one of the greatest mysteries humans have encountered.

by Amal Khan

Disconnected by design: How fragmented health data is failing Canadian patients

Patients living in Canadian rural and remote communities often move across multiple systems simply to access basic care. Bill S-5 represents an important first step toward addressing a problem.

by Kathy Kortes-Miller

The illusion of choice in Ontario’s long-term care system

We cannot build a humane health-care system by forcing families to choose between unaffordable charges and unsafe or unsuitable care. That is not choice. That is pressure disguised as policy.
by Maisha Adil

Canada lost its measles-free status. Our children deserve better

Canada can regain its measles elimination status, but only after we interrupt transmission for a full year. That requires hitting the 95 per cent herd immunity threshold.
by Lana Cho

The healing reach of art: Creative insights from participants and practitioners

If we are serious about improving health outcomes, particularly for populations navigating systemic barriers, creative expression should not be treated as an add-on. It should be recognized as a practical, accessible component of care.
by Natalie Fung Saad Ahmed Kar Yin Michelle Au Ripudaman Singh Minhas

Young people aren’t avoiding conversations about sexual health – they’re avoiding judgment

Youth are already talking about sexual health online every day. The question is whether trusted institutions are willing to meet them there – not with judgment, but with honesty, empathy and respect. 
by Maha Kamil

Children left waiting: The need to update emergency department triage

Long emergency wait times are now widely recognized as a structural problem. But children should not deteriorate unnoticed in emergency department waiting areas.
by Homira Osman Stacey Lintern

Is Canada’s rare disease promise collapsing?

Canadians are increasingly finding themselves in an impossible position: treatments could be approved yet remain inaccessible. Friedreich ataxia (FA) has become a powerful example of that reality.
by Christen Kong

What if your health-care team included an artist?

Imagine a world where creativity is prescribed alongside medicine – where artists collaborate with doctors to heal body, mind and spirit.
by Jasmine Kaur Sidhu

Art is health infrastructure: Rethinking gender-based violence responses for newcomer women

For newcomer survivors of gender-based domestic violence, expressive arts are not decorative. They are a practical, culturally responsive component of recovery.
by Devina Wadhwa

Our nervous system was never meant to be this alone

As physicians, we should absolutely continue improving access to mental health care. At the same time, we should also be willing to ask larger questions about the kind of society people are attempting to stay mentally well within.
by Jay Shah Dawid Martyniak

Rethinking MASLD: Can continuous glucose monitors help?

Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease is a rapidly growing public health concern afflicting an estimated 35 per cent of Canadians.

by Maddie O’Connor

Lifestyle medicine vs. wellness culture: Evidence-based preventative care should not be a luxury product

Evidence-based preventative care should not become a luxury product or a marketplace trend. It should remain a core part of accessible public health care.

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