I am writing this piece as a Windsor native and current fourth-year medical student at the SchulichSchool of Medicine & Dentistry in London. Over the last week, I have read with concern the Wynne government’s decision to move all thoracic (esophageal and lung) cancer surgery care out of Windsor. The government declares it is centralizing …
As both users and funders of health care, Canadians have a stake in understanding how well their system is performing. Polls repeatedly show health to be a top priority for Canadians and their appetite is strong for performance information, provided it is easy to access and digest. The challenge is in developing reports that are …
Alberta’s provincial health authority has recently come under fire by opposition party MLAs and activists alike for closing 77 long-term care beds in Calgary damaged by the June floods. The angry reaction demonstrates the common misperception that a shortage of beds is the major cause of persistent waiting lists for long-term care. Like other provincial …
The challenges in providing timely access to health care are becoming increasingly common and cross many disciplines. Whether the conversation is around delays for elective surgery, emergency department overcrowding or long waits for specialist appointments, the frustration is felt by patients, practitioners and healthcare administrators alike. The recent Preferential Access Inquiry in Alberta highlighted that long …
Dr. Donald Low has directly impacted the lives of Canadians, first as a respected microbiologist who eased our concerns during the SARS crisis of 2003. Now, ten years later, he’s still influencing our views on public health, but the focus of this discussion is on what, morally speaking, we owe each other at the end …
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.
In a surprising move, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta has challenged financial barriers to medical imaging. While some believe that regulatory colleges should limit themselves to individual physician discipline, the Canadian public should support the growing willingness of Colleges to move beyond disciplinary issues to act as a voice for the public …
At a national health policy conference recently, Ontario’s Health Minister Deb Matthews made a few notable comments. Among them was a request that policy experts applaud government officials when they do the right thing. Too often, good healthcare policy gets blocked by a very vocal minority of stakeholders. Minister Matthews also said that expanding prescription …
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 …
Each weekday, staff at the Exceptional Access Program (EAP) of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care receive between 250 and 300 requests for special prescription medications. These prescription drugs—typically expensive medications that are felt to be cost effective only when used to treat selected patients with specific problems—are not on the province’s regular …
Across Ontario, going to the dentist is financially out of reach for many people. This dilemma is well-known to physicians — many of us regularly care for patients who have terrible dental problems that we are powerless to address.
There is little doubt that Canada requires a seismic shift in policy and leadership – though not necessarily additional significant investment – to make the needed improvements in health care delivery. This is made abundantly clear in the Health Council of Canada’s Progress Report 2013: Health Care Renewal in Canada; an impressive report that captures …
Yesterday afternoon, in my capacity as Cardiac Program Medical Director at my hospital, I met with Mr. B, a 72 year old man whose wife died in hospital. I was expecting that he would want to talk about her hospital care; perhaps he wanted to explore why she died and if anything could have been …
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” …
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. …
“We have a large immigrant population, and people sometimes have no English. This program has been a godsend.” –- Winnipeg pediatrician Stan Lipnowski Obtaining a good history is the most important thing in practising medicine, so being able to get that history about the children of new immigrants has made a “humungous difference”, says Stan …
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 …