Lost in the Weeds
addiction
All hands on deck: The urgent need for improved education in addiction medicine
Frantzy
Simeonie
Kevin
Hospital policies put the lives of people who inject drugs at risk, say experts
Rob Ford and missed opportunities for a public discussion on drug use
It’s been a month since Rob Ford’s death. We suspect that many people are ready to move past discussing the legacy of Toronto’s controversial former mayor. But please bear with us. We still need to talk about Rob Ford. There’s one conversation we’ve been ignoring. Public announcements about the health of famous people can spur …
Steve O
Madonna
Sean L
Kim V
Brian P
Is a large cut to methadone-providing doctors justified or putting patients at risk?
Doctors who solely provide methadone therapy to treat addiction to narcotics say they’re facing reductions of around 25% to their income, as a result of cuts to the fees for urine tests announced this month by the Ministry of Health. Some addictions doctors and public health experts across the province are sounding alarm that this cut could …
Peter D
David N
Health care system is failing people with alcohol addiction, say experts
It’s one of the biggest health issues Canadians face. It’s responsible for 7% of all premature deaths in this country. The direct health system costs amount to three billion dollars a year. But its most devastating impacts are felt by those with the condition and their families. If excessive alcohol consumption didn’t jump to your …
Howard
Marijuana: harmless indulgence or health threat?
Among Ontario adults, 14.1 percent used cannabis during 2013, according to a recent report from Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). In 1997, the equivalent figure was only 9.1 percent. Researchers at CAMH say that the steady increase in cannabis use underscores the need for a public health—rather than a criminal justice—approach to …
Can financial incentives help patients be healthier?
When Egon Jonsson was thinking about how best to support alcohol-addicted pregnant women, he thought of a controversial solution: paying them not to drink. The idea was inspired by studies that have offered shopping vouchers to pregnant women who succeed in giving up cigarettes. But when Jonsson and his team at the Institute of Health …
Should doctors be charging disadvantaged patients for sick notes?
Can’t you do something, Judge? This was the question I was asked in Drug Treatment Court last week. Unfortunately, my answer was “I tried. But I can’t seem to get these doctors to change!” The issue was doctors charging their patients for one line notes stating they had been ill and had been seen in …