Lifestyle lessons learned during COVID-19 can decrease risk of many diseases
chronic diseases
Rethinking health outcomes in the era of multiple concurrent chronic conditions
Modern health care is very much concerned with outcomes. The language of outcomes is common in policy development, clinical work, and research. For example, Health Quality Ontario states that the overall quality aims are: Better outcomes, better experience, better value for money. In the context of clinical care, outcomes are broadly considered to be the …
Groundbreaking Canadian cohort studies aim to shed light on risk factors for cancer, chronic diseases
The British Whitehall studies helped establish the importance of the social determinants of health, while a Danish study of children provided strong evidence to disprove the damaging MMR-vaccine-causes-autism hypothesis. Those are just two of many international cohort studies—studies that follow large groups of people over many years. In Canada, starting such studies has never been …
Health Links: Ontario’s bid to provide more efficient and effective care for its sickest citizens
Ontario’s Health Links initiative is a “big manoeuvre” in a complex provincial system, acknowledges Helen Angus, associate deputy minister with the transformation secretariat of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care (MOHLTC). The initiative aims to facilitate coordination of care at a local level for high needs patients. It comes in the wake of …
Quit (smoking) while you’re ahead
I knew he was sick when he told me he’d thrown out his cigarettes on account of how badly he felt. Mr. P had gotten used to the breathlessness when he climbed stairs and the hacking, dry cough that followed him everywhere. What else could he expect after smoking three packs a day since he …
Changes called for as 1% of population accounts for 1/3 of health care spending
Ontario’s Health and Long-term Care Minister is calling for a change in how health care costs are scrutinized in light of research showing that a tiny proportion of the Ontario population accounts for a very large proportion of health care expenditures. “We need to shift our focus” away from line-by-line scrutiny of hospital, drug and …
Why nurses are the way of the future
Our health care system is based on an on-demand model of physicians and hospitals providing acute and episodic care. While this system works well for the vast majority of citizens, it is a poor match for many of those with chronic diseases. As a nurse and an academic, my particular interest is examining how health …
Inter professional education 2.0: training chronic disease management professionals online
The economic costs associated with chronic diseases are significant, particularly in an era of reduced public funding and greater government accountability. I would argue that inter-professional education (IPE) is going to emerge as a key component in the successful management and prevention of chronic diseases. Yet true inter-professional education requires a radical rethinking of the …
Frequent flyers: aeroplan and health care
This year I did not achieve Elite status on Air Canada/Aeroplan. For the first time in a decade, I am without status on a major airline. No number to call, no priority service, no lounge. I will probably have to wait in line. As you probably know, Aeroplan has Prestige, Elite, and Super Elite levels …