Health Infrastructure

1291 articles:
Wait times
Emergency Care
Quality Improvement
Funding
by Lori Dunne

The cost of caring: Social worker well-being and fair compensation

As social workers we are often expected to put our needs last, while accepting an income that fails to reflect the true value of our work. We need to change the social work discourse and change the landscape in which we are expected to work.
by Colleen Kelly

Kevin’s story: My journey with my brother, dementia and Down Syndrome

Across the country, we talk about dementia more than we used to, but too often, conversations remain fragmented - and people with disabilities are rarely at the centre of planning.

by Aidan Gunter

Why the debate over physician involvement in pre-hospital care in B.C. needs a reset

"I work as an advanced care paramedic in British Columbia. I’m proud of our work, but I’m increasingly concerned that debate over physician involvement in pre-hospital care has lost sight of its primary goal: improving patient outcomes."
by Margot Burnell

Sick notes are slowly being banned but much more is needed to reduce administrative burden

Doctors across Canada agree: the crushing paperwork in medicine is unsustainable. Together, we can create a better system that truly supports both patients and the physicians who serve them.
by Adam R. Houston Srinivas Murthy

These parliamentary studies are low-profile but have implications for access to medicines

Two studies by Parliamentary Standing Committees each have potentially serious implications for medical innovation, pandemic preparedness and access to medicines.
by Anu Radha Verma

‘Dangerous outcomes’: The limitations of BMI as a diagnostic tool

Researchers, clinicians and advocates have been raising concerns about the BMI, saying it is not a comprehensive indicator of health and using it can have disastrous results, especially for racialized populations.
by Maddi Dellplain

Manitoba slashes private nursing agencies: The path forward or a policy stumble?

Last month, Manitoba took the bold step in cutting nearly all its private nursing agency contracts. Was it the right move? Experts weigh in.

by Chetan Mehta

From harm reduction to harm production: A frontline physician on the closure of safe consumption sites

The closure of safe consumption sites in Ontario flies in the face of scientific evidence and my experiences as a physician on the frontlines.

by Sarah Hutchison

Going beyond ‘allied:’ The critical role of physiotherapists in Ontario’s primary care system

As our health system continues to buckle under multiple demands, we need more physiotherapists working to full scope of practice.
by Robert W. Marotta

The euphemism economy: How Ontario health care learned to stop worrying and love the hallway

There’s a difference between softening language to ease emotional pain and softening language to hide systemic failure. One is compassion. The other is camouflage.
by Allison Daniel

U.S. dietary guidelines spark confusion and apprehension among food and nutrition experts

The recently released U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans has drawn concern from many nutritionists and sparked potential confusion among the public, both within and outside of the country.
by Mohammad Karamouzian

The deafening silence: A diaspora’s grief in the age of internet blackouts

For the Iranian diaspora, this is not a debate about policy reform; it's about survival. We need our governments and institutions to do more.
by Laura Targownik

Alberta has restricted access to gender based medical care for trans youth. Will the rest of Canada soon follow?

If clinicians cannot demonstrate who is most likely to benefit from pediatric gender-based care, governments may do it for them, with young people paying the price.

by Danyaal Raza Sheryl Spithoff Brigid Goulem Gaibrie Stephen

The quiet commercialization of primary care records

An emerging model is quietly turning Canadian patient medical records, and patients themselves, into lucrative commercial assets – often without patients' explicit knowledge or consent.
by Gemma Boothroyd

‘It made everything worse’: Nurses say WorkSafeBC delays recovery after violent incidents

Nurses reporting workplace violence say they face long waits, complex rules and rigid treatment pathways from WorkSafeBC.
by Christine Elliott

Getting a flu shot is a small yet deeply profound act of Canadian community care

Canadians know the flu is here. We know that anyone, even those who seem healthy, can get it. And we know that getting a seasonal flu vaccination is one of the best ways to protect ourselves and the wider community from illness.
by Janice E. Parente

Our research ethics boards aren’t the problem – the system wasn’t built to protect participants

The bodies responsible for the ethical review of research and ensuring that it safeguards the individuals in it – operate with no national standards, no oversight and no accreditation at all.
by Simran Dhami Anita Acai James Leung Quang N. Ngo Elif Bilgic

Beyond the default patient: Diversity in virtual simulation-based health-care education

Virtual simulation platforms often fail to meaningfully reflect patient diversity, which may be shaped by underlying biases and have implications for clinical outcomes.
by Maria Blondin

‘When doctors stop talking, patients fall apart’

When care is fragmented, patients become the glue holding the system together. We carry test results from one office to another, retell our histories again and again, and hope that someone will connect the dots before something important is missed.
by Haya Alnashi

The colonial wounds on Indigenous women’s health

To improve Indigenous women’s health, there must be a drastic change to the health-care system and how we view health.

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