Healthcare Delivery

Decolonizing sexual and reproductive health: A conversation led by the Period Priority Project

The Period Priority Project aims to breakdown and unpack the nuances of colonial period shame and start new conversations about reproductive justice.

Citizen engagement vital if we are to solve our primary-care crisis: OurCare Nova Scotia panelists

Nova Scotia’s primary health care is in crisis. The OurCare Panel in Nova Scotia came up with a series of recommendations on how to fix it.

Pharmacist prescribers fill important gaps in the Canadian healthcare system

Pharmacist prescribing provides a win-win outcome for patients, health-care professionals and the health-care system as a whole.

We need to talk about public and private health care in Canada

With the system under significant strain, we have to re-examine how we fund and deliver health-care services. What this means for Canada's public health-care system is yet to be seen.

Why not educate the person experiencing pain? Improving opioid prescribing for youth in hospital settings

Youth are rarely educated on safe and effective opioid use when they're discharged from hospital. A new set of educational materials made by Solutions for Kids in Pain is hoping to change that.

Why Canada must amend the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act

MAiD is currently available for those with mental illness. But there are treatment options that exist that have yet to be legalized. It's time to increase access to psychedelic-assisted therapies.

Access denied: Pandemic highlighted issues in accessing sexual and reproductive health for persons with disabilities

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a number of people with disabilities missing health-care appointments due largely to health and safety concerns on transit. But there are measures we can take to provide accessible, disability-affirming care.

Safeguarding our children: Vaccination’s crucial role in navigating the coming school year

As we embark on the new school year, the lessons we have learned from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic serve as our compass, guiding us toward effective strategies while helping us discern the ones that fall short.

The iDOCTOR will see you now

Patients without a family doctor can see a doctor virtually through artificial intelligence or non-family doctors apps run by private, for-profit corporations. But iDOCTOR will be of limited value to a system already stretched thin.

Lung-cancer screening – primum non nocere (first, do no harm)!

Lung cancer is the number one global killer among cancers. Early detection can help patients' chance of survival but current screening measures also come with mixed benefits and risks.

Fiscal management and Minden’s unprecedented Emergency Department closure

The closure of the Minden ED has become a rallying point for us to address broader issues affecting health-care systems. Minden’s experience must serve as a nationwide warning: review the financial management and board governance of your local health-care systems.

More research needed to understand medical students’ shift from exclusively clinical to scholarship

Canadian medical students’ interest in pursuing careers in research, education and administration is on the rise, signalling future physicians’ interest in enhancing the health-care system rather than simply being a part of it. Medical schools will need to take note.

We have the tools to prevent ovarian cancer. Why aren’t we using them?

About 20 per cent of the ovarian cancer cases in Canada diagnosed each year are in people who carry a mutation and are most likely preventable. Genetic testing can become more accessible. Why are we waiting? 

Breast-milk donor models are flawed: A path forward to meet demand

The three main institutions vying for breast-milk donations have demonstrated an unwillingness to collaborate with one another. As demand for donor milk increases, the downstream effects are going to be felt most by parents and their infants.

The case for a pan-Canadian licensure model

Canada’s workforce remains in crisis. With hospital overcrowding and staff shortages putting EDs at risk, pan-Canadian licensure is a crucial part of any plan to help ease the pressure.

Episode 64 – Improving Heart Failure Outcomes and Psilocybin for Depression

How should we handle the toxic drug-supply crisis? Experts weigh in.

While political debates have muddied the water on effective policy options to address toxic drug deaths, we asked a panel of experts what they see as the best path forward to address the ongoing crisis.

Canada’s first publicly funded ‘dementia village’ is set to open next year. So, what is it?

One in four seniors aged 85 and older is diagnosed with dementia. Novel ways of caring for dementia patients are urgently needed. Dementia villages are designed to prioritize patients' safety and support without compromising their autonomy and community.

Nurses know the ‘Your Health Act’ is anything but good for your health

Bill 60 has alarmed and horrified Ontario nurses and other health-care providers. Allowing private companies to profit from people’s health-care needs will not solve the staffing crisis, it will make it worse.

Ontario’s rural towns in danger of losing access to health care as family doctors near retirement

Aging family doctors in Ontario’s smaller towns present a significant challenge to health-care access. The disproportionate distribution of doctors over age 65 in rural Ontario raises concerns about future shortages as these practitioners approach retirement age.