Healthcare Delivery

A call to action for the health sector on planetary health and a wellbeing society

An emerging national health sector coalition is working to spur action, at all levels from the grass roots to the national level, to create a Wellbeing society in which we achieve equitable health now and for future generations while living within planetary boundaries.

Emergency department wait times are deadly. They’re also avoidable

Until governments act on our scientific recommendations and commit to meaningful system change, Canadians will continue to wait in dangerous conditions – and more families will face tragic, preventable loss.

Ontario has a new way of measuring how hard family doctors work. What does it mean for doctors and their patients?

The new “Continuity of Care” measure included in the new agreement between the Ontario government and its doctors has good intentions but comes with severe penalties and without necessary checks and balances.

Knit one, purl two on the way to mental health

Addressing rising mental health rates will undoubtedly require a range of different tools, both pharmacological and non-pharmaceutical.

The training gap undermining Canada’s primary care teams

While family medicine is exploring how to prepare doctors for team-based primary care, other health professions lack equivalent training requirements.

Empowering pharmacists is about more than saving emergency departments – it’s about equity in health care

Not only did Ontario's move to allow pharmacists to prescribe for certain minor ailments reduce ED strain, but it also reduced inequities in access to care.

Beyond pink and teal: Patient advocacy is not a morality play

Patient advocacy at its best is not about purity. It’s about presence. It’s about showing up, with all our raw, unpolished language and stories, to demand dignity for people whose lives are already heavy with suffering.

Was my wife’s hospital care an anomaly or the new normal in Ontario?

I had hoped my wife would get timely and dignified care like I'd received in the past. She did not. Was her care an anomaly or is it the way of the future? I don't know but I sure as hell hope it is not the future.

Trust those who heal, not those who provoke

A Seuss-style rhyme on the very real harm of health misinformation.

‘I understand’: Words of empathy that have helped me through residency

"That evening, they walked me past the point we usually diverged and sat with me in my apartment lobby. They sat as I cried. They listened."

Black mistrust is logical and rational: What public health policymakers must learn from Black communities

Black communities are not hesitant just for the sake of it. They are hesitant because of memory. They need structural change built from trust, not just crisis.

Food security is health security: Tackling Type 2 diabetes in Indigenous communities

First Nations on reserve have Type 2 diabetes rates three to five times higher than the rest of Canada. Yet, they remain underserved and underrepresented in health policy and decision-making.

Financially sustainable and fair: Value-based care a solution to pay disparities and health-care system strain

The gender-based physician compensation gap is more than a workplace injustice – it undermines the efficiency and effectiveness of the Canadian health-care system.

Housing the frontline: Solving the health workforce crisis starts with a place to live

To build the strong and sustainable health-care system we need, affordable housing must be treated as essential workforce infrastructure.

Patient Perspectives: Telling our stories is critical to improving care

As a physician, nothing will tell you more than simply asking someone how their illness impacts their lives and listening closely to their answers.

#ScienceMatters. Canadian medical, research, clinical and health-care organizations stand up for science

In Canada and around the world, science is under attack. Increasingly, clearly false health information is being normalized and it’s causing serious harm to patients, communities, public trust and health policy.

When patients ask about psychedelics

Over the past decade, scientific interest in psychedelics such as psilocybin and MDMA has risen, along with recreational use. This has put physicians in a difficult place – one our medical training has not prepared us for.

Rethinking mental health and substance use health solutions

What if you or someone you know needs mental health and substance use health care right now? Do you know exactly where to go to get what you need?

The MS treatment gap: How costs and outdated policies limit care in Canada

Early, aggressive treatment can significantly improve outcomes for people living with MS. But provinces have yet to implement coverage policies that would ensure patients receive optimal care.

Training more doctors is a start. Let’s make sure our health system is ready for them

If we want to build a resilient, equitable health-care system, we need to reimagine how we recruit, train and retain the next generation of doctors.