Patient experience

Virtual care must be integrated into public system, not driven by profit

Virtual care is here to stay. But how it should be used and who should own the services are important to patients, OurCare survey shows.

Comparing health-care systems – a personal journey

During my professional career, my family and I lived in four different countries (including Canada). Each country has significant differences in the delivery of health care and how it is paid for. This is an essay about my experiences in each of those countries.

Addressing a blind spot in care for patients living with diabetes

The sudden decline in diabetes screening as a result of the pandemic has put a significant number of Ontarians in danger of vision loss. Unchecked, this problem is associated with a massive cost for the government and society. But this can be avoided with a proactive screening strategy.

OurCare survey highlights lack of access to primary care

A nation-wide survey on the state of primary care in Canada illuminates pressing issues facing our health system. Dr. Tara Kiran and a team of collaborators with the OurCare project have launched an online dashboard with the findings.

The good people that give me hope – my journey with Parkinson’s

Every day on this Parkinson’s journey, I am genuinely amazed at how supportive the community has been as a whole. I know my family and friends have got my back, but having a perfect stranger go above and beyond is humbling and comforting.

The Treadmill

"Now the treadmill makes my steps uneven. One foot moves faster or slower than the other, and I stagger like a would-be dancer who wasn’t taught the choreography before the show."

Groundbreaking research into ME/CFS a pandemic ‘silver lining’

ME/CFS is a misunderstood complex chronic illness affecting more than 600,000 Canadians. For decades ME/CFS patients have been left without proper medical support. But now, with the wave of new post-viral illnesses from the COVID-19 pandemic, ME/CFS patients might finally see some answers.

The Faces & Phases of COVID-19

The Faces/Phases Project is a portrait of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Through a series of data visualizations, we cover the first two years of the pandemic.

Ten health literacy principles cancer patients need to know

A medical oncologist describes ten health literacy principles to help cancer patients be informed participants in important treatment decisions.

Virtual care is here to stay. But what are patients’ expectations?

As we redesign a better primary care system coming out of the pandemic, we need to consider the role of virtual care and what patients will expect.

Take the survey: What are your priorities for primary care?

What trade-offs are acceptable to you? Do you currently have a family doctor or nurse practitioner? How important is it that every person living in Canada has a relationship with a family doctor? These are some of the questions we ask in the OurCare/NosSoins nation-wide survey.

Cross-country project gives patients a say in solving primary-care crisis

Dr. Tara Kiran and a team of collaborators are launching OurCare, a three-phase research project that aims to provide much-needed answers to Canada’s primary care woes. The project kicks off with a national survey of patients' experience.

Tapping into the power of hope

Learning about a patient’s hopes can create an opportunity for both special intervention and improve goals of care conversations and assist doctors in crafting a care plan that will optimize the chances of these dreams coming true. The Oneday Dreams charity offers the hope for better quality of life to patients with terminal illness.

Stories from the immunocompromised

Now that restrictions are lifted across Canada, discussions with my immunocompromised patients about infection risk are not “one size fits all.”

Giving birth during the blizzard of 2022 – while fighting COVID

Carrie Clayton drove herself though downtown Toronto during January's record-breaking blizzard to give birth to her daughter. To make matters worse - Carrie also had COVID. This is her story.

Born with a disease that kills but not at death’s door: Living in that in between

As a child with cystic fibrosis, I was hit with this adult issue of mortality – something no 5-year-old should be worrying about. When I was born in 1971, the median survival rate for women with CF was 20 years old. I’ve chased that median age of survival my whole life.

​​‘You’re in remission’: Professor goes from picking out gravestone to planning retirement

My illness was something that happened to me, but I was still under there. I had to come out from under that shadow to figure out who I wanted to be even if I was going to die in a few months. My life changed significantly when I realized I was in control. I’ve decided I’m going to retire earlier than originally planned so I can scratch things off my bucket list now that it is deeper than before. I know if my cancer returns, I’m going to have a big blowout funeral party and obviously attend it myself.

Hope and spiritual care

Spiritual care can be a powerful therapeutic intervention. However, 80 per cent of patients reported that physicians never or rarely discuss spiritual or religious issues with them. But the role of spiritual health does not have to fall on physicians alone.

ADHD in females: Outdated criteria leading to missed diagnoses

I have ADHD, but it took nearly my whole life to receive a proper diagnosis. Unfortunately, I am not alone – females with this condition often go either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, since ADHD diagnostic criteria are male-oriented.

Family member’s undiagnosed illness gives physician new patient perspective

When patients have strange, unidentified illnesses, physicians often focus more on finding a diagnosis than managing symptoms. When a close family member struggled with such an illness, I saw the importance of addressing patient suffering earlier on.