Policy and Politics

1225 articles:
by Alykhan Abdulla

How The Grinch stole family medicine: A tale of Ontario’s health crisis

Like a green, scheming miser, the Grinch of health care – festooned in a slew of government mismanagement and shortsighted policies – descended upon family medicine, stealing its spirit one policy at a time.

by Maddi Dellplain

And under the tree, a family doctor for all

As we look toward the new year, we asked our experts what they considered to be the most crucial areas of focus for our system: If they could gift our health-care system with a little holiday magic, what would they wish for?

by Rita McCracken

Boutique primary care clinics are making the family doctor shortage worse

Boutique clinics are not the future of health care. They are a step backward and are making primary care access worse.

by Kathleen Ross

Productivity in health care doesn’t mean doing ‘more with less’

Canada can build a health-care system that is not only more efficient but also more compassionate and sustainable.

by Michael Heenan

Health-care workers are under attack. We must do more to ensure their safety

Every day, healthy-care workers document a spectrum of abusive behaviour they experience in providing care. More needs to be done stop it.

by Ayman Wehbe Alaa Mourad

International Medical Graduates: An untapped resource for Canada’s alarming doctor shortage 

We must reform residency quotas, prioritize Canadian International Medical Graduates, and create accessible pathways for practice in underserved areas to transform this health-care crisis into an opportunity for growth.

by Adamo Anthony Donovan

The false and confusing narrative against bike lanes

The short-sighted rhetoric of “I’m not anti-bike lanes… I’m against the way they’re implemented," is ultimately detrimental from health, environmental, economic and equity perspectives.

by Eberechukwu Peace Akadinma Breanna Barker

‘Your body, my choice’: American politics and the looming threat to reproductive freedoms in Canada

It is incumbent on us to engage with and defend reproductive rights, because of and despite what is happening in the United States.

by Joss Reimer

More than a nuisance: It’s time to scrap sick notes – for good

In one year alone doctors spend an estimated 1.5 million hours on sick notes. The Canadian Medical Association is calling for their elimination for short-term minor illnesses.

by Dylan Marando

Canadian health care’s biggest ailment? Tidy narratives

Canadians are plagued by a reluctance to poke at the complexities of our health care. The public vs. private dichotomy that we have built up in our popular policy discourse is absolute fiction.

by Maddi Dellplain

‘We have to be very cautious’: Experts speak out on dangers of avian flu outbreak

We asked a group of experts how concerned we need to be in light of the recent H5N1 infection in B.C., and what – if anything – we should do about it. 

by Megan Werger Neha Shah Gillian Grant-Allen

Ontario’s physician wage-gap: Myth vs. fact

Through further research and advocacy efforts, we are hopeful that physician compensation will eventually reflect merit and services rendered.

by The Disabled Ginger

A plea to maskless health-care workers from vulnerable patients

Health-care workers have a responsibility to protect their vulnerable patients. Our lives are in your hands.

by Our Kids’ Health Network

We must tackle misinformation. Our youth’s health depends on it

It's time to treat misinformation as the public health crisis it truly is, particularly among youth in marginalized Black, Indigenous and People of Colour communities.

by Trevor Hancock

Links between the chemical industry and governments pose a threat to Canadian health

Health Canada and its Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency see industry and its trade secrets as more worthy of protection than the health of Canadians and their environment.

by Tania Kazi

Cutting for comfort: Understanding the role of palliative surgery

Would you or a loved one undergo surgery knowing that it would not lead to a cure? This question invites a broader discussion about the risks and benefits of such decisions.

by Edward Xie

Move fast and fix things: Canada can’t afford pharmacare delays

A limited national pharmacare plan passed into law recently, but so far it is only a small step toward universal, comprehensive, public drug coverage.

by Alan Drummond Raghu Venugopal

Patients, not politicians, decide what is an emergency

Ontario Premier Doug Ford made reckless statements on Oct. 25 that we as emergency physicians must correct. Patients decide what is a medical emergency. We trust our patients to make that decision.

by Sally J M Douglas

Mpox misinformation is costing lives

Without action, too many lives will be needlessly at risk. We must stand together, spread the truth and protect one another from this preventable disease.

by Bolu Ogunyemi

The status quo is not acceptable. We need bold, transformative action to save our health-care system

We need health innovation that is informed by the knowledge skills that day-to-day frontline experience provides.

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