“I’d do whatever I had to do to stay warm” recalls David, who was homeless on Toronto’s streets from 2000 to 2003. David said he spent the winter nights in emergency shelters, and bitter cold days in bank ATM lobbies or riding around on public transit. “Survival was tough” he says, describing everyday life on …
Last year, Healthy Debate published a primer on Ontario health care system for the boards of directors of hospitals. We’re very happy to now release a primer on the health care system specifically designed for the boards of directors of community governed primary health care organizations. Ontario’s health care boards I have served on several …
Setting targets has long been a mechanism in industrial psychology to motivate managers and workers to achieve specific organizational objectives. In the last decade, targets have become important methods of driving performance improvement in health care. However, deciding where and when to set targets is a challenge facing health care decision makers. Politics of performance …
There is a prescription opioid crisis in Canada. While these drugs are effective in treating acute pain, and pain near the end of life, the evidence to support long-term use in patients with chronic pain is weak, and for many people the harms exceed the benefits. Prescription opioids are also highly addictive and easily misused. …
Monica Enderlin’s father was a healthy and active 74 year-old cabinetmaker who enjoyed sailing and spending time with his four children and wife of 47 years. In March of 2009, he was admitted to hospital in Edmonton with a non-resolving pneumonia. Soon after admission, his condition took a serious turn for the worse. “He was …
Why Healthy Debate? We founded Healthy Debate with a simple goal: to create a destination where Canadians can go for credible, unbiased information about their health care system, and where patients, health care professionals and policy makers can come together and debate the challenges facing our system. We now need your support to continue to achieve our …
Michael’s Story Michael was a 75 year-old living in Canada’s Prairies. His wife recently spent five days in hospital for a scheduled hip replacement. At the time she was admitted to hospital, Michael was on a one-week course of Amoxicillin, an antibiotic medication to treat a sinus infection. Michael spent a great deal of time …
After several decades working in the Canadian military, Physician Assistants (PAs) are being introduced into provincial health care systems. This year, Alberta launched a two-year demonstration project to integrate PAs into selected clinical practices. About a decade ago ago, PAs were introduced in Manitoba and Ontario. In Ontario, PAs were part of Ontario’s broader health human resources …
Informed consent to medical treatment is one of the foundational pillars of Canadian medical law and the practice of medicine. Before administering a course of treatment, health care professionals are expected to ensure that their patients understand the benefits and risks of each option and that they voluntarily agree to undergo the chosen therapy. In …
Minutes after giving birth, blood from the umbilical cord is collected and sent off to a central cord blood bank to be cryogenically frozen. Years later this cord blood could be used to cure some cancers and treat rare diseases. While to some this sounds like the stuff of science fiction, the use of cord …
One in nine Canadian women will develop breast cancer in their life time. The growth of screening programs means that breast cancer is being caught and treated earlier. Often, treatment involves surgery – lumpectomy or mastectomy. Increasingly, women are also choosing to undergo breast reconstruction surgery following treatment. However, only some of these breast cancer …
This is the second of a two-part series on Alberta’s health care restructuring. This article examines the impact of constant change at the highest levels of administration on those who work within the health care system. Alberta Health Services (AHS) is the largest health care delivery organization in Canada. AHS provides health care to nearly …
Research on human subjects is essential to the advancement of patient care. Every life-saving drug, surgical technique and medical procedure was tested at some point in its development on humans. While research on humans has yielded enormous benefits, it can also carry risks to research participants. It is therefore essential to ensure research is carried …
Weight loss is a constant struggle for millions of Canadians, with one in four Canadian adults classified as obese. Losing weight is not easy. Many Canadians try to lose weight through diet, exercise, behavioral modification and medications. Bariatric, or weight loss surgery is often the final effort for many on a long, difficult road to …
Alberta Health Services has had a tumultuous summer. There have been major changes at the highest levels of administration and governance of the province’s health system. A review of the recent history of restructuring in Alberta’s health system might be helpful to understand the recent changes. Moving towards health regions Alberta was part of the …
News headlines from across Canada are periodically dominated by scandals and errors in diagnostic imaging. The list grows each year, with errors exposed from coast to coast. The narrative follows the same arc – an error is discovered in an area of diagnostic imaging. A radiologist – generally the physician involved in the interpretation of …
There is a growing body of research suggesting that patients with urgent surgical needs are waiting too long for surgery. From the time that they present to an emergency department to being booked in for surgery, they can experience many periods of prolonged waits. While wait times for elective surgery are measured in Canada, waits for urgent surgery are not.
As part of the 2003 Health Accord, the Federal Government made major investments in interprofessional education. This included contributing $28 million dollars to build training centres across Canadian colleges and universities. Investing in interprofessional education was motivated by the belief that changing the way health care professionals work together would be a key part of …
Much of the focus on the health care needs of Canada’s aging population surrounds the shortage of physicians with expertise in care of older adults. But the country’s 75,000 licensed physicians represent only a small part of the Canadian health care workforce. By contrast, there are approximately 360,000 regulated nurses, 35,000 social workers, 30,000 pharmacists, …