Primary 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.

Building capacity to attach all Ontarians to primary care: The Patient Core Team

As the province works toward attaching all Ontarians to primary care, it’s time to re-imagine how we build teams to support this new objective.

Calgary has won its latest skirmish, but the fluoride battle isn’t over

Medical experts in Canada and globally agree that fluoridation is a safe, effective way to help prevent tooth decay, especially in children. Yet, strong opposition to the measure persists.

Beyond funding: Why money alone won’t save primary care

As a physician who has witnessed this crisis unfold over 40 years of practice, I believe we need to examine why increased funding alone may not be sufficient to address the depth of our current crisis.

Health care’s domino effect: Turning challenges into building blocks

The very system meant to save our lives is quietly collapsing. This isn’t just a slow-motion crisis. It’s a domino chain already falling.

Beyond the signature: Is consent truly informed?

Moving forward, making informed consent truly informed – rooted in both equity and accessibility –  needs to be a priority, not just an ideal.

Healing the healers: Servant leadership and moral injury

In medicine, service and skill are not opposing forces. They’re inseparable. One without the other leads to harm. Together, service and skills just might help us heal.

Approved but denied: Canadians with neuromuscular diseases face unequal access to treatment

We are told health care in Canada is equal for everyone. But it is not. Particularly for patients with neuromuscular diseases, what you get depends on where you live.

Fluoride IQ studies relying on individual urine measures are worthless

Despite claims from U.S. officials like RFK Jr., studies have found no relationship between IQ and community water fluoridation.

Managing the Pitt. Experts discuss how to cope with the stresses of emergency medicine

Rates of burnout among emergency physicians are still on the rise. Here's how some experts are managing the stresses of the job.

We all deserve high-quality primary care. Help us measure how we’re doing

People across Canada have told us what they want in a better primary care system. This survey will help us understand how far we’ve come – and what still needs to change to make their vision a reality.

The potluck cure: Sharing meals, swapping stories in the doctors’ lounge to ease burnout

We must remind ourselves that historically through food and drink, medical professionals had built-in ways to connect and get social support throughout our workday.

Better together: Where are the pharmacists in Ontario’s primary care plan?

We have said it before. We will say it again. Pharmacists in Ontario are well-prepared for an expanded role in our health-care system.

Competency-based leadership: A critical imperative for Canadian health care

Canada is in a moment that demands more – more wisdom, more rigor, more courage. Medical associations, like the government itself, are being asked not just to manage systems but to transform them.

How to keep pushing forward: Lessons learned as CMA president

"The CMA presidency has been one of the most challenging, and humbling, roles of my career, but also one of the most rewarding and inspiring. These lessons are a call to action."

Cannabis education missing in Canadian health care

The legalization of cannabis was a watershed moment for Canada’s health-care system – but legalization without education has left patients vulnerable to misinformation.

Rethinking research priorities

The future of health research depends on a balanced approach – one that fosters innovation while staying rooted in the urgent challenges of today's health-care systems.

Report reveals ‘alarming trend’ of private staffing agencies in Ontario hospitals

New report reveals growth in government funding on Ontario’s public hospital systems has been significantly outpaced by spending on private staffing agencies.

Community oversight essential to improving primary care in Ontario

It’s time to roll up our sleeves and choose to build a primary care system that can truly stand as the foundation for Ontario’s health and social systems.

LifeLabs strike highlights risks of foreign ownership in Canadian health care

The months-long strike at British Columbia’s LifeLabs has raised questions about foreign ownership of medical services and Canadians’ health data.