Despite a shortage of physicians, Canada still struggles with the question of whether a doctor licensed in one province should be automatically qualified to practice in others.
A tiger dam is placed across all lanes of the closed Trans-Canada Highway near the flooded Sumas River, in Abbotsford, B.C., in December 2021.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Health systems are made up of people who are often members of the same disaster-stricken communities they serve. They respond to climate-related events, but are affected by them too.
All patients should have access to a primary care team with a minimum composition of a family physician and/or nurse practitioner, dietitian, nurse, occupational therapist, pharmacist, physiotherapist and social worker.
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A newly created Primary Care Action Team has a lofty goal: to ensure all Ontarians have access to primary health care within five years. Here are five principals to consider to help achieve it.
Caesarean rates alone don’t reveal anything about the circumstances behind the clinical decisions.
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As a standalone statistic, the rate of ‘low risk’ caesarean births lacks the nuance needed to inform and improve individual care. Childbirth metrics must adopt a broader, patient-centred perspective.
Most patients would rather spend their final days at home, but there aren’t enough community care resources to care for them at home.
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Most people would prefer to die at home than in hospital. If dying at home could be made more feasible and well resourced, both the dying and the living would benefit.
A collective apology cannot speak to the range of experiences or contributions to harm of anti-Indigenous racism. As racism operates at multiple levels, so must accountability.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
The Canadian Medical Association’s apology for harms to Indigenous Peoples is an opportunity to reflect on the gap between apologies and the work of true repair necessary for reconciliation.
Cancer is different for adolescents and young adults than it is for children or older adults.
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Cancer diagnoses in adolescents in young adults are rising. These patients are not only navigating the challenges of a life-altering diagnosis, but also other challenges distinct to their life stage.
If challenging health inequities requires questioning structures of power, then this must sit at the centre of the work of all physicians.
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De-centring medical expertise means fostering skillsets that reduce disparities in health outcomes. Medical expertise alone is great for those with social privilege, but not enough for the rest.
Resiliency training and other popular staff retention approaches will not solve the problem of desperately overworked staff.
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New simulation tools open the door for objective nurse workload management — a missing key to a healthy health-care system.
In honour of National Nursing Week May 6-12, consider asking a nurse about their work life. Demand for nursing services in Canada far exceeds the current supply of nurses.
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Surveying more than 5,500 nurses about the realities of their work lives highlights how a shortage of nursing staff could compromise Canadians’ ability to access safe, compassionate care.
Person-centred care means treating people who face health issues as valued partners in health systems.
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Research partnerships with the people and communities affected help to challenge health inequities, and support person-centred care in health systems.
We should be asking legislators and policymakers to build a health-care system that supports better lives for people with mental disorders and their families.
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In addition to asking health-care systems to prepare to end suffering of mental illness through Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), we must ask policymakers to support better lives for families.
As apps are direct-to-consumer health technologies, they represent a new folk medicine. Users adopt these technologies based on trust rather than understanding how they operate.
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Future AI large language models like Google’s AMIE might prove to fill gaps in health-care delivery, however, they must be adopted with caution.
A Canada-wide health information technology system based on open-source software could save billions for the health-care system.
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Canada has spent billions on health-care software that does not even communicate province to province. Free and open-source software would be a technically superior and far less expensive option.
Women — particularly racialized women — are more likely to be in positions at the lower end of the health sector’s pay scale, that also require close and prolonged contact with patients.
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Not only is the health sector feminized, but women — particularly racialized women — are more likely to be in jobs at the low end of the pay scale, but that require prolonged contact with patients.
Fixing the family doctor shortage can save lives and money at the same time.
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The shortage of family doctors affects not only patients, but the entire health-care system. A strong primary care foundation increases average lifespan, improves overall health and reduces costs.
Canada’s long-promised yet undelivered pharmacare program may be entering the most crucial phase in its history.
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A national procurement program for essential medicines could provide a principled, evidence-based solution to the current challenges facing a national pharmacare program in Canada.
A program offers training and education specifically on family medicine from the start of medical school, while bypassing administrative hurdles to residency.
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Education has a role to play in addressing the shortage of family doctors. A new program is designed specifically for comprehensive, community-based family practice.
A fundamental component for training health-care professionals is interacting with patients and families.
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Each encounter that health-care students have with patients and families helps them understand real-world patient needs. That means all Canadians have a role in educating future health-care providers.
It is clear that some public trust in public health, science and government has been lost in Canada and around the world.
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Now is the time to learn from the COVID-19 response through an action-oriented independent inquiry focused on accountability. Reforms to data generation, access and use are essential.