Cinq milliards, mais pas de lumière
Au Québec, pour tous les soins offerts dans le système public, un seul organisme paie les services médicaux. Tous les services médicaux, de tous les médecins, pour tous les patients, depuis plus de 40 ans.
Fixing a broken environment to curb the obesity crisis
Obesity rates have roughly doubled in the past 30 years in Canada: 25 percent of Canadian adults and 13 percent of children are obese. Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa, and Dr. Denis Daneman, paediatrician-in-chief at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, explain why it is […]
Saskatoon’s housing crisis Is a health emergency
Recently, a disturbing photo of five people sleeping in a Saskatoon bank lobby became headline news and filled social media feeds.
Some of the most complex needs of my patients stem from poverty and not disease alone
A young girl is referred to a paediatrician’s office for inability to pay attention in the classroom. The child’s teacher is concerned she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and possibly, a learning disability.
Pharmacare is for kids too
You are the parent of a sick child. You have a limited budget and you must decide to buy the medicine the doctor prescribed for your child or provide food and shelter for your family instead. What do you do?
How can Canada reduce the number of children in care?
There are approximately 30,000 foster kids in Canada. Manitoba has the highest rates in Canada, with 10,000 kids in care. Canada does not have a national strategy for the provision of child protection services and does not keep reliable national statistics on kids in care, making it difficult to fully grasp the problem, says Dr. […]
Do Canadians spend too much on taxes?
“There are lies, damned lies and statistics” is the well-worn phrase, but nothing better sums up the recent Fraser Institute scare mongering about taxes being the single largest budget item of Canadian households.
Comparing the performance of health systems around the world just got a little easier
One morning, the media headline pronounces Canada’s health system should model that found in the Netherlands; the next week, we should follow Germany’s example, and yet another says Australia is leading the pack. Then there are the inevitable comparisons to the U.S. health system.
Many patients with chronic health conditions also have mental health issues that go undiagnosed and untreated
Our health system often divides mental health from physical health into distinct silos of care and treatment, yet no such mind-body duality exists in actual patients.
Canada has too many kids in care – and the situation is not improving
What happens to kids who authorities determine can’t live safely with their own parents or caregivers? Thousands of Canadian children are in this situation right now. Many go into foster homes, while others go into other types of out-of-home care on behalf of child welfare agencies. But we don’t know how many, nor do we know how well they are doing.
