How to shorten hospital wait times in Canada Long wait times are the vulnerable soft underbelly of the Canadian health system. Canadians treasure our single-payer, publicly funded program of physician and hospital care, virtually as a defining part of our national identity. And yet, increasing legal and political pressure over quick access to elective surgeries […]
Does Ontario have enough doctors? This question may have a surprising answer for some: yes, we may have enough doctors. How is this possible when many don’t have a doctor or wait days, weeks or even months for a medical appointment? We have more doctors than ever before, but many aren’t located where we need […]
Individuals with developmental disabilities are living longer than ever A combination of better medical care and good lives in the community have led to longer life expectancies for individuals with a developmental disability – that’s a good news story. But many are now outliving their parents who have taken care of them over their lifetimes. […]
Counting macros, tracking macros, IIFYM—if it fits your macros. In the last few years, it seems our attention has shifted at least somewhat from calories to macronutrients, particularly when it comes to weight loss. But just because lots of people are talking about macros—counting them, hitting them, etc.—do we all need to? Many people already […]
It is time to re-think our budgeting It’s budget season and Canadian provincial governments are continuing the tradition of spending more on health care than any other single portfolio. For example, Alberta spends almost half of its provincial budget on health – an estimated $22 billion this year – which is more than any […]
We can’t afford to ignore this Provincial Ministers of Health and Ministers of Finance seek to “bend the health care cost curve” but year after year, provincial budgets bend the cost curve in the wrong direction, adding billions of dollars to provincial health spending. In fact, we’ve doubled spending on our medical treatment system in […]
What started as pilot project by two frustrated doctors is evolving into standard practice as more jurisdictions, including the Ontario government, get on board. Dr. Clare Liddy and Dr. Erin Keely share their story – and their lessons learned along the way. Dr. Clare Liddy is a Tier 2 Chair, Associate Professor and Clinical Investigator […]
Canadian Medicare would not exist without the actions of the federal government. But in recent years, there has been an atrophy of the imagination about Ottawa’s role in health policy, as if federal transfer payments to the provinces and territories were the beginning and the end of everything. Last week, we submitted a report to […]
It’s been a dozen years since healthcare apology laws came to Canada – but do they work? My introduction to the complex and emotional world of adverse events in healthcare occurred in 2001 when I chaired a committee to review an inquest report into the tragic deaths of twelve infants in a paediatric surgery program […]
We need real solutions to obesity and Type 2 diabetes Two of the most well-known American food journalists have been telling readers lately that the DASH and Mediterranean diets are not tops for our health. But hang on – the evidence tells a different story. The journalists are Gary Taubes, the author of The […]
