How to Make the Social Determinants of Health Matter

 An Interview with Sir Michael Marmot Recently, I was fortunate to attend the Global Symposium on the Role of Physicians and National Medical Associations in Addressing Health Equity and the Social Determinants of Health held in London, England. The meeting was organized by the Canadian, British and World Medical Associations

Growing Income Gap Poses a Health Risk to All

 Certain Canadian commentators are bringing forth a strange critique of public health, suggesting that physicians and public health experts, charged with caring for the health of Canadians, should not concern themselves with the root causes of illness and stick to a narrow range of health interventions. Fortunately, Canadian health experts

How Canada Fails People with Mental Illnesses

 Canada Needs Improved Access to Mental Healthcare Services In any developed country, politicians and clinicians are struggling to improve quality of care while reducing costs of healthcare systems. To remedy this, groups of doctors across North America--including here in Canada--have banded together to create lists of medical procedures or tests

Health Canada Fails to Enforce its own Rules on Pharmaceutical Advertising

 A handsome man struts over to the office water cooler with a smirk on his face. When his colleagues ask about his weekend, he replies enthusiastically, with audio muted. A large blue pill appears with the tagline, “Viagra, Ask Your Doctor.” Vibrant, energetic older people are shown swimming, bowling and

Five challenges for bending the health care cost curve in Canada

 By Greg Marchildon and Livio Di Matteo Why health reform remains a challenge Canadian economists received a pleasant surprise this year: expenditure growth on public healthcare in Canada finally appears to be slowing down. However, it is unclear if this slowdown is the result of explicit success in sustainably bending the cost-curve

Your Car Crash Survival Guide: 8 Mistakes to Avoid After an Accident

 As accident and injury lawyers, we know how chaotic a car accident can be. We’ve had countless clients come through our doors wishing they had known what steps to take right from the start. Here are some of the major missteps we’ve seen over the years, and how you can

New Hospital Funding Model is a Leap of Faith

 Activity-based funding may discharge patients from hospital ‘quicker but sicker’ Most Canadians probably don’t realize that health care in Canada is quietly undergoing a major transformation in funding that could significantly impact patients.  Three provinces—Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia—are implementing a new funding model for hospitals and other provinces are

Look to Alberta Today, Not 20 Years Ago, for Guidance on Private MRIs

 Allowing private MRI clinics does not shorten wait times in public system  This past week, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall took to twitter to ask the question “Is it time to allow people to pay for their own private MRIs in Saskatchewan like they can do in Alberta?” This came after

Lac-Mégantic

 Everyone knows a Montreal Maine and Atlantic (MMA) train without engineer careened into Lac-Mégantic last July, derailed, exploded, killed 47 people, injured many others, destroyed the town’s centre, polluted lake and soil, and tore out the community’s heart. Blame has since been widely laid, from CEO Edward Burkhardt blaming the

Heroes betrayed —The Merchant Seamen story

 By Cliff Chadderton It is mid-January of 1940 in "an East Canadian port." Canada is at war. The recruiting offices are open. You see a poster of a soldier in a tin hat. You recall the slaughter of the trenches in Flanders in World War I and mutter: "No thanks."