Biologics Explained: A Deep Dive Into Modern Medicine’s Breakthroughs

 Biologics have become a cornerstone of modern medicine, offering new hope for many challenging medical conditions. These advanced therapies are made from a variety of natural sources, including humans, animals, or microorganisms, and are used to treat diseases with precision and efficacy that traditional drugs often cannot match. This guide

Three Reasons Why The Canadian Conventional Medical System Is Destined To Fail

 In 2017, the Canadian medical healthcare system cost us approximately $264 billion. That cost equated to over 10 percent of our Gross Domestic Product. In 1975, the total cost of healthcare was below $25 billion, representing about 7 per percent of our GDP. Has this substantial increase in spending led

Food is not medicine

 By Dylan MacKay Hippocrates supposedly said, "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food." I disagree. Food is not medicine. I can hear people saying, "But Dylan, you have type 1 diabetes and a PhD in human nutritional sciences. Surely you of all people know that food has

Why Private Health Insurance Coverage in Canada Needs a Review

 Last week, the media carried a story about a nine-year-old boy in New Brunswick who was denied private health coverage because of his weight (at 5 foot 2 inches and 135 pounds).  His family were shocked – as were many reading the story – that a child could be denied

Pokémon Go Shows There is a Better Way to Promote Healthy Behaviours

 By Tanishq Suryavanshi and Steven J. Hoffman The recent release of Pokémon Go, the mobile phone augmented reality game, has taken the world by storm. The game has become a fitness icon, requiring players to walk or run around in the real world to catch Pokémon creatures in their virtual world.

Why Aren’t Governments and Medical Associations Doing More About Superbugs and Over-Prescribing?

 In 1928, a petri dish in Alexander Fleming’s lab was accidentally contaminated by a mold spore, leading to the discovery of penicillin and, in time, a revolution in medicine. Deadly infectious diseases like pneumonia, meningitis and tuberculosis could now be reliably treated.  Everything from childbirth, to transplant surgery, to chemotherapy

Common Items That Can Cause a False Positive on a Drug Test

 by Vivian R. Smith For most business owners, finding ways to narrow down the prospective employees that they have is important. There are a variety of ways that they can do this, but none are quite as effective as drug test kits.  While these tests can be highly effective, they

Review: A Neurosurgeon’s Challenge

 Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery Henry Marsh St Martin’s Press, New York, 2014. Reviewed By Don MacLean Consider, if you will, the delicate surgical task of removing a pineocytoma, which is defined as “an uncommon, slow growing tumour of the pineal gland.” The patient is

Dear Health Minister – Please Reinstate Funding for Cochrane Canada

 Cochrane is a key global healthcare resource that needs Canada’s involvement Imagine you’re our new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. Despite a grueling election campaign, you’re flush with energy and idealism in a country where “better is always possible.” One key priority is improving Canada’s prosperity but there are also many

Catastrophic pharmacare is a catastrophe

 Why the provinces don’t need $3 billion in federal tax dollars for flawed prescription drug policies Last week, the CD Howe Institute called on Ottawa to give provinces nearly $3-billion to establish national standards for catastrophic drug coverage and to mandate a system of transparent price negotiations with pharmaceutical drug

Why the Federal Government Needs to Keep its Promise to End Income-Splitting

 Children’s Health More About Good Social Policy than Medicine Alone. More of Canada’s children are living in poverty than ever before. A new report reveals that child poverty rates in Canada remain unconscionably high. Almost one-third of children in Toronto live in low-income households. Population measures of child health in Canada are also troubling,

Current Patchwork of Funding Policies for Children’s Medicine in Canada Needs Critical Attention

 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? Sadly this dilemma is one too many Canadians are facing.

Are we finally in a health election campaign?

 Why more affordable medications for Canadians should be an all-party priority in this federal election. It's become almost a matter of faith: health and health care are perennially among the top priorities for Canadians, but are nearly invisible in election platforms and debates. This observation has led health care providers, health care

The Church and State Debate

 By Michael Coren Oh Mr. Lunney, whatever are you playing at? Long-time Nanaimo MP James Lunney announced recently that he was leaving the Conservatives because he could no longer speak as a Christian while being part of the party caucus. There was, he said, a nasty sense of religious persecution

Blair Animal Hospital: Customizing Pet Care

 Pets are like family. The moment they step into our lives, they hold a special place in our hearts. As pet owners, it is of utmost importance to provide them with veterinary care throughout their lives to support their health and quality of life. The team at Blair Animal Hospital

Compulsory insurance does not create affordable access to prescription drugs

 By Steve Morgan New Brunswick has opportunity to reduce pharmaceutical drug prices dramatically with a single payer system. The Liberal government of New Brunswick appears to be stepping back from the brink of mandatory prescription drug insurance. And so they should. The Conservatives had pitched the drug plan as a

Ontario Spends More than $11 billion a Year on Prescription Drugs

 Why an income-based drug plan would not be good for Ontario’s economy or its seniors Ontario spends $11 billion per year on prescription drugs. Nearly half of this is spent on medicines used by senior citizens, a group that receives public subsidies for nearly all of their prescription drug costs

Naturopathic and Conventional Medicine Team Up to Fight Cancer

 The Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC) and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) have been given a $3.85 million research grant to look into the effects of naturopathic medicine combined with conventional medicine. The two Ottawa-based institutions will be researching the effectiveness of different types of medicines used in conjunction with one

Music Meets Medicine: Allison’s Brain

 Robert McMechan and his wife Allison Woyiwada recently released Allison’s Brain, a book they wrote together. It is the story of Allison’s medical journey, from diagnosis to recovery. Woyiwada was diagnosed with a large brain aneurysm in 2011. In a surgery that followed, the aneurysm was clipped. After the procedure,

Better Health Together – How Technology is Transforming Health Care

 The digital revolution has hit the health-care system. Thanks to federal investments in digital health through Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) and every province and territory, Canadians are benefitting from billions of dollars in health system efficiencies and improved patient experiences. Investments in innovation have led to the use of electronic

Moving towards integrative oncology as a system of cancer care

 Over half of all people living with cancer use complementary medicine alongside standard treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre (OICC) harnesses the best of what complementary medicine has to offer providing this in conjunction with conventional cancer care, according to an approach known

Putting the “Science” in “Science Fiction” – Nanotech Part 2: Medical Nanotech

 In an earlier blog, I discussed the field of nanotechnology – the science of manipulating matter on the molecular and atomic scales. Nanotechnology, or nanotech for short, is a field of study that is growing rapidly, and promises to have many far-reaching applications for improving daily life. Although many industries

Canadian Pharmaceutical Companies Take Innovative Approach in Response to United Nations Report to Stop AIDS in Africa

 The United Nations says that access to medicine could save 10 million lives a year globally and is recommending that drug makers support research for neglected diseases and cut prices for medicines in poorer countries. Paul Hunt, an independent UN expert on the right to health, estimates that two billion