A Way Forward for Ontario’s Doctors

 Just over a week ago, 31 doctors proposed five principles to provide a way forward for negotiations between Ontario’s doctors and the provincial government.  That number has quickly grown to over 400 doctors signing on to the document in hopes of delivering a way out of the recent bargaining impasse.

Ottawa’s Most Innovative Hospital

 Tom Schonberg has been the President and CEO of Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) in Ottawa since 1998. He has played a big part in helping QCH become one of the top medical institutions in Ontario. Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, QCH serves a population of over 400,000 each year. It

From Hockey Player to Chiropractor

 For a short time in chiropractor Karlo Pavich's life, playing hockey was all he ever wanted to do. During his youth, Pavich lived that dream. From the age of 16 until the age of 23, Pavich skated his way into the professional hockey circuit. In his early years, Pavich played

A New Health Accord Needs to Include Better Planning

 Why a new health accord needs to include better planning for health human resources. There is growing talk of a new Health Accord between the federal government and the provinces and territories. This is such good news -- great news, in fact. If I were asked to have one thing

Why Ontario Needs to do More About Doctors who Abuse Patients

 Reforms by Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons are a step in the right direction, but not enough. Ontario’s College of Physicians and Surgeons receives numerous deeply concerning reports of doctors sexually abusing their patients each year despite the adoption of a “zero tolerance” approach to such abuse 20 years

How Doctors Can Tackle the Their Patients’ Poverty Without Leaving the Office

 Can a question asked in a doctor’s office contribute to ending poverty for patients and their families?  This is what we asked ourselves 10 years ago, as we set out to convince health providers to tackle poverty. There were two factors that pushed us into this work: first, the evidence

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

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

Introducing Digital Dentistry

 Written by Dr. Hassan G. Moghadam DDS, M.Sc, FRCD(C) Digital dentistry may be defined as any dental technology or device that incorporates digital or computer-controlled components in contrast to that of mechanical or electrical alone. This broad definition can range from the most commonly thought area of digital radiographs to the complex

Can Wait Times for Hip Replacements in Canada be Shortened?

 Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.  I spent my life teaching actuarial science at a university. As a result, I calculated lots of numbers:  averages, expected values, variances. But, they were only numbers. What I didn’t see was the individual human story behind each calculation. But now that I am the

The Digital Expert Will See You Now

 Why doctors and digital experts should work together to improve patient health  As a family doctor, I have seen a dramatic shift in the range of people I work alongside every day – all for the better. When I was in training, most family doctors worked only with other family doctors and

Four Things We Can Do to Improve Healthcare in Canada

 What’s next for primary care? Healthcare is the purview of the provinces in Canada, but health leadership–setting big picture goals, helping achieve best practices across the country and providing long-term, sustainable funding models–is the role of the federal government. As the federal election campaign wages, Canadians should be pressing federal

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

‘GumDocs’ Serving Patients & Creating Smiles for 20 Years

 Photo credit: Peter Waiser When it comes to anniversaries, twenty years is a special one for businesses. This year, GumDocs, the periodontal and implant clinic located on the fourth floor of a brownstone at Catherine and Bank is marking that special milestone. While the space has had a few makeovers

Dying Badly in Canada

 Canadians now have a right to medically hastened death, but no right to quality palliative care A few days after the Supreme Court of Canada overturned the prohibition against doctor-assisted suicide, I received a note from a wonderful colleague of mine saying that her closest friend’s 53 year old son

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

Better Health Together – How Technology is Transforming Health Care

 Founded in 2001, Canada Health Infoway is a federally-funded, not-for-profit organization whose role is to help improve health and health care by collaborating with every province and territory to propel Canada's move from paper to digital health. From 2007 to 2012, an estimated $8.6 billion in benefits accrued to Canadians

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

Canada Health Infoway: Better Health Through Digital Technology

 Better Health Together through new technology. That’s what it’s all about. An important trend in health care these days is patient-centred care and convenience. The idea is that in a world driven by technological innovation, patients should be able to securely access their full medical records online. Many in the

Haven of Hope: Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre

 Maybe you have a cough that won’t go away, or maybe a lump appears in your breast. You head to your doctor to get checked out, just to be on the safe side, hoping to be told it is nothing to worry about. Instead, tests you hoped were just routine

Are we taking too many pills?

 By Jennifer Paterson More Canadians are taking prescription medicine than ever before. Many busy people believe in the don't-think-twice, pop-it-in-your-mouth, "magic bullet" cure for all illness and disease. Total drug expenditures per Canadian were tallied at $681 in 2004 — up almost 8 per cent from 2003, according to a