Jan 7, 2025 · Are mask mandates in health-care settings justified? No public-health measure has resulted in as much controversy as face coverings. For a universal masking requirement in health-care settings to be acceptable, decision-makers must situate it within the context of public-health ethics to determine whether these mandates are justified.

Oct 21, 2024 · Last week, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a guideline that requires all homeopathic products to have a label that says they don’t work. Specifically, the FTC states that homeopathic products – which are, to be absolutely clear, nothing more than water or sugar pills – “must be substantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence” or the label must say “there is ...

6 days ago · In Walkerton, Ont., a new family medicine practice accepting patients drew a line of hundreds of people, some waiting in the cold as early as 2 a.m. One person described securing a family doctor as “winning the lottery.” A new study from Health Canada says we are short a jaw-dropping 23,000 family physicians in this country. We need more doctors – …

Nov 10, 2024 · In modern medicine, the term “surgery” conjures images of curative interventions. A paradigm shift, however, is emerging with the rise of palliative surgery – an approach that focuses on alleviating symptoms and enhancing quality of life for patients facing serious, non-curable illnesses.

Oct 23, 2024 · It’s easy to be pessimistic about Canada’s publicly funded health-care system. Public testimony and metrics can shock. A more fulsome reality is that there are successes leading to healthier and longer lives – even in my chaotic specialty.

Editor’s note: Jan. 19-25 marks Canada’s National No Smoking week, with the Ottawa Model for Smoking Cessation conference to be held Jan. 24-25. “Dual users,” people who both smoke cigarettes and vape, are a large but neglected group in Canada. They have not been adequately studied, and they ...

Jan 26, 2025 · The Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA) latest release highlights a deeply concerning issue: the growing influence of health misinformation in Canada. As a health-care provider in Toronto’s urban core, I see firsthand how misinformation disproportionately affects marginalized communities, including those from diverse cultural-linguistic backgrounds.

Aug 28, 2024 · Calls to “enhance productivity” in health care can feel like a euphemism for “do more with less” – a bitter pill to swallow for those of us on the front lines grappling with rising patient volumes, growing complexities of care, resource scarcity and staff shortages.

Oct 29, 2024 · 49% experience attitudinal barriers such as feeling judged, ignored or treated as inferior by health-care providers. This highlights how ableism may be preventing young adults from getting the care they need. 32% experience informational barriers, meaning they have received medical information in formats that did not suit …

Sep 23, 2024 · As health-care providers for people who use drugs (PWUD) in Ontario, we know that the decision to close 10 out of 17 safe consumption sites (SCSs) goes against current research and knowledge of best clinical practice.