Primary care

Alberta hospitals battle wave of sick children as viral illnesses surge

Posted wait times have spiked to 17 hours since late September as pediatric hospital admissions rise. Alberta’s pediatric hospitals are dealing with a wave of respiratory illnesses, including RSV, influenza and COVID-19. The … READ MORE

B.C. teenager waited almost 2 years for scoliosis surgery

Solutions to shorten wait times include triaged referral system, incentives to reach timeline targets. Cael Perry (middle) with his parents Sharlene and Chris. Cael was diagnosed with severe thoracic scoliosis in November 2020. David … READ MORE

Experts plead for more pediatric telehealth

A specialty group is asking federal and state governments to preserve and expand access to telehealth services for children with developmental and behavioral problems. Monterey County pediatricians adjust to shelter in place. Monterey … READ MORE

The doctor won’t see you now: Why access to care is in critical condition

In addition to patient care, many doctors also have heavy administrative burdens, including insurance company requests and government forms that advocate for their patients’ needs, as well as all the challenges of running an office. … READ MORE

Alberta government’s failure means we must protect ourselves

It has become clear that the Alberta government has given up on its role to protect us from the acute and long-term risks of COVID-19. “Everyone will get it” seems to be the mantra of the day. This defeatist ethos is a … READ MORE

Scribes can help transform health care by creating better clinical data

“Insurers, drug companies and large HMOs are mounting an extensive effort to use medical data to decide which treatments are best, which doctors are best and which plans keep people the healthiest.” That quote, seemingly … READ MORE

CERB helped Canadians during COVID-19 — but not the most vulnerable

To coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Dec. 3, Statistics Canada released new data about workers with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Low employment rates, coupled with limited government … READ MORE

Pediatric telemedicine services can work well under the right conditions

Interviews with pediatricians show that providing remote medical consultations is highly stressful and challenging, but this can be managed with extra skills and training. Telemedicine for children with disabilities in remote … READ MORE

A national electronic health record for primary care

The Canada Health Act states that health care should be portable — but health records are not. Despite billion-dollar efforts to promote information transfers between jurisdictions,[1] sharing health information today often requires … READ MORE

Capital funding of health care in Canada is critical, yet declined in last 20 years

Capital funding of health care, used to build new hospitals, redesign or upgrade existing facilities and invest in new technologies, has declined in Canada over the last 20 years, according to an analysis in CMAJ Canadian Medical … READ MORE

Telemedicine broadening access to care for those with cerebral palsy

Dr. Loren Davison at UC Davis is projected from a monitor, as he watches physical therapist Janet Freeman work with a patient during a telemedicine session at Hoover Elementary School. The Stockton school is the site of a pilot … READ MORE

People with disabilities excluded from re-opening plans, advocates warn

People with disabilities have been shut out of the conversation as Canadians plan to return to school, work and play, further jeopardizing their health and safety in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, advocates warn. The woman in the … READ MORE

Why Indigenous communities seeing few cases of COVID-19

Indigenous communities have fared better than the rest of Canada in the first wave of the pandemic despite facing major challenges to infectious disease control. Canadian Medical Association Journal by Jolene Banning, Canadian Medical … READ MORE

Virtual care can make all the difference when treating the most vulnerable patients

Beyond the pandemic, we need to ensure virtual medicine remains a permanent fixture of health care system. A pediatrician takes part in a telemedicine call with a patient over a secure video connection. While it isn’t perfect, … READ MORE

Veterans can now use an iPhone to pull up their health records

Apple has teamed up with Veteran Affairs (VA) to allow those who’ve served our country to now access their health records via iPhone. Health records access via Apple’s Health app has been available to iPhone users since the … READ MORE

The military provides health care to its members, but not their families

Many health care providers are unaware that military families are divided in the way they access health care—that is to say, each family is divided. Caring for Military Families in the Patient’s Medical Home, PDF © The College of … READ MORE

In Canada, Albertans wary of ‘big brother’ with use of COVID-19 digital-tracing app

More users needed: Lessons from Alberta’s coronavirus contact tracing app. Alberta released its contact tracing app, ABTraceTogether, last week. But early uptake figures and a key design quirk show how challenging it will be for … READ MORE

New smartphone app gives Albertans access to virtual health care during COVID-19 pandemic

Babylon mobile app allows you to check symptoms, consult with doctors. Using Babylon, an app developed by Telus Health, patients can have one-to-one video consultations with doctors, with the cost of those virtual visits covered by … READ MORE

Alternate payment model is saving province millions at two Alberta clinics

HQCA studied 10 years’ worth of data at two clinics that offer team-based model of care. A new report by the Health Quality Council of Alberta reveals two Alberta primary care clinics — using an alternative funding model for … READ MORE

Dodgy treatment: it’s not us, it’s the other lot, say the experts. So who do we believe?

Will my surgery work? Well, it depends on who you ask. Patients might not be getting the best advice about which treatments do or don’t work, according to our study published today. We found professional societies are more likely to … READ MORE

Alberta nurses have ‘grave concerns’ with rollout of Connect Care

A new electronic system that will eventually be used across all Alberta Health Services facilities is scheduled to launch at some Edmonton locations at 4 a.m. Sunday. WATCH: Some Edmonton health facilities are bracing for potential … READ MORE

Emergency pediatric space opens at Calgary’s South Health Campus

‘This will be a comforting space where children and parents can come for care.’ Ethan Nielson, a former patient at the Calgary’s South Health Campus, cuts the Ribbon to open a new emergency care space for children, … READ MORE

Is joint replacement surgery necessary?

Non-surgical and minimally invasive surgical options for deteriorating joints may allow some patients to delay or avoid joint replacement surgery. Evoke™ knee brace. OssKin. By Kim Waterman, Northwestern Medicine, Orthopedics … READ MORE

Apple opens iPhone EHR features to all healthcare organizations

Apple has announced that it will allow any US healthcare organization with a compatible electronic health record (EHR) to register with its mobile Health Records feature, according to a tweet from Ricky Bloomfield, MD, Apple’s … READ MORE

Finnish healthcare and social welfare system provides a variety of e-services to citizens

The system presses on towards the next level of usability and interoperability for professionals. THL studies population health and welfare, effectiveness of health and welfare policies and services, environmental health as well as … READ MORE

South Health Campus to open pediatric emergency care space

The South Health Campus is a big step closer to opening a pediatric emergency care space because of an anonymous donation of $3.9 million. Kids covers their hands in paint and are joined by dignitaries for the announcement of a $3.9 … READ MORE

Once its greatest foes, doctors are embracing single-payer

When the American Medical Association — one of the nation’s most powerful health care groups — met in Chicago this June, its medical student caucus seized an opportunity for change. Doctors for the 99 Percent march from Zuccotti … READ MORE

Death by 1,000 clicks: where electronic health records went wrong

Inside a digital revolution that took a bad turn. The U.S. government claimed that turning American medical charts into electronic records would make health care better, safer, and cheaper. Ten years and $36 billion later, the system … READ MORE

Apple to offer veterans access to medical records on iPhone

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Apple is in talks with the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer electronic health record access to military veterans. This comes as Apple continues its push into the health industry with … READ MORE

TELUS Health and Babylon to bring advanced digital health tech to Canada

Canadians will have more options for accessing quality care and communicating efficiently with healthcare professionals no matter where they are located. Babylon Health TELUS Health, a Canadian organization committed to driving … READ MORE

1 2 3 … 7 »