Scrubs in Healthcare: Why Do Doctors Wear Them? 

 Ever wondered why doctors and other healthcare workers wear scrubs? These outfits are now symbols of hospitals and clinics worldwide. However, scrubs are not just uniforms. They serve many purposes and make medical work smoother and safer. Let's look into why scrubs are so important and how they benefit both

A Functional Medicine Approach To Addressing Anxiety

 Anxiety can significantly impact your quality of life. While the conventional medicine approach focuses on balancing neurotransmitters in the brain, a Functional Medicine approach is to look for the root cause. Functional medicine is a holistic approach to healthcare that looks teaches healthcare practitioners including medical doctors to look for and

Do taxi drivers lack access to essential medicines because our MPs have it?

 By Nav Persaud The MPs mulling options for publicly funding medications this week will likely take their sweet time. There is no rush for them because they already have the type of publicly funded access to medications that is being contemplated for other Canadians. While approximately three million Canadians do not take

One in six Ontarians left behind in healthcare reforms

 Urban, poor and new immigrants less likely to get high quality care By Tara Kiran Primary care is considered the front door to our health care system. Whether you’re going for a general check-up or have just been diagnosed with cancer, your family doctor makes sure you get the tests,

Medicine is Not Just a Science, It’s an Art

 Why a good conversation with your doctor is good for your health By Lynn Wilson Many people see physicians as experts in “the science” of medicine. In my three decades of practising as a family physician, I have learned that being an expert in “the art” of medicine is of

Rejuvenate, Revive, and Renew: The Skin-ny on Medical Aesthetics

 Beauty is about so much more than the way you look; it’s about how you feel inside and out. Medical aesthetics is a specialized field of medicine with a focus on improving cosmetic appearance and restoring confidence. Medical aesthetic treatments like Soft-Lifts, CoolSculpting™, and ThermiVa™ are performed by qualified physicians

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.

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

Opioid Crisis Should Be Top of Federal Health Agenda

 Hundreds of codeine tablets stolen from the medicine cabinet of an elderly person living alone in a rural community.  Hydromorphone tablets being distributed at weddings and high school parties. Fentanyl patches being cut up and sold for a profit on the street.  This is the reality of the opioid crisis

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

What Should be Covered by our Publicly Funded Healthcare System?

 Patients and doctors need to learn the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want.’ All across Canada provincial governments are grappling with ever growing healthcare demands in the face of shrinking resources.  Our enviable publicly funded health system is now well into a downward spiral of unenviable disrepair.  As patients are becoming

Putting children’s health and resiliency on the national agenda

 By Chris Harper Last year, at a camp in southern New Brunswick, I met Evan. Before turning eight, he had bounced from foster home to foster home. He was sent to camp without a bathing suit or sufficient lunch. Regardless, Evan smiled constantly, excelled in school and had a striking sense of compassion.

Many Patients with Chronic Health Conditions Also Have Mental Health Issues that Go Undiagnosed and Untreated

 We need to better integrate physical and mental health services Our health system often divides mental health from physical health into distinct silos of care and treatment, yet no such mind-body duality exists in actual patients.  Many individuals with chronic health conditions simultaneously experience mental health issues -- and the

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.

Some of the Most Complex Needs of My Patients Stem from Poverty and not Disease Alone

 Why Canadian children need a champion. A young girl is referred to a pediatrician's office for inability to pay attention in the classroom. The child’s teacher is concerned she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and possibly, a learning disability. I am a second year medical student working in the

Response to Refugee Crisis Must Include Expanding Refugee Healthcare

 The haunting image of Alan Kurdi’s lifeless body lying face down on a Turkish beach, and the subsequent revelation of the Kurdi family’s intention to seek asylum in Canada, have prompted many Canadians to ask what we can do as a country to help Syrian refugees. So far, our search

Why Do I Feel So Achy, Cold and Tired?

 Photos courtesy of Dollar Photo Club Lets talk about Laura, aged 30. It’s 7 a.m. on a January morning in Orleans and Laura leaves her house, jumps into her car and starts her 45-minute drive to work into Ottawa. The mornings are really cold this time of year and although she’s

Those Pesky Wisdom Teeth

 By: Dr. Samuel Kucey, DDS, FRCD(C), Dip. ABOMS In North America, it is a rite of passage to be considered for removal of wisdom teeth, particularly in the orthodontic population. The first appearance of wisdom teeth occurs in the early teens and is complete in the late teens. Sometimes the jaw

The city’s kindest chauffeurs

 Photos courtesy of Wheels for the Wise If you or a loved one struggle with mobility issues, take a word from the wise and contact Ottawa’s driver-companion service. Launched in 2011 by 27-year-old entrepreneur Jana Mitchell, Wheels for the Wise Inc. is a form of safe transportation for senior citizens

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,

The Digital Health Highway

 Q How can technology help me manage my health and wellness? Most Canadians want access to digital health tools and capabilities for themselves and for their health care team, because they recognize that technology can help manage their health and wellness together. Clinicians are increasingly taking advantage of these tools