White Coat, Black Art with Dr. Brian Goldman
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To prepare for future heat waves, classify air conditioners as medical devices, UBC expert says
Advocates say the devastating heat dome in B.C. in June through early July should be a wake-up call for health authorities to develop new measures to better protect the elderly and other vulnerable populations from future extreme weather emergencies.
From victims to advocates: People with developmental disabilities are changing the health-care system
Dr. Brian Goldman explores how medicine has treated people with developmental disabilities, and what's being done to remedy the cruelty of the past.
Q&A
'Most important part of that job is the people part of it': Meet Iain White, dietary aide and health-care hero
Iain White’s mother says her son and other dietary aides are unsung health-care heroes of the pandemic because they plate, prep and serve food to residents while offering connection and companionship.
SPECIAL
Prescription for Resilience: How Canadians are coping with COVID
Canadians reveal how they’ve coped with loss and isolation during the pandemic, in big ways and small.
Q&A
Maria Boutilier: housekeeper and health-care hero
Maria Boutilier is an unsung hero of the pandemic for keeping up with the frenetic pace of cleaning and getting rooms and stretchers ready for patients sick with COVID.
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Why the new drug for Alzheimer's disease is causing controversy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave "accelerated approval" this month to the first new drug to treat Alzheimer's disease in nearly two decades. But there is controversy over the efficacy of the drug, as well as its cost and side effects. Saskia Sivananthan, chief of research and knowledge translation for the Alzheimer Society of Canada, breaks down what we know so far about the drug.
Off work for 8 years, woman says she got her life back with unique kind of talk therapy
Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy, a type of talk therapy that digs into the emotional roots behind a person's physical ailments, is gaining notoriety for helping some long-suffering patients with unexplained medical symptoms.
Q&A
How 'scary' ER visit led to an app that allows Indigenous patients to share stories of racism in health care
The incoming president-elect of the CMA invented the Safespace app with his brother after a “scary” ER experience. They hope to spur action on racism in Canada’s health-care system with a pseudonymous platform for Indigenous patients to share their experiences.
Q&A • The Dose
How the pandemic impacted vaping and smoking rates — and why it showed vaping is 'here to stay'
The pandemic contributed to a drop in the rates of smoking and vaping tobacco. But while smoking rates continue to fall, vaping rates especially in teens, appear to be creeping up again. David Hammond, a professor of public health, outlines the risks and why we also can't forget the 'old pandemic' of smoking.
Doctors worry they won't be able to help every cancer patient diagnosed, treated late due to COVID-19
As Canada begins to emerge from the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, specialists who work with cancer patients say they’re concerned they won’t be able to help everyone whose serious cancers have either gone undetected or been diagnosed late because of the crisis.
The Dose
Are you having a 2-dose summer? Expert weighs in on what's safe to do when you're fully vaccinated
More and more Canadians are getting their second dose of COVID vaccine. So what's safe for you to do if you're heading into a two-dose summer? Can you travel? Hug your grandkids? Go to restaurants? Infectious diseases specialist Lynora Saxinger has the answers for what life can look like if you're fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 shows pharmacists have bigger role to play in Canada's health-care system, experts say
The pandemic has demonstrated how pharmacists can and should play a bigger role in Canada’s health-care system, because they’re an easily accessible source of essential medications, medical advice and referrals.
The Dose
Canada has a 'narrow window' for containing delta variant, also known as B1617, warns U.K. expert
U.K. epidemiologist Dr. Deepti Gurdasani says the delta variant, also known as B1617, is driving a new COVID wave in the U.K. — and warns Canadian officials that with delta already in Canada, they need to act fast and roll out those second doses to as many people as possible.
How the pandemic sparked a new program that connects rural Ontarians to rapid-response health care
A new pilot program in rural Ontario is providing health-care services to thousands of people who don't have family doctors — and much of it is being done remotely, partly as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Made-in-Canada solution: 'Hockey hub' vaccine clinics are getting the job done faster
There’s a new — and distinctly Canadian — way to run a vaccine clinic, and it’s getting the job done faster and more efficiently, say public health workers.
The Dose
The psychology of post-pandemic life — why you might feel anxious about re-entry
Feeling anxious about re-entering society when pandemic restrictions are lifted? Or are you looking forward to some "hypersociability?" Psychology Prof. Steven Taylor walks us through the psychology of post-pandemic life.
Hospital social workers help COVID-19 patients, grieving families get through some of their worst days
For hospital social workers in the thick of the pandemic, these days, their job involves everything from providing emotional support to ailing COVID-19 patients and their families to helping them arrange video calls and access vital services.
The Dose
Coronavirus is airborne so stop disinfecting everything: expert
Stop cleaning and start ventilating — that's the message from Michael Brauer, a professor in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. Given the scientific consensus that the coronavirus is airborne, Brauer is calling for a shift in COVID prevention strategies.
This critical care paramedic worked a week of 12-hour shifts to help keep Ontario's ICUs from overflowing
In order to make room in crowded hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area, critical care paramedics with Ornge are transferring COVID patients to facilities in Kingston, London, St. Catharines, Barrie, Peterborough, Ottawa, Thunder Bay and Sudbury.
The Dose
Focus on vaccination rates, not herd immunity as the way out of the pandemic: expert
Catherine Hankins, the co-chair of Canada’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, explains why achieving herd immunity may be elusive, but stopping transmission with vaccines can lead to a similar return to some semblance of normalcy — and that should be the focus.
These medical residents are learning to be better doctors during a pandemic
Medical residents across the country have faced unprecedented challenges as residents working in a pandemic. And that has an effect on patient care.
The Dose
Cannabis use rose over the pandemic, so what do you need to know about the risks?
Whether we're smoking, vaping, eating, or even drinking it, we've used cannabis more over the course of the pandemic, recent data suggests. So what are the risks of cannabis use? And how can you minimize those risks? Neuroscientist Sarah Konefal, a research and policy analyst with Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction, has the lowdown on the reducing the harms of getting high.
Doctor urges more vaccines for Brampton to quell sky-high COVID-19 cases
In hard-hit Brampton, Ont., where COVID cases are among the highest in the country, there are too few vaccines and too many barriers to getting an appointment, say community health experts who live and work in the area.
The Dose
Evidence suggests outdoor COVID-19 transmission is low. Here's what you need to know
The risk of catching coronavirus outdoors is very low, yet new pandemic restrictions in Ontario ban most outdoor sports and gatherings. Infectious diseases physician Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti joins Dr. Brian Goldman to debunk myths about outdoor transmission and explain why being outside is much safer than being inside.
'The stress, the anxiety, the nightmares': What it's like to work in the country's strained ICUs
Acute care nurses and doctors say the influx of third-wave patients is taking a huge toll on them and other health-care professionals who care for the sickest patients in hospitals across the country.
