We welcome your contributions and look forward to building up this forum as a place for informed discussion and debate about important issues in health care. If you would like to contribute to Straight Talk please contact me at: docbobbell@gmail.com.
- One year on and three steps backwards: Covid-19 and the NHS revisited (part 2)
The prime minister’s aspiration is to emulate Winston Churchill. To date he is more likely to be remembered as a clone of Neville Chamberlain, the ultimate appeaser. - One year on and three steps backwards: Covid-19 and the NHS revisited (part 1)
Last year, as Covid-19 took hold, it became clear why, as a country, our poor performance in managing the pandemic was to be anticipated. - The National Hockey League should not play in Canada during the pandemic
Canadians are in this together. Canadian National Hockey League teams should be in it with us. - From Crisis to Opportunity: Is the Pandemic the Catalyst to a Reshaping of Health and Care services in England?
We owe it to the NHS staff and patients, who have suffered the tragic consequences of the virus, to exploit the opportunity the crisis has presented. - Integrating Ontario’s Healthcare System: A Point of View
Investments in integrated care at an OHT level, leveraged across small population sizes, may be a dilution of resources towards an ineffective outcome, and at best a duplication of effort. - Setting Your Spidey Sense Level
Every family doc knows that your spidey sense level can determine whether you upset patients with unnecessary testing and referrals or risk missing a rare condition with potentially profound consequences. - Dr. Bob Bell isn’t apologizing for medicare
He spoke with us about his eight-part investigation of different international health systems, his motivations, and the comments from doctors. - Unrecognized Physician Pay Inequities in Canadian Medicine
While the feminization of the physician workforce has been well documented and discussed, another shift has also taken place which has not been very well recognized in the typical analysis of physician profiles. - Choosing Wisely Canada Now in the Big Leagues
As Canada reflects on the sustainability of a publicly funded system that must respond to the challenges of an aging population, the importance of reducing low-value care becomes increasingly relevant. - The End of Ontario’s Cancer Quality Partnership
The termination of the Quality Management Partnership at CCO shows that the government’s current priorities do not include improving the quality of cancer diagnosis and treatment. - The Hoskins Report is Bold and Clever
In releasing its report last week, the Hoskins council took steps to ensure that adoption of pharmacare will be inevitable under a future Liberal majority or minority government. - Health TAPESTRY: Strengthening the Fabric of Care
Ontario needs innovation in cost-effective care that improves patient outcomes and experience. Health TAPESTRY meets all of these requirements. If its evaluation remains positive, expect the program to scale across the province and nation. - Vaccination: A shared Responsibility
Our laws require adults to wear helmets while riding a motorcycle. How on earth is it that we do not protect our most vulnerable from completely preventable infectious diseases? Mandatory vaccination must be a priority. - Male FPs out-earn women FPs annually by over 30%: Ontario data
As the proportion of women in medicine continues to rise, the pressure to examine, understand and potentially address the pay gap will also rise rapidly, writes Dr. Boris Kralj. - Making sense of Canadian health agenciesThe next two or three years will determine whether CEOs of super agencies can lead provincial health systems better than ministers and ministries. Progress in Ontario will be watched carefully.
- Canadians Do Not Need Private Pay for Medically Necessary Services
Canadians who are committed to publicly funded healthcare need to know that they have opponents that will use consumer dissatisfaction to suggest that private payment is required in our health systems. - Busting the myth of bloated health care bureaucracy
Eighteen years ago, six Ontarians died from the contaminated water tragedy in Walkerton. This sad episode in our public health history was caused by improper chlorination practices undertaken by employees of the local water utility.