Good morning, Other Siders!

Can you believe it's already our 10th edition? Time flies when you're having fun...and reading about healthcare!

Get ready to be dazzled by the wondrous world of healthcare as we embark on a joy-filled journey together. We're here to inject some laughter and cheer into your day while keeping you up-to-date with the latest healthcare insights, not just in Canada, but around the globe! 🌎💉

But before we embark on our insightful journey, let's celebrate! June 21st not only marks the summer solstice but🌞✨It's also a special day for our Indigenous communities, as we honour National Indigenous Peoples Day, embracing their rich culture and contributions.

Now, let's dive into our delightful healthcare extravaganza. We'll take you on a rollercoaster ride through the Canadian healthcare industry, throwing in some global surprises along the way.

So grab a cup of your favourite beverage ☕️, put on your reading glasses, and get ready to chuckle, learn, and celebrate this joyous edition.

News that impacts you!

🕰️ Outdated System, Desperate for Change💡

Today, we're talking about the sorry state of our healthcare system. According to André Picard, the health columnist for the Globe and Mail, our system is stuck in the past while we desperately need a modern makeover. He compares it to driving an Edsel when we should be cruising in a Tesla. Harsh, but true!

The main issue, Picard argues, isn't a lack of solutions but a lack of implementation. We're resistant to change, and that's hurting us. The problems are everywhere you look: the scarcity of family doctors, overflowing ERs, absurd wait times for specialists, and even drug shortages. To add insult to injury, we're still using fax machines in the 21st century! Seriously, what's up with that?

It's not just about the problems we're facing; it's the lack of action that's truly frustrating. Medicare has been around for decades, and numerous reports have highlighted the need for reform, but few recommendations have been put into practice. We're suffering from an implementation crisis, my friends.

So, how do we fix this mess? Picard's recipe for success is scaling up our successes and stopping the perpetuation of failures. We need a mindset shift and a willingness to embrace change. Every issue we face is administrative or structural, not technological or financial. It's time to shake off the attitude problem and bring our healthcare system into the 21st century.

🛏️ Boosting Accessibility: Sioux Lookout's Solution

In Sioux Lookout, Ontario, healthcare workers are optimistic that a new hostel will alleviate the strain of overcrowding for individuals seeking medical care in the community. Many people from remote First Nations in northwestern Ontario travel great distances to Sioux Lookout's Meno Ya Win Health Centre, the closest hospital, despite the need for plane rides or trips on an ice road. The Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority has been unable to accommodate an average of 1,222 clients per month, forcing them to stay in hotels far from their destination. The new hostel, expected to open this month, will provide an additional 89 beds. The challenges faced by Indigenous communities in accessing health care, exacerbated by chronic conditions and disabilities, highlight the need to improve access and create tailored programs within remote First Nations.

⌛️ Longer Wait Times Ahead?

Healthcare workers in Hamilton are standing up against the government's plan to allow more private clinics to offer publicly funded surgeries and procedures. They're concerned about the impact on the quality of care and the strain on workers. The government claims it will reduce wait times, but the workers disagree. They fear that nurses will leave hospitals to work at for-profit clinics, making wait times even longer. They compare it to the privatization of long-term care homes, which resulted in worse care for residents. Protesters delivered a petition to the CEO of St. Joseph's Health System, calling for support of public healthcare.

🤷🏻‍♂️ Bloated Bureaucracy Tangles BC's Healthcare

In British Columbia, the healthcare system is facing a crisis as the bureaucracy grows while frontline resources diminish. The BC Green Party and healthcare professionals are calling for significant reforms to address the issues plaguing the system. A bloated bureaucracy, with an excessive number of managers and project managers, is seen as a major contributor to the crisis. The province's specialist doctors also highlight how bureaucracy and red tape contribute to long waits for patients in need of specialist care. The recent takeover of an efficient urgent and primary care center by Vancouver Coastal Health further exposes the shortcomings of the system. These challenges are impacting Canadian people's access to timely and efficient healthcare.

How do you think the healthcare system in British Columbia can be reformed to address the growing bureaucracy and improve access to care?

💭Let us know what you think by writing to us at [email protected]

Tools & Tech to Keep a Tab On!

📝 Say Cheese! MuScRAT Captures Your MS Story

Multiple Sclerosis Reporting and Analytics Tool (MuScRAT), an AI-powered tool is being used in BARLO MS Centre at St. Michael’s Hospital. The purpose of the tools is to help neurologists and other staff to catch up on the clinical history of new patients, and plan upcoming appointments and their care paths. In the absence of such a tool, staff would need to go through individual EMRs to map out disease history. Two data sources are used by the tools to create patient timelines- the MS Clinic Registry database and clinical notes on the MS clinic’s electronic medical record. Furthermore, MuScRAT also uses Natural Language Processing to include the latest data by interpreting text from clinical notes during patient appointments and physical exams to create a timeline for each patient. Linking your past for a better future could never have been for better reasons.

💪 Supercharge Your Practice: MyPI is Your Sidekick!

My Practice Improvement Tool (MyPI), developed by The University of Calgary’s Office of Continuing Medical Education & Professional Development (CME&PD), in collaboration with the Physician Learning Program (PLP), is here to help physicians source data related to practice change and improvement as well as explore quality improvement (QI) opportunities. The tool provides e-coaching, a framework for physicians to reflect on their practice and form actionable change plans with reminders and goal-setting capabilities. Physicians can complete individual/group QI activities and even choose QI activity templates.

🧠 Youth Mental Hub: You’re Not Forgotten…

The mental toll on the youth who have loved ones who serve or have served in the military and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is often not spoken about. Such youth have experienced posttraumatic stress injury (PTSI) or operational stress injury (OSI) in one way or another through the experience of their loved ones. This is often due to the need to take on the role of a caregiver at a young age which comes with considerable mental pressure. Therefore, the Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families launched MindKit.ca. The website provides resources that are co-created with a youth advisory group and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). The resources include youth-friendly tools (webcomics, videos, audio clips, etc.) and coping strategies to support those whose lives have been impacted by their Family member's mental health injury.

Evolving Global Health

💬 Chat, Learn, and Save Lives with HidocMedibot's Superpowers!

HidocDr. is a doctor-education platform and already has over 2.6 million doctors worldwide consuming their content. Now, it has launched the world’s first medical chatbot- HidocMedibot on June 14th, 2023. The aim is to provide doctors and healthcare professionals with a convenient tool to access medical information and hence, improve patient outcomes. The tool is a customized bot packed with comprehensive medical knowledge and provides prompt responses to medical-related queries with direct access to all the content available on the Hidoc platform. Furthermore, the bot will help reduce the need to manually search for required information and find contacts for expert opinions. The initial beta version includes over 1000 articles and is set to scale to over 11 million by 2024.

💃 A new MOVEment that will make you- move it, move it!

Set to launch on Olympic Day, 23 June 2023 is a new global initiative between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the WHO to enable the world to ‘MOVE’ a little more through increased physical activity each day. According to the WHO (2022), one in four adults and over 80% of young people do not meet the recommended minimum activity levels needed for optimum health. The main reason is not having sufficient time to meet such needs, despite just needing 30 mins a day to gain mental & physical health benefits.

As a motivation to inculcate exercise as a daily habit in the long term, the Olympic MOVEment will provide a digital invitation from Olympians to move this day with them for 30 mins and join the Let’s Move Olympic Day digital workout from anywhere in the world. This is also your subtle reminder if you haven’t hit the gym as yet- summer is already here!!

Join the movement on olympics.com 

🦠 Just When You Thought It Was Over…

Vaccine-derived polio which develops when the attenuated poliovirus used to make oral vaccines regains its virulence has been on the rise. The majority of the outbreaks have been identified in sub-Saharan Africa, however, positive sewage samples have also come from the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel and the United States. The main causes of the rise have been attributed to the pandemic which prevented vaccination campaigns and surveillance, disasters and conflicts in most vulnerable countries and a delay in response while waiting for nOPV2 vaccine supplies, instead of using the older type 2 vaccine.

Some of the efforts in the pipeline to address this rise include technology to reduce the amount of time it takes to confirm the presence in wastewater samples and the use of an inactive form of the virus or virus-like particles for vaccine development. However, progress in the lab needs to match that on the field to ensure a successful transition from the ‘bench to the bedside’.

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