Good morning, Other Siders! Spring is finally here! And so is the end of the first quarter of 2023 🙀. Time flies so quickly!

The last two weeks have been quite eventful globally; while we struggle to keep our healthcare systems afloat post-pandemic, the evident economic crisis with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse has put the world in a panic.

We understand these are challenging times; it’s always good to take a moment to pause and reflect on how best we can navigate through these times. With the sunshine out there, take every possible opportunity to step out in the sun for walks and hang out with your loved ones.

Here’s today’s motivational quote to lighten up your week:

News that impacts you!

🚨 P.E.I. election dominated by pledges to fix health care system in crisis

While Healthcare across Canada is struggling, the healthcare system in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), is at risk of collapsing and has become a central issue in the province's current election campaign. Politicians from all parties have pledged to fix the system, with promises to increase staffing, open more collaborative medical practices, and expedite the licensing of foreign-trained doctors.

The Progressive Conservatives (PCs) have promised a "doctor for every Islander" within two years by opening more collaborative medical practices, with the goal of taking everyone off the patient registry. The Liberals have promised to expand nurse training programs on the island and increase the supply of nurses and doctors by offering better salaries. The Green Party and the Liberals have put plans for a medical school at the University of Prince Edward Island on hold, but the PCs and the New Democratic Party want to move ahead with the project. The P.E.I. Medical Society is calling for urgent action to prevent the system from collapsing.

🚫💰 Adding to the stress, Ontario’s government is terminating free access to care for uninsured

Ontario's government has decided to end funding for a program that provides free medical services to uninsured individuals on March 31, 2023. The program, which was established at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, allowed anyone to access "medically necessary physician and hospital services." This decision has been opposed by the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), which said it would be detrimental to the marginalized community. The OMA wants the Ministry of Health to extend the program temporarily until a long-term solution can be developed. The ministry, on the other hand, says the funding was put in place as a temporary measure to ensure people had access to medical services when it was difficult to leave the province during travel restrictions. The OMA also said that doctors often exercise a moral obligation to care for uninsured persons without being compensated.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know by answering the poll below:

🤞And there is hope! Poilievre proposes a national standard for healthcare workers' mobility in Canada

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has proposed a "Blue Seal" standard to develop a national standards system for healthcare workers, allowing qualified doctors and nurses to work anywhere in Canada. The proposed standard would apply to the national competency test, and if healthcare workers pass the test, they would be licensed and able to work anywhere that adopts the new standard. The lack of mobility for doctors has been flagged by the Canadian Medical Association as a significant problem in Canada's healthcare system.

Provinces have moved independently to ease cross-border restrictions, with B.C. and Ontario moving ahead on allowing doctors from other provinces to work more easily, and Nova Scotia accepting U.S. board certifications for doctors and nurses. The federal government has also pushed for better data sharing and reporting between provinces and a national recognition of credentials for healthcare workers.

Tools & Tech to keep a tab on!

🤖 India is making giant strides in keeping with the theme for World TB Day - "Yes! We can end TB!"

The BMC (Mumbai’s municipal corporation) partnered with qure.ai, a digital health start-up, to run a pilot study across 9 BMC-run hospitals. In 2022, 57,781 patients were screened using AI-supported X-ray scanners at civic hospitals. Of these, the AI software flagged 10,225 as having presumptive TB and of 2,376 that returned for sputum collection, 704 were confirmed to have TB. The major benefit being detection in patients that visited for complaints other than TB and would have otherwise been undiagnosed. Given the outcome of the pilot project, the BMC is likely to tie up with AI companies in the future. Well Done- India!

📱 Ough..Ough! Your phone is listening to the sound of your cough

Therma Bright Inc. and AI4LYF announced that they are preparing to launch DCT- a digital cough data collection and screening smartphone application. This AI-enabled application could be used by individuals to record and collect cough sounds anywhere and at any time. Based on AI-ML technology, the app will be able to detect subtle and specific changes in cough sounds for a variety of respiratory diseases.

The plan is to first launch the app as a general educational tool via medical practitioners to increase awareness around the nature and frequency of coughs and then collect cough samples from patients with confirmed respiratory diseases.

📝 “Best of Both”- Preserving human intervention while leveraging the blessings of technology

Microsoft announced a new AI tool by Nuance called Dragon Ambient eXperience Express (DAX Express). Using a unique combination of conversational, ambient, and generative AI, the application automatically and securely creates draft clinical notes in seconds for clinical review and completion. Clinicians will benefit from the seamless capabilities of Dragon Medical One, DAX, and DAX Express, which are tightly integrated into the electronic medical record from pre-visit through post-encounter. The aim is to alleviate the administrative burden and potential burnout so that clinicians can spend more time addressing patient needs.

Evolving Global Health

🏥 Hospitals might just be the “Cure and the Cause” of your pain!

Imagine going to the hospital to be cured of your illness only to discover that your stay has just been extended – all thanks to a microbe called Candida auris (C .auris).

C. auris (family of fungus) has been found to spread at an “alarming rate” in the U.S. with clinical cases rising by approx. 400% from 476 in 2019 to 2,377 in 2022. Transmission occurs via contact with affected patients and contaminated surfaces or equipment and poses a major threat to those with compromised immune systems. Bloodstream infections are most common, however, the respiratory system, the central nervous system and internal organs, and the skin can also be attacked.

In addition to being resistant to different classes of antifungal drugs and robust cleaning and decontamination procedures, it is also difficult to detect. Therefore, cases will likely remain under-reported, and illness might be prolonged. Not to scare you off, but as they say, “awareness is the first step” towards prevention.

🦠 Ebola 2.0? Yet another threat surfaces… My bug, your bug, Marburg- Bah Humbug!

According to the WHO, there have been 7 deaths and 20 probable cases of Marburg virus reported from Equatorial Guinea. The virus was first discovered in laboratory workers in Marburg, Germany, that were in contact with infected African Green Monkeys. Infected animals can pass the virus to primates (including humans), and human-to-human transmission occurs through contact with blood or other body fluids. Proposed to be as deadly as Ebola, the virus causes severe fever and is often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure.

The virus has already become a serious threat in three of Equatorial Guinea's four mainland provinces. Since no vaccines or antiviral treatments are available yet, outbreak readiness and response capabilities have been boosted in neighbouring countries- Cameroon and Gabon. All eyes on MarBUG!

🤔 “To do or not to Do?” That is the Question….

Depending on which side you’re on, this might come as refreshing news to you….

The Democratic Gov. of Massachusetts issued a written statement citing guidance from the state board overseeing pharmacies to ensure "a continuous, sufficient supply of all family planning medications, including mifepristone, misoprostol, emergency contraception, and contraceptive prescriptions."

Massachusetts has made its stance clear on abortion access, despite the Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade judgement and, more recently, a federal judge considering a lawsuit that would overturn federal approval of a commonly used abortion pill- Mifepristone. This is also in stark contrast to Wyoming’s stance which made it the first US state to ban abortion pills after its governor signed a bill earlier this month.

💭We’re still keen to learn more about some of the unpopular opinions that you’ve kept to yourself and look forward to receiving your thoughts at [email protected]

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