Frontiers, like other for-profit open access publishers, has struggled with a perception it has low editorial standards and weak peer review. But is that true? In September 2023 Frontiers—one of the world’s largest open access scientific publishers, with a stable of 230 journals covering just about every field of science—retracted 38 papers. All had been […]
medicine
Inexperience Diagnosing Syphilis Adding to Higher Rates
With rates of syphilis rising quickly in the United States and elsewhere, clinicians are having to up their game when it comes to diagnosing and treating an infection that they may not be paying enough attention to. More than 200,000 cases of syphilis were reported in the United States in 2022, which is the highest […]
Nature Outlook: Children’s Health
Most parents want to protect their children from the variety of illnesses and experiences that can occur in the early years of life. Explores some of the biggest issues in children’s health in this Nature Outlook that I edited. Read more in Nature.
Does healthcare “hot-spotting” really save money and improve care?
Recent research underscores that there are no quick fixes for complex health and social problems. The idea behind the Camden Coalition of Health Care Providers’ renowned “hot-spotting” program makes a lot of sense: Since many of the heaviest users of health care have unmet health and social needs, identifying and providing extra supports to those […]
Liberals promise family doctors for all but is it realistic?
A major plank of the Liberal Party’s federal election platform is a promise to ensure that everyone in Canada has access to a family doctor or primary health care team. The party has pledged $6 billion over four years to support the commitment. Around five million Canadians lack access to primary care. But the Liberals’ […]
Are fees for cataract surgery still too high?
Improvements in cataract surgery mean the procedure is faster and safer than ever before, allowing ophthalmologists to perform operations more quickly. The rise in productivity has led to increased incomes for surgeons, but has improved efficiency led to lower costs to the health system? Read more in CMAJ.
Retirement plan options for pensionless physicians
Retirement planning has been front of mind for many Canadian physicians in recent months. More than 9,000 have signed a petition asking the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) to use some of the $2.6 billion it earned from the sale of MD Financial Management last year to create a pension plan for its members. Because there […]
Tailoring cultural safety training in health care to local context of Indigenous communities
Cultural safety training for working with Indigenous people is becoming a common part of physician education. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has said all medical residency programs will be required to include cultural safety training. “We know that Indigenous people have a very different experience in the health care system, for […]
Was euthanasia dispute behind CMA–WMA split?
A long-running dispute over euthanasia between the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and the World Medical Association (WMA) may have contributed to the CMA’s decision to resign from the global medical body, according to some Canadian doctors. Read more in CMAJ.
Evolution in models of primary care
British Columbia has jettisoned its ambitious 2013 election promise to match everyone in the province with a family doctor. It’s yet another sign that governments are beginning to recognise an evolution in the provision of primary medical care — an evolution that’s supported by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. The GP for Me program had […]