Though it “could be a little worse,” the physician predicted Covid will effectively act as a “second circulating flu” this winter.
Category: Policy
COVID-19 can be an opportunity to eliminate low-value health care
The COVID-19 pandemic has stretched health care systems across Canada beyond capacity. Surges of COVID-19 have strained available beds, exhausted health care workers and resources. Some regional and provincial health systems delayed all non-essential p…
Digital health equity is an emerging gap in health
Digital health equity is a new crisis that connects urban and rural health and impacts unique and diverse populations. Based on the World Health Organization, “health equity is defined as the absence of unfair and avoidable or remediable differences in…
People with addiction belong in clinics — not jails
“Doc, I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I’m here right now.” Though in his mid-60s, my patient had the wide-eyed bewilderment more familiar of a child. He was late for our first visit together — but he was there and agai…
Our health care system may be failing, but It isn’t broken
Adapted from Rich & Dying: An Insider Calls Bullsh*t on America’s Healthcare Economy. I’ve stood in front of conferences before and made my case: our health care system is perfect. “A perfect system? Ours?” I’ll hear people in the audience mu…
Doctors: You can increase voting in the U.S.
A vital sign of U.S. democracy — voter participation — is very low, and health professionals providing holistic care can be part of the solution. Holistic care should be expanded to include civic health. U.S. voter participation ranks 28th among 35 nat…
COVID-19 proved that diverse voices make health care better
I’ve been reflecting on how the scientific world came together over the past 15-months to take on a viral pandemic. Despite unprecedented circumstances, the field achieved one of the most incredible feats of modern medicine, and for once, we achieved i…
The expanding role of specialists in value-based care
Value-based care has become a buzzword over the past decade with early experiments in Massachusetts, followed by creating Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) as part of the Affordable Care Act. As commercial insurers jumped onto this bandwag…
Surgical volumes are still down. A data-first strategy is the key to recovery.
Due to COVID-19, hospitals were forced to reevaluate and rework systems and processes that had been around for decades. From managing the increasing demands for testing and treating patients with the coronavirus to acquiring necessary medical equipment…
Why it is essential to prioritize universal coverage
A patient of mine (who was also a friend) reached out recently to say the cost of one of his essential medications had increased to a $300 monthly out-of-pocket expense. As an independent musician, he did not get his health care through an employer. Th…
