Patient experience

‘Things went horribly wrong’: Patient advocates spreading the word about dangers of Botox

Much of the conversation about Botox centres on whether it looks good or bad, or if getting it can be considered a “feminist” choice. Less attention has been given to the fact that research indicates that one in six patients who are injected with Botox experiences adverse effects from the procedure.

Meeting patients where they are: Why medical training must include social media literacy

Some medical schools are beginning to explore digital health communication, but comprehensive social media literacy training remains the exception rather than standard practice.

Queering the curriculum: Sexual orientation and gender identity in Canadian comprehensive sexuality education

Comprehensive sexual education plays a vital role in equipping young people with knowledge about their bodies, identities, rights and relationships. But access remains uneven across the country.

Fail-first drug rules defy logic, deny timely access for people with rare diseases

Despite the recent approval of targeted biologics that can significantly improve quality of life, Canadians living with Myasthenia Gravis continue to face unjust policy barriers.

A roadmap for change: Building the health workforce Canadians deserve

A well-planned, integrated workforce can deliver access, improved outcomes and support our health professionals. It’s time to put the future in motion.

Living with stage 4 lobular breast cancer: What I want you to know

Lobular breast cancer is different. Vigilance matters. And stage 4 does not erase the possibility of hope or joy.

AI and the mental health crisis: Can chatbots fill the gap?

Canadians are increasingly turning to AI chatbots, like ChatGPT, for mental health support. But is this type of technology truly up to the task?

Caregiver calls for action to tackle cancer’s financial toxicity

Everyone agrees lack of money shouldn’t be a barrier to life-saving cancer care. But when cancer metastasizes to bank accounts it can reduce the odds of survival.

Using ‘integration’ to silence culturally specific care

When culturally specific care is allowed to vanish under another name, we all lose a piece of the commons we rely on.

Ontario has a new way of measuring how hard family doctors work. What does it mean for doctors and their patients?

The new “Continuity of Care” measure included in the new agreement between the Ontario government and its doctors has good intentions but comes with severe penalties and without necessary checks and balances.

Beyond pink and teal: Patient advocacy is not a morality play

Patient advocacy at its best is not about purity. It’s about presence. It’s about showing up, with all our raw, unpolished language and stories, to demand dignity for people whose lives are already heavy with suffering.

Was my wife’s hospital care an anomaly or the new normal in Ontario?

I had hoped my wife would get timely and dignified care like I'd received in the past. She did not. Was her care an anomaly or is it the way of the future? I don't know but I sure as hell hope it is not the future.

Expanding access to disability supports: the case for impact investing

Thanks to limited access to interventions and income thresholds that fail to account for the cost of caregiving, families with children with neurodevelopmental disabilities are often left to pay out-of-pocket for services.

Black mistrust is logical and rational: What public health policymakers must learn from Black communities

Black communities are not hesitant just for the sake of it. They are hesitant because of memory. They need structural change built from trust, not just crisis.

Patient Perspectives: Telling our stories is critical to improving care

As a physician, nothing will tell you more than simply asking someone how their illness impacts their lives and listening closely to their answers.

#ScienceMatters. Canadian medical, research, clinical and health-care organizations stand up for science

In Canada and around the world, science is under attack. Increasingly, clearly false health information is being normalized and it’s causing serious harm to patients, communities, public trust and health policy.

The Non-Suturable Wounds

A poem inspired by University of Toronto medical student Ye-Jean Park's clerkship rotation.

Beyond the signature: Is consent truly informed?

Moving forward, making informed consent truly informed – rooted in both equity and accessibility –  needs to be a priority, not just an ideal.

Healing the healers: Servant leadership and moral injury

In medicine, service and skill are not opposing forces. They’re inseparable. One without the other leads to harm. Together, service and skills just might help us heal.

Approved but denied: Canadians with neuromuscular diseases face unequal access to treatment

We are told health care in Canada is equal for everyone. But it is not. Particularly for patients with neuromuscular diseases, what you get depends on where you live.