OMA Spotlight on Health

Many Ontario patients are waiting weeks or even months to see a specialist. In this third episode of a three-part series, physicians explain how a centralized referral system could help alleviate anxiety and uncertainty around wait times, based on the Ontario Medical Association's Prescription for Ontario: Doctors' Solutions for Immediate Action advocacy document. Listen in as we hear from Dr. David Urbach, head of the Department of Surgery at Women's College Hospital in Toronto; Dr. Danielle Martin, a family physician in Toronto and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto; and Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia, a family physician in Waterloo and CEO of the non-profit eHealth Centre of Excellence.

Primary care in Ontario is in crisis, and team-based care is a key solution to helping the 2.3 million people in the province without a family doctor. In this second episode of a three-part series, physicians explain the benefits of team-based care for themselves, the patients they serve and the system as a whole, based on the Ontario Medical Association's Prescription for Ontario: Doctors' Solutions for Immediate Action advocacy document. Listen in as we hear from Dr. Sundeep Banwatt, a family physician in Mississauga and the clinical director of the integrated primary care centre CarePoint Health, and Dr. Riva Levitan, a family doctor in Ottawa who works in a family health organization.

A rise in hallway health care and bloated emergency departments has become a norm in Ontario's health-care system. This first episode of a three-part series hears from physicians working in the home- and community-based care sector in the province, as they discuss the issues behind hospital overcrowding and the solutions based on the Ontario Medical Association's Prescription for Ontario: Doctors' Solutions for Immediate Action advocacy document. Listen in as we hear from Dr. Devon Shewfelt, emergency physician at Alexandra Hospital Ingersoll in southwestern Ontario, and Dr. Russell Goldman, director of the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital. 

In this episode, Dr. David Barber, chair of the OMA's Section on General and Family Practice and assistant professor at Queen's University's department of family medicine, discusses the challenges facing the primary health system in Ontario, along with some possible solutions. He speaks about how family doctors are facing growing administrative burdens and increasing care requirements for patients. That has led to physician burnout and a large number of unattached patients. He explains that taking some of those burdens off the plates of family doctors would allow doctors to focus on treating patients and make becoming and staying a family doctor more appealing.

Statistics reveal that less than one per cent of Canadian doctors identify as Indigenous. In this podcast episode, physicians discuss the barriers to mental-health services Indigenous doctors face and how the OMA's Physician Health Program is working to bridge these gaps. Through personal stories and clinical experiences, they share the importance of culturally competent care that understands and considers the unique needs and perspectives of these communities. 

Physicians weigh in on the influential role doctors can play outside of their practices as advocates for health care. Personal stories and perspectives shared illustrate the difference they've made in their communities, health-care settings and the system overall, as well as the patients who benefit most.

Studies show that the use of medical scribes to document details of patient visits and take on onerous paperwork has relieved physicians, freeing them up to focus on the work they do best: personalized, one-to-one patient care. In this podcast, doctors discuss the evolving role of medical scribes, training required, financial implications on a practice and their future potential both in human and an artificial intelligence form. 

Physicians speak to the importance of multicultural representation in Ontario's health-care system, and the need for culturally sensitive care that considers patients' social determinants of health. Sharing their professional experiences, family and emergency physician, Dr. Latif Murji and Dr. Catherine Yu, medical director of Health Access Thorncliffe Park and chair of the East Toronto Family Practice Network, describe the work they're doing to break down barriers and equitably service patients of diverse populations.

The Ontario Medical Association is calling on the provincial government to put money in the upcoming budget to find and keep more doctors, address wait times and improve palliative care. The OMA has a comprehensive plan for fixing the health-care system over the next few years, Prescription for Ontario: Doctors' 5-Point Plan for Better Health Care. While working on those bigger issues, the OMA has proposed three short-term solutions it recommends the government include in its 2023-24 budget. We hear from the OMA President and a panel of expert physicians.

In this second part of two-part Spotlight on Health podcast series for Black History Month, Ontario doctors discuss how physicians can build relationships and cultivate trust with Black patients, while emphasizing the need for an increase in Black physician and medical school representation to provide equitable health care to Black Ontarians. 

This February, during Black History Month, five Ontario physicians discuss how systemic racism infiltrates into Ontario's health-care system, the implicit biases Black patients face and inequitable care they often receive. Solutions, they say, need to focus on removing inequities, listening to Black communities and building up trust in a system known for its historical mistreatment of Black people. 

In the second part of this Spotlight on Health podcast episode, Ontario doctors and physicians in training discuss how medical schools are adapting and innovating curriculum to meet the demands and challenges of the health-care system, while preparing the next generation of doctors for the future. Training, they agree, must prioritize a community-focused, team-based approach to health care that supports physicians through their careers and holistically cares for patients. 

In the first part of this Spotlight on Health podcast episode, Ontario doctors and physicians in training discuss the future of medicine and the role medical schools, technological innovation, societal demands and next-generation doctors will play in its evolution. Reflecting on professional experience, they share how a health-care system that focuses on health human resources and team-based care, values family practice and is informed by the social determinants of health can overcome its most pressing challenges.

Medical technologies, such as artificial intelligence and data analytics, are shifting how physicians make decisions and treat their patients in real time, whether in a specialist's clinic or an emergency department. Yet, their potential is far from fully realized. In the second episode of this two-part podcast, four physicians – Dr. Chandi Chandrasena, family physician in Ottawa and chief medical officer at OntarioMD; Dr. Amol Verma, physician of general internal medicine at St. Michael's Hospital and co-lead for Gemini (hospital data and analytics study); Dr. Teodor Grantcharov, professor of surgery at the University of Toronto and Keenan chair at St. Michael's Hospital; and Dr. Muhammad Mamdani, vice president of data science and advanced analytics at Unity Health Toronto – discuss where resistance to, and challenges in, adopting these technologies reside and the steps that must be taken to break these down.

Ontario physicians are amid a digital transformation, adopting increasingly sophisticated technologies that help better serve patients and simplify day-to-day operations across health-care settings. In the first episode of this two-part podcast, four physicians – Dr. Chandi Chandrasena, family physician in Ottawa and chief medical officer at OntarioMD; Dr. Amol Verma, physician of general internal medicine at St. Michael's Hospital and co-lead for Gemini (hospital data and analytics study); Dr. Teodor Grantcharov, professor of surgery at the University of Toronto and keenan chair at St. Michael's Hospital; and Dr. Muhammad Mamdani, vice president of data science and advanced analytics at Unity Health Toronto – discuss the development and use of medical technology within Ontario's health-care system. From electronic health records, wearables and medical apps to artificial intelligence tools and data analytics and standardization, these diverse tools are changing how we manage, monitor and evolve our health-care system.

Our health-care system is evolving to keep up with technological innovation and evolving patient needs. Behind this transformation, today's physicians are adapting, balancing the rise in medical information, increased administrative demands, elevated patient expectations and increasingly complex care requirements. In this podcast, Dr. Veronica Legnini, a family physician in Kingston and chair of the Ontario Medical Association's general assembly, discusses these trends, while outlining the priorities and challenges that need to be addressed in Ontario's healthcare structure, including better resource management and fully integrated information systems. 

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the conversation around mental health and the effects of burnout on our physicians and medical community to the forefront. We've become increasingly aware that those treating patients must also look out for their own health and well-being. In this podcast, Dr. Jon Novick, medical director of OMA's Physician Health Program, and Dr. Judy Suke, a family physician focused on medical psychotherapy, discuss the impact of physician burnout and the role the health-care system plays in ensuring our medical community remains in good mental health. Though progress has been made with reduced stigma, resistance and fear around accessing care, Drs. Novick and Suke note more must be done to ensure physicians receive adequate support to take care of themselves and each other. 

The OMA is calling for increased access to palliative care, as way to ease the strain on the health-care system overall. In this podcast, Dr. Sandy Buchman, a palliative care physician and medical director of North York General Hospital's Freeman Centre for the Advancement of Palliative Care, talks about how palliative care could be delivered more effectively, how increasing hospice beds would save money, and the need for better human health resource planning.   

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges for our health-care community, the impact of which is still being felt today, almost three years later. In this podcast, Dr. Frank Sommers, founding chair of Disaster Psychiatry Canada at the University of Toronto, addresses the toll health disasters, like pandemics, take on society dependent upon the effects and subsequent reactions. Trauma, he notes, takes on many forms and the mental health impacts cannot be ignored. Moving forward, Dr. Sommers emphasizes the importance of compassion, communication, engaged leadership and an informed public for recovery and in preparedness for what's to come.

With virtual care now a permanent official component of Ontario's health-care system, physicians continue to experiment with how best to serve patients under a hybrid model. In this podcast, Dr. Hemant Shah, Toronto hepatologist and vice-chair of the OMA's Negotiations Task Force, and Dr. Stephen Cooper, a family practitioner on Manitoulin Island, discuss the rise of virtual care out of necessity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how, by weighing the benefits and challenges, a balance between in-person and virtual care must be struck to ensure quality health care for all Ontarians.

In addition to earning less due to a gender pay gap, female doctors come up against other financial inequities on the job such as being tasked with uncompensated work or lacking return-to-work support post maternity leave. In this podcast, Dr. Stephanie Zhou, a Toronto addictions physician and financial lecturer, breaks down how to overcome these barriers, while offering valuable fiscal advice to help women flourish financially.

The gender pay gap is an unpleasant reality in many industries and is also pervasive in Ontario's health-care system. In this second of a two-part series, Dr. Clover Hemans, co-chair of the OMA Women Committee; Dr. Simron Singh, medical oncologist and member of the OMA Burnout Task Force; and Dr. Samantha Hill, cardiologist and OMA past president continue their discussion on the gender pay gap in medicine and describe what is currently being done to tackle inequality. 

The gender pay gap is a persistent reality spanning Ontario's health-care system. In the first of a two-part series, Dr. Clover Hemans, co-chair of the OMA Women Committee; Dr. Simron Singh, medical oncologist and member of the OMA Burnout Task Force; and Dr. Samantha Hill, cardiologist and OMA past president shed light on what's behind the challenges female physicians face across their careers and how this hinders access to equitable and inclusive patient care for every Ontarian.

On this episode, we hear from Dr. Tim Guimond, the mental health director at HQ Toronto and Dr. Amy Bourns at family physician at Sherbourne Health Toronto, who discuss the impact of the pandemic on LGBTQ patients and ways care can be improved for this community.

On this episode, we hear from Dr. Jim Wright, OMA chief of Economics, Policy and Research on what the association and its members learned from the worst health-care crisis in generations. From the importance of building trusting alliances among stakeholders and government officials to updating a pandemic plan every five years, this experience with COVID will not be forgotten.

In this episode, OMA Executive Vice President of Economics, Policy and Research Dr. Jim Wright and surgeon Dr. Najma Ahmed discuss the proposed use of ambulatory care centres to tackle the surgical backlog.

On this episode, we hear from OMA past president Dr. Sohail Gandhi about why there's a doctor shortage in Ontario and what needs to be done to fix it. A rural family medicine doctor in Stayner, he knows firsthand the impact it's having on his patients. 

On this episode, we hear from palliative care experts Drs. James Downar, Kieran Quinn and Sandy Buchman who discuss the challenges within the province's palliative-care system and their hope to improve access by restructuring the current system.

As the first Canadian female astronaut and first neurologist in space, Dr. Roberta Bondar's research aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery broke ground on the effects of space travel on the nervous system. Those trailblazing contributions to the field of space medicine inspired the researchers and astronauts who followed her.

Dr. Roberta Bondar's historic space flight 30 years ago inspired her commitment to protect the planet Earth. She talks about the connection between a healthy planet and a healthy population in this podcast in advance of the next OMA Talks on climate change scheduled for April 21, the eve of Earth Day.

On this episode, we hear from mental health, and addictions specialists Dr. Chris Cavacuiti, Dr. Renata Villela and Dr. Michael Paré who discuss how the pandemic has affected patient treatment, and the impact the increasing demand for services is having on them as physicians.

Dr. Ross Upshur discusses lessons learned from COVID-19 and strategies needed to prepare for future pandemics. 

Team-based health care is not only beneficial for patients but could improve Ontario's health-care system on a whole. In this episode, we hear from Dr. Allan Grill and Dr. Catherine Yu who share their experiences and hopes for the future of accessible team-based care in the province.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed notable weaknesses in Ontario's public health system. In this podcast we hear from experts Dr. Michael Finkelstein, Dr. Joyce Lock and Dr. Paul Roumeliotis on the necessity of actively preparing the system for the inevitability of future pandemics.

Dr. Mary-Anne Aarts, chief of the department of surgery and co-medical director of the perioperative program at St. Joseph's Health Centre shares how delayed surgeries and procedures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are affecting patients. 

The lack of digital connectedness in Ontario's health-care system can waste time, re-traumatize patients, and lead to errors. This podcast focuses on the need to share medical information between health-care professionals and departments. 

Dr. Jane Healey — co-founder of the online Physician Financial Independence group — is helping physicians navigate the financial industry. She shares financial challenges faced by women doctors and offers tips for the road to financial freedom.

Rheumatologist Dr. Saara Rawn and psychiatrist Dr. Jack Haggarty discuss the need for more specialists in the north, how the shortage is impacting patients and what it will take to get them there.

Three northern Ontario physicians – Dr. Stephen Cooper, Dr. Sarah Newbery and Dr. Stephen Viherjoki – discuss the challenges, pitfalls and beauty of working and living in rural and remote areas of the province. They share their solutions to improve the lives and health of their patients.

Three Toronto doctors discuss the gaps in caring for the city's most vulnerable.

In this second of a two-part series, we speak to Dr. Jennifer Kwan. She's a family physician and health care advocate in Burlington, Ontario who describes the abuse as “hateful, sexist and racist.”

In this first of a two-part series we speak to Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, a pediatrician and medical officer of health, CEO of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit and president of the Association of Local Public Health Agencies. He discusses the impacts threats and abuse are having on health-care providers.

Sharon Liff discusses the challenges she and her husband face caring for their severely disabled son Adam and how a shortage of qualified home care support is making things worse. Now, 19 years old, Adam was diagnosed with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease when he was a toddler and requires 24-hour care.

OMA President Dr. Adam Kassam discusses the challenges with today's health-care system and the Prescription for Ontario: Doctors' 5-Point Plan for Better Health Care.

Dr. Connie Nasello, obstetrician and gynaecologist and chair of the OMA Section on Obstetrics and Gynaecology provides an update on the impacts of COVID-19 and vaccines during pregnancy.

In latest OMA podcast, award-winning journalist André Picard discusses covering the pandemic Globe and Mail columnist André Picard has been given an honorary membership to the OMA for his coverage of the pandemic. In the OMA's regular podcast series Spotlight on Health, Picard shares his views on the pandemic from his vantage point as a journalist. Read more about Picard's honorary membership here: https://www.oma.org/newsroom/news/2021/may/ontario-medical-association-gives-globe-columnist-andre-picard-honorary-membership/

Dr. Carolyn Snider talks about physician burnout on the pandemic's front lines. OMA data shows physician burnout is on the rise. Dr. Carolyn Snider, chief of emergency medicine at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, describes what it's been like to be on the front lines of the pandemic and what health-care workers are doing to cope. For more information on physician burnout please visit:  https://www.oma.org/newsroom/news/2021/aug/ontarios-doctors-report-increased-burnout-propose-five-solutions/ 

Doctors are making difficult decisions on behalf of patients every day during the pandemic. Featuring:Dr. Erin O'Connor: Toronto emergency physicianDr. Lawrence Loh: Peel Region medical officer of healthDr. Anju Anand: St. Michael's Hospital respirologistProf. Maxwell Smith: Western University bioethicist and a member of the COVID-19 Bioethics Table.Dr. Samantha Hill, OMA Past President and St. Michael's Hospital cardiac surgeon

How do we heal the gender gap in medicine?  That question lead the discussion of the Ontario Medical Associations' second thought leadership series OMATalks held virtually on November 27, 2020. Over 300 physicians joined Dr. Sharon Straus, Dr.  Gianni Lorello, Dr. Tara Kiran and Dr. Michelle Cohen for an evening of thoughtful dialogue. For more information on the event please visit: https://www.oma.org/expert-advice/oma-talks-speaker-series/

Is the vaccine safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women?   Dr. Constance Nasello who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology answers common questions about the new COVID vaccines. For more information on the COVID vaccine please visit: https://www.askontariodoctors.ca/covidvaccine

What can you expect when you visit the emergency room? Listen to Dr. Alan Drummond, a rural Emergency Medicine physician, explain what measures are in place to keep patients, Doctors and staff safe.