I called a patient yesterday and the first thing I said was KNOCK KNOCK 😭😭😭

Update: They found me - it was my own undoing - I picked up their call and in the spirit of aiding epidemiologists and statisticians (on whom I rely upon for my reporting) I succumbed. At long last the chase is over.

Statistics Canada is AFTER me - I’ve gotten multiple letters, texts, calls to my phone - calls to my DAD - to fill out an optional health technology survey. I’m on the run from a statistics agency

I’m a Gen Z resident and it makes me nervous how easy it is for people to get stimulants, weight loss drugs, or acne meds online without ever being examined physically.

i thought i studied enough english but it now seems that i dont cause i'd never figure out that 'divert' means to 'kidnap'

International journalists can’t enter Gaza. But healthcare workers can.

That makes their testimony vital. They can cut through to the reality of the atrocities Israel is committing in Gaza.

In today’s video, you’ll hear their firsthand accounts of witnessing a genocide:

When will more Canadian physicians be brave enough to speak out?

"Dr Alaa al-Najjar, a paediatric specialist at al-Tahrir hospital, was treating victims of ongoing Israeli attacks across the Palestinian territory when she received the bodies of 9 of her children killed by a strike in Khan Younis."

I’m going down the privacy/consumer data/digital surveillance rabbit hole. I am so peeeeeeved. All because I wanted the receipt sent to my email ONCE.

Mind you they share (possibly sell???) this data with ‘social networking and other third party platforms’ for marketing.

For Walmart to delete your email address, you must ‘prove your identity’ by submitting a “Privacy Access Form” w your home address - then get an instantaneous email denying your request and demanding a utility bill/govt ID. If you don’t in 10 days, I kid you not, they will ‘cancel the request’.

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad: 9780593804148 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From award-winning novelist and journalist Omar El Akkad comes a powerful reckoning with what it means to live in a West that betrays its fundamental values ...

“One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this.” - Omar El Akkad www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/777485...

Joint statement from the leaders of Canada, the United Kingdom and France on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank The Israeli Government’s denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law.

take five minutes tonight to call or email your MP and ask what "further concrete actions" Canada will be taking immediately, as Israel continues to block essential aid from reaching Gaza www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/stat...

maybe we shouldn't be disappearing students via secret police for opposing the actions of a state that behaves in this way

ID folks: Are you following vaccine preventable diseases and looking at the current measles outbreak with worry? Please message me for an urgent story.

Ramadan Mubarak! 🌙✨ I’m going to be a bit less active here to focus on maximizing the benefit of this holy month. Muslims like me will be fasting from before sunrise to sunset, praying in night congregation & increasing our remembrance of God. If you need to reach me over the next 4 weeks, ✉️ in bio!

Remember - it costs the government less to punish family doctors than it is to reward them.

But it also costs more to society (and the government long term!) for people to be sick rather than well.

Instead of punishing doctors who are already strained (source: almost every reporting on family medicine in the last few decades), why not reward continuous and comprehensive care and make it more feasible! Improve compensation! Reduce paperwork! Expand physician-led team-based primary care!

Dinging family doctors is the stick in this supposed ‘carrot and stick’ strategy. One problem though, there’s a whole lot of stick and very little carrot! (3/)

Why does this happen? Mostly because the government wants to ensure patients are seeing only one primary care doctor - one doctor who knows you well, can help you with most of your medical issues, and if you need specialized help, can be your quarterback in the health system. (2/)

Hi! Family medicine resident MD here. Great video! I think there’s an important solution to remember - family docs that get paid via annual fee shouldn’t get financially punished if their patients go to a walk in! Other provinces (like NS) don’t punish their family docs like this. It makes sense! 🧵

Wilmot farmland expropriated for future Toyota site | The Narwhal A controversial land assembly project in Waterloo Region is aimed at attracting new investment from Toyota to support the electric vehicle supply chain

For over a year, it's been unclear why a lot of farmland is being assembled in Wilmot. @thenarwhal.ca & Waterloo Region Record have learned it's for a possible Toyota site to keep the automaker here amid Trump’s tariff threat

An election eve scoop by me & Terry Pender
thenarwhal.ca/ontario-wilm...

‘The first time students see a patient of colour should not be in hospital’: The need for diverse patient actors - Healthy Debate Advocates across groups say increasing standardized patient diversity is crucial to prepare Ontario’s future doctors for diverse groups.

My latest for @healthydebate.bsky.social 🩺 Did you know that medical students learn how to conduct physical exams from trained actors? While these programs have been around for decades, advocates and experts are pushing to close an important diversity gap. healthydebate.ca/2025/02/topi...

a flat art illustration of an ethnically-diverse crowd of people all facing to the left-hand side of the image

‘The first time students see a patient of colour should not be in hospital’: The need for diverse patient actors healthydebate.ca/2025/02/topi... @suffiawrites.bsky.social @healthydebate.bsky.social

𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀: CanadaHealthwatch.ca/newsletter 🍁

#obgynsky Are you a clinician impacted by the purge of CDC guidelines/patient resources on reproduction and gynecology? I’m looking to understand this rapidly changing situation for a story. Please reach out!

BC folks - how has the HPV self swab for cervical cancer been going? Ontario will still be doing brush collection with speculum exams and I want to know whether or what we’re missing out.

Critical clinical guidance should never be out of reach. ACOG is ensuring that members can access recently removed federal guidance by hosting key CDC resources on our website. Transparency and access to comprehensive guidance are fundamental to our collective success. bit.ly/3WKHQpf

There’s a bunch of changes coming to Ontario’s cervical cancer screening guidelines in March. Big shift to HPV virus screening but no self swab option yet. Still, this will now result in less frequent tests (5 years from 3) for people w negative results.

Sign the Petition Urge Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones to Reconsider Dr. Elaine Ma's Case

"The decision to penalize Dr. Ma for her invaluable contributions during a global pandemic sets a demoralizing precedent, and affects the morale of all health professionals who helped in these unprecedented times."
#medsky
www.change.org/p/urge-premi...

A model IUD with materials insertion. Suffia Malik photo

Can’t find a doctor in Ontario to help you get an IUD? This might be why www.thestar.com/news/insight... @suffiawrites.bsky.social @thestar.com

Get weekly updates: CanadaHealthwatch.ca/newsletter 🍁

Thank you so much for your insights!