Still has a following to this day, as treasurer of the fanclub I'm proud to say we're nearing the 50th anniversary of the generic fluffers!
Over 6 million Canadians are without a family doctor. This is outrageous! A family doctor from the U.K: Based on the application process, the doctor did not meet the threshold for permanent residency because of factors like not being married and being over the age of 45. “You got a physician who dearly wants to work here, who has a practice here, who is seeing patients and fulfilling a need desperately needed in the province,” said Dr. Barry Dworkin https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-fa...t-residency-over-marital-status-age-1.6668246
"The current burden, measured in June 2023, is also substantial: 6.8% of all Canadian adults or 2.1 million people continue to experience long-term symptoms. On average, this group had their most recent COVID-19 infection 11 months prior."
Link to the thread on this useful report: Experiences of Canadians with long-term symptoms following COVID-19, 2023, Kuang et al
https://lifelabssettlement.kpmg.ca/ Anyone who was a LifeLabs customers on or before Dec. 17, 2019 can submit a claim, according to KPMG. Claimants have until 8 p.m. EST on April 6, 2024 to submit the required claim form provided on KPMG settlement website, where there's also a dedicated phone line for questions. https://www.thestar.com/news/lifela...cle_395241e4-978f-11ee-8855-9bff40d8c75f.html
News article from a small local news publication. https://www.vicnews.com/local-news/...at-victoria-long-after-pandemic-fades-7299085
Hundreds line up outside Kingston clinic in desperate bid for a family doctor. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/otta...-in-desperate-bid-for-family-doctor-1.7130133 Scary times in Canada.
Canadian Covid Society launches to address long-term effects, prevent further illness A new non-profit group called the Canadian Covid Society launched today. https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canad...awareness about preventing ongoing infections
Naturopathic doctors aren't the solution to primary care: doctors, health experts Amid a family doctor shortage in Canada, many naturopathic doctors position themselves as a solution, arguing that they have the training to be a patient’s primary care provider. That’s raising alarm among medical doctors and health experts who say they are not equipped to be a patient’s principal source of medical care. “Naturopaths presenting themselves as a solution to our current crisis is at the very least misleading. And from the perspective of a family physician, it’s quite horrifying,” said Dr. Sarah Bates, acting president of the Alberta Medical Association’s family medicine section. https://ottawa.citynews.ca/2024/03/...o-primary-care-crisis-doctors-health-experts/
Canadian researchers create natural supplement to combat postpartum blues https://globalnews.ca/news/10413933/postpartum-blues-natural-supplement-blues-away-canada/ Watched the interview with the researcher this morning. The researchers are looking into creating a supplement for post-menopausal symptoms.
Dietary supplement for mood symptoms in early postpartum: a double-blind randomized placebo controlled trial https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(24)00172-X/fulltext
Or we could, as a society, make sure that women who have recently given birth or have very young children have adequate post-natal social and economic support. Now that is something the psychosocial crowd should be sinking their teeth into.
No, no social, no bio, only psycho. That's the biopsychosocial way, most letters are actually silent, need to be spoken with a dog whistle.
Not sure how useful this would be, but it's probably better than nothing, or an example I saw recently, a problem that only affects teenage girls. It's the tiniest bit of progress anyone could imagine, only short stop removed from "doesn't exist". But that's medical progress for you. There is a mention of a common co-occurence with ME/CFS, but no contraindication for the main treatment recommendation of regular aerobic exercise with a focus on conditioning, despite POTS having nothing to do with deconditioning. The review also makes no mention whatsoever of COVID, let alone Long Covid, so MDs will remain unaware of it, or worse, convinced there's no relation. Seriously, you could take any group of 20 random people and they'd do better than this as long as they care about the outcome. Canadian Cardiovascular Society Position Statement on Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and Related Disorders of Chronic Orthostatic Intolerance https://onlinecjc.ca/article/S0828-282X(19)31550-8/fulltext The current definition of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) dates back to a small case series of patients with a subacute illness who presented with excessive orthostatic tachycardia and orthostatic intolerance, in the absence of another recognized disease. Conventional POTS criteria require an excessive orthostatic tachycardia in the absence of substantial orthostatic hypotension, and predominant symptoms of orthostatic intolerance, worse with upright posture and better with recumbence. POTS is a heterogeneous syndrome with likely several underlying pathophysiological processes, and not a specific disease. The primary panel for this Canadian Cardiovascular Society position statement sought to provide a contemporary update of the best evidence for the evaluation and treatment of POTS.
How to get a referral without a Family Doctor Your doctor may not believe a second opinion is necessary. That may be because they performed a thorough examination and are confident with their diagnosis, They may not have understood the extent of the problem, perhaps due to a lack of time during the appointment or an accidental oversight. It may also be implicit bias, where your doctor may not have taken you and your symptoms seriously due to assumptions based on your sex, race, or age. If you feel something isn’t right—if your symptoms persist or if you’ve been experiencing them for a long time—and your doctor still doesn’t refer you to a specialist for a second opinion or testing, it’s important to advocate for yourself. Ask them why they refuse the referral and to record the request and their refusal in your patient file. If you’ve already tried your family doctor, try a walk-in clinic. If you don’t have a family doctor and tried a GP at a walk-in, try another one. LINK
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere. Many said that they had no idea that they could be dropped as patients and only found out about it after they visited another clinic for care. https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/my-famil...ients-frustrated-with-de-resotering-1.6881734
