Freezing the squeeze on the Canadian primary care system
Canada’s primary healthcare system is in … quite a state. Primary care is the first entry point into the healthcare system for many and provides foundational services that support health and well-being. The pressures on primary care have been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic; this is only a part of the strain seen across the global […]
The impending crisis in healthcare: Lessons from SVB’s collapse
As the global financial system tries to limit the contagion of bank failures that originated with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), I can’t help but think about the parallels between the United States economy and our healthcare system. If you haven’t been watching the news (lucky you!), let me briefly summarize the situation.
Paper to electronic paradigm shift in healthcare
Transitioning to a digital environment requires users to make a shift in thinking, though this may not be evident. To ease transitions, digital system designers try to mimic the look and feel of the real-world objects they are meant to represent. This user interface design concept is called skeuomorphism. Though it is employed with the […]
Will AI help healthcare systems fight against disintermediation?
My colleague, Jerome Pagani, Ph.D., and I have written extensively about how new entrants to the health space (hello CVS, Amazon, Walmart, and hundreds of garage-born startups) are attempting to squeeze into the former impenetrable zone between legacy healthcare systems and their patients. We see this disintermediation when hyper-focused apps and services are offered for […]
Go big, go fast, and go to the front lines
Health systems across Canada are in the midst of the Big Squeeze, where demand has reached record levels due to a host of clinical factors (longer life expectancy, aging population, COVID-19, Long COVID, other viruses, and the COVID-induced backlog) at the same time as they face dire workforce shortages. Solutions such as virtual care and […]
Choice architecture to the rescue
Frequent readers of this blog post will know that I’m keenly interested in design and how it impacts the technology that clinicians use every day to care for their patients. Some of you may know that I recently started a podcast with my Nordic colleague, Jerome Pagani, PhD, focusing on healthcare and design, unironically called […]
Taking the temperature of health systems
For the last 18 years, I have been a physician at the forefront of digital health transformation. I celebrate the disappearance of illegible handwriting, especially my own, and rejoice in new opportunities to improve care through comprehensive data and analytics. Our healthcare system has changed immensely during that time. But sometimes, we need to be […]
Increasing access to behavioral health resources
Healthcare is beset by “The Big Squeeze,” a confluence of factors creating a burning platform for change at a time when financial health is at an all-time low. Labor pains are of particular concern due to demand that outstrips the current supply of skilled and unskilled workers, rising wages, and an increased reliance on contract […]
Happiness, recruitment, and retention
As healthcare organizations continue to be squeezed by a myriad of factors, staff retention and recruitment are still of great concern. It is difficult to escape headlines around departmental closures due to staff shortages or long waitlists for access. In this environment, questions can arise as to the benefits or risks of implementing new technology. […]
See a Mumpsimus? Stop a Mumpsimus!
I think most regular readers of this blog know that I sometimes like to use big words, like plethora, tachycardia, and even penultimate. Sure, they won’t win any awards in terms of character count, but they are most definitely punching above their weight. I believe that today’s post continues in that fine tradition with the […]