OMA Spotlight on Health

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.