Latest news with #TaraKiran
CBC
20-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Toronto-based researchers want to hear from you about your experiences in health care
The OurCare survey last asked over 9,000 Canadians in 2022 about the state of primary care in the country, but didn't get much input from Newfoundland and Labrador. This year, the team wants to change that. Primary care researcher Dr. Tara Kiran spoke about the survey and its impacts with the CBC's Carolyn Stokes.
CBC
17-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
Albertans wanted for new national survey on state of primary care
A Canadian research team is calling on Albertans to take part in a national survey about primary care. The "OurCare" initiative surveyed and met with nearly 10,000 Canadians between 2022 and 2024 and found widespread dissatisfaction with the state of primary care. It estimated more than one in five Canadian adults didn't have access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner and issued a 72-page report last year, outlining a number of primary care standards it described as a blueprint for system transformation. Now the group is conducting another survey to find out how the experience of Canadians has changed and compares to those priorities. "We know that access to primary care is an important issue for each and every person in Canada," said Dr. Tara Kiran, a family physician at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital and the founder of OurCare. According to Kiran, they didn't hear from as many Albertans as they'd hoped to the first time around. "But our first survey did find that the province or territory you live in, that was really the major determinant of primary care access," she said. "So this time … we want to get as many responses as possible from each and every province and territory. So people in Alberta can say 'yeah this is what primary care in Alberta looks like,' so that you can use this data to talk to policy makers and health-care leaders to try and improve the system." The work will also allow people to see how Alberta compares to other provinces and territories, according to Kiran. Some of the key questions include whether or not people have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, whether they have timely access and if not, where they are able to get care, she said. "Are you able to get care in the language…that you feel most comfortable communicating in. Are you able to actually be involved in shaping your care in your local clinic or region? These are all things that people told us were important to them and that we're asking about in this survey," said Kiran. "I'm genuinely interested to understand how the problem has changed over the last two and a half years." Calgary-based family physician Dr. Janet Reynolds is also hoping Albertans will take part. "We're continuing fighting to do more with less in primary care," said Reynolds, who practices at Crowfoot Village Family Practice. "I think the opportunity for the public to inform the next transition in such a large way is really critical" The province has made a number of reforms it says are designed to address access problems, including launching a new pay model for both doctors and nurse practitioners. And as part of the Alberta government's complete overhaul of the health system, a new agency overseeing the delivery of primary care health services (Primary Care Alberta) became operational earlier this year.
Toronto Star
30-06-2025
- Health
- Toronto Star
Primary care in Canada is suffering and doctors want input on how to fix it
By Dr. Tara Kiran is a family physician and researcher at St. Michael's Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, and the Fidani Chair in Improvement and Innovation at the University of Toronto. She is the national lead for OurCare and host of the podcast Primary Focus. I still remember the hope I felt in 2002 when I chose to become a family doctor. It wasn't the most popular career path in medical school, but for me, it was a calling — the chance to build lasting relationships with patients and be there through every stage of life. More than two decades later, it's heartbreaking to see so many people in Canada still struggle to get that kind of care.
