Latest news with #familydoctor
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
CTV National News: Canadians turn to AI for medical diagnoses
Watch As many Canadians don't have family doctors, some are turning to AI however the technology can be inaccurate at times. John Vennavally-Rao reports.
CBC
28-05-2025
- General
- CBC
'Seeking a Physician': 96 and doctorless, N.S. senior turns to the classifieds
The unusual advertisement in the Friday morning newspaper caught the eyes of many Nova Scotians. It tells the story of a 96-year-old woman who is "of sound mind and body" for her age, and who doesn't want to be "a burden to the healthcare system." Her biggest concern? She doesn't have a family doctor. "I am apparently somewhere in the 80,000's in the physician waiting list, and so time is increasingly of the essence," the ad reads. Dorothy Lamont wrote that ad, using the title "Seeking a Physician" — a last-ditch effort to take matters into her own hands after three years without a family doctor. "I really didn't know what else to do," Lamont told CBC News in an interview at her home in downtown Dartmouth, N.S. "I should have a doctor. You know, at 96 years old, there's sure to be problems. But I have no one to turn to." Lamont said in the past nine years, she has had five doctors, all of whom retired or left the city. This has left her with a virtual doctor that she says just isn't cutting it. "It doesn't make sense to me," she said. "And I'm sure there are many other seniors in the same situation as I am." Though Lamont's tactic of advertising for a doctor is unique, her story isn't. An estimated 6.5 million Canadians don't have a family doctor. According to a recent Health Canada report, Canada needs nearly 23,000 additional family physicians to address the shortage. In Nova Scotia, Premier Tim Houston has campaigned on fixing health care and is aiming to slash the list of people waiting for a family doctor or nurse practitioner. The list has been shrinking, after it reached a peak of about 160,000 last June. Still, 91,474 people — or about 8.6 per cent of the province's population — were on the Need a Family Practice Registry as of May 1. "I think for all folks that are dealing with complex health concerns or for the average person in Nova Scotia, we want to connect as many people as possible as quickly as possible to care," Bethany McCormick, Nova Scotia Health's vice-president of operations for the northern zone, said in an interview Tuesday. 'At 96, I think you deserve a bit better' Lamont, a retired Grade 4 teacher, loves spending time outside tending to her tulips and large vegetable garden. She calls herself a "busy person" who used to be an avid reader before her eyesight deteriorated. She has lived in Nova Scotia all her life, and says she remembers decades ago when doctors made house calls, and it seemed like most people had access to primary medical care. Her son, Stewart Lamont, is also without a family doctor. He said his mother had a health scare last year and he spent hours with her in the emergency department. When she was eventually discharged, there was no followup because she had no doctor to send the file to. He said his mother isn't angry with the government and isn't trying to be political. What she is doing is standing up for herself and other seniors in similar situations. "We respect our seniors, we try to look after them. At 96, I think you deserve a bit better," he said. "I'm just proud of her that … she is still willing to make a public statement." The provincial Department of Health and Wellness declined an interview request for Health Minister Michelle Thompson, and directed the request to the Nova Scotia health authority. McCormick, from Nova Scotia Health, said she can't discuss Lamont's case due to patient confidentiality, but she urges anyone without a doctor to make sure their information is up to date on the registry, because the list is triaged. Patients on the registry fill out a health questionnaire and a health complexity score is created for them. "It tells us about their type of concerns and people that have chronic conditions or more complex health-care needs, maybe a new emerging issue," McCormick said. "We do use that as a way to think about who needs continuous care and connection to a family practice sooner." McCormick said she has never heard of someone putting an ad in the paper looking for a doctor. "I think that person is trying to advocate for their health-care needs, which I think is important." A surprise call Stewart Lamont said he received a call from a Nova Scotia Health employee on Friday afternoon, after the advertisement ran in the newspaper, saying his mother's information wasn't filled out properly on the registry and would now be added. They called back Monday morning and said they were working to find her a doctor. Then Monday afternoon, a Dartmouth medical clinic called and said a new doctor moving to the province to take over from one of her former physicians who retired years ago can take her on as a patient in the next few months. CBC News contacted the clinic, who said the doctor is on vacation and unavailable to comment. Dorothy Lamont said she is optimistic, but is left with one thought. "I would like all our seniors to be able to have a doctor to go to, not just me because I put the ad in."
CBC
17-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
I never imagined my 4th pregnancy would be my first without a family doctor
Social Sharing This First Person article is the experience of Maggie Campbell, a wife and mom in P.E.I. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ. I could hear her heart beat thanks to an at-home fetal doppler. Our three sons gathered around us on the couch and watched as Dad put the jelly on my belly. The sound of their little sister's heart beat made them laugh. I should have been feeling joy in this precious moment, and I did, but that joy was overshadowed by worry. When we found out we were expecting our fourth baby, we were not immediately ecstatic. Instead, our thoughts were: "We don't even have a doctor. Where do we go?" I called the office of the obstetrics doctor who cared for me during my previous pregnancy in 2022, hoping I could return to him. In P.E.I., patients generally see their family doctor for the majority of their pregnancy as long as they're low risk, and aren't transferred to the care of an obstetrics doctor until around 34 weeks. But the doctor's office explained I would have to call the provincial patient registry — the waiting list for people who don't have a family doctor — and they would direct me. I've given birth in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and P.E.I., travelling to stay near my mother and brother before returning permanently to P.E.I. to be with my husband's family. Normally, I would see my family doctor to confirm the pregnancy and the process would begin. But since my family doctor in P.E.I. had retired and I don't have a new one, I instead spent days just trying to sort out who I was supposed to call and where I had to go. Like much of Canada, P.E.I. has a shortage of family doctors. It's even statistically official: Access to health care is worse in P.E.I. than in any other province. WATCH | Could foreign-trained doctors fill the gap in P.E.I.?: P.E.I. has a family doctor crisis. Could starting a Practice Ready Assessment program help? 2 months ago Duration 3:04 Prince Edward Island is the only province to not offer a Practice Ready Assessment program, which would speed up the process for internationally trained physicians wanting to practise on the Island. CBC's Taylor O'Brien looks into how offering this program could help the province tackle its family doctor shortage. On top of all that, I struggle with severe ADHD and after years of searching, found a safe, non-habit forming and reliable medication, but I had to stop taking it when I found out I was pregnant because of the potential risks to the developing baby. My ADHD means I have a difficult time regulating emotions and processing problems or dealing with the unexpected. Pregnant with no doctor and no medication to help control my racing mind, my mental health declined rapidly while I waited for my first appointment. My husband has been my yellow light — slowing me down, helping me keep track of the important appointments and keeping the kids busy when I need a minute. I don't know how I would have gotten by without him, but he has a full-time job and works nights so we couldn't have maintained this setup for long without proper medication and therapy for me. A few weeks later, I got my first appointment with a family doctor thanks to the patient registry. That first appointment was a blur — we checked the heartbeat, did some routine tests and I was sent for blood work. My blood pressure was a worry but we started monitoring immediately from home. I've had three healthy boys but have not always had easy pregnancies. We nearly lost our second boy at 20 weeks due issues with the placenta. He was born at 36 weeks, after several weeks of bed rest. We spent seven days in the NICU while he was treated for jaundice and some other preterm issues. Our third son was another difficult pregnancy and an even more difficult birth. I was afraid this last pregnancy would be difficult, too. Between that first appointment and the second scheduled for four weeks later, my blood pressure steadily got worse. I was without ADHD medication and despite lining up to try and see a doctor at a walk-in clinic, I never managed to get a slot. By the time my second appointment rolled around, I was an emotional wreck and physically declining as well. I spent the majority of the appointment crying. The doctor classified me as high risk for pre-eclampsia, prescribed medication for high blood pressure as well as a new ADHD medication to try, and referred me to an OB who I was told had more experience with high-risk pregnancies. I was relieved to be assigned the same OB I saw during my last pregnancy. He got me through that just fine, and I feel reassured to have someone familiar to see me through this pregnancy, too. Without a family doctor, it took longer to access care and the process was tricker to navigate than my previous pregnancies. While the situation is far from ideal, the medical professionals I've seen have done their jobs well and as quickly as they can given the state of the medical system on P.E.I. I trust that I'm in good hands for the remainder of this pregnancy, but now my worry turns to life after our baby girl arrives in July, when we go back to being without regular medical care, back to the struggle maintaining my ADHD and medications without a doctor — and now, with four little people who rely on me. WATCH | This Ontario woman is 9 months pregnant, and there's no one nearby to deliver her baby She's 9 months pregnant, and there's no one nearby to deliver her baby 3 months ago Duration 8:14 A huge swath of northern Ontario between Timmins and Thunder Bay has almost no one trained in obstetrics, forcing women to relocate for the final weeks of pregnancy. CBC's Nick Purdon went there to find out what it's like to navigate the 'maternity ward desert.'
CBC
14-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
How to manage seasonal allergies this spring
Dr Davidicus Wong, a family doctor in Burnaby, explains how you can manage your allergies as the snow melts and spring gets into full swing
