We must make use of our e-health technologies to manage vaccination logistics
By Dominic Covvey and David Zitner Contributors A COVID-19 vaccination is available now. However, a momentous challenge is before us: the vaccination of tens of millions of Canadians. Provincial and federal health departments have considered who should have priority for vaccination and we trust that the final version of this prioritization, informed by the science…
Trump has blatantly contravened many of the commandments. He exhibits none of the qualities God teaches and which we should value
By Dominic Covvey and David Zitner Contributors Both of us were raised in religious traditions, one as a Christian and the other as a Jew. The Bible has definitely affected our lives. One of us was more affected by the Old Testament, the other by the New. One even studied in a monastery, immersed in…
The N.S. Health Authority lets an inefficient telephone system act as an important barrier to timely care
If there’s any way to inconvenience patients and embrace antiquated methods, the Nova Scotia Health Authority will find it. Ask the sick patients who are trying to arrange appointments with specialists, or for imaging tests or for blood work. Most enterprises try to encourage and support increased consumer access to worthwhile services. Not the Nova…
A convoluted – and doomed – communication portal in Nova Scotia has failed the health care system and its users on both sides
Most businesses encourage clients to electronically access their own information because consumers value the efficiency and convenience of electronic access. Unfortunately, the Nova Scotia Department of Health (DOH) has a different idea. It has been a successful barrier preventing most Nova Scotians from retrieving and using their own health information. Few Nova Scotians have access…
The plan seems to depend on methods developed in part in other countries that rank poorly for health services delivery
Is anyone surprised to learn that credit reporting agencies, Facebook and retail stores scan many sources and gather your personal information? Although many people have several credit cards, several loans and deal with many retail merchants, the credit reporting agencies have no difficulty aggregating your information, from all sources, to learn all about you. They…
An unlicensed doctor is free of the burden of bureaucratic make work, and can instead spend more time with a patient and keep up with medical research
I’m now an unleashed doctor! Since I retired from a busy family medicine practice, I discovered the benefits of having an MD degree and no licence to practice. Universities confer the academic degree MD (medical doctor) on students who complete a particular set of studies. The degree is worth less than it appears, because the…
Strangely, the health authority seems to believe that increasing the administrative burden on clinicians won’t decrease care
The latest missive from the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) – sent to some doctors but not to the community at large – acknowledges the responsibility of the health authority for the sad state of primary care. In an April Department of Family Practice Update we see a development that imposes a costly and inefficient…
Perhaps the elixir of good feeling is available at a friend’s house, at the next desk in the office, or from a partner or spouse
By David Zitner and Dominic Covvey Contributors Troy Media Canadians suffer when important mental health services are unavailable or wait times are too long. Fortunately, many of us – including children, parents, other relatives and friends – may find and implement worthwhile solutions to important problems while people wait. However, some people are afraid to try.…
Canadians have realized little health benefit from the billions spent on health information systems
Airplane crashes are big – and bad – news. That helps drive the industry to improve airplanes and instrumentation, pilot training and air traffic control practices. Public awareness, then, provide part of the impetus for change. The debacle over the federal government payroll information system, Phoenix, is well known because the media dissects the problem.…
By Dominic Covvey and David Zitner Contributors A COVID-19 vaccination is available now. However, a momentous challenge is before us: the vaccination of tens of millions of Canadians. Provincial and federal health departments have considered who should have priority for vaccination and we trust that the final version of this prioritization, informed by the science…
