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Big changes are under way in Canadian healthcare — with Alberta's new approach to physician dual practice, calls to expand emergency EpiPen supplies, and Montreal researchers advancing clinical trials into mRNA vaccines for cancer treatment.
Keep reading until the end, because things get psychoactive in the Pulse Check.
The dual practice model continues to shake up the province's health system, and everyone has an opinion. The new model has been touted by the province as a way to improve access to care and preventative testing, while critics warn it could pull doctors away from the public system entirely — and yet, 400 physicians have already put their names on the list.
Despite voicing concern about the law, and threatening penalties if the province doesn’t tweak it, the Health Minister's continued lack of involvement is turning heads. Those who believe Bill 11 goes against the Canada Health Act have put pen to paper in this Hill Times piece.
As students head back to school, Food Allergy Canada is calling on all provinces to pass legislation requiring schools to stock additional epinephrine decides for use in medical emergencies.
CBC reports that, right now, Alberta is the only province that legislates all schools to stock EpiPens that aren't designated for a particular student.
Data suggests that one in four anaphylaxis cases at schools in the U.S. involve a student with no known history of severe allergy — a number unlikely to be different in Canada.
Two Montreal doctors are helping lead the first clinical trials into mRNA vaccines for lung and bladder cancer treatment.
The trials, which launched at the McGill University Health Centre, are among the first in North America and worldwide to test mRNA vaccines against these cancers.
CTV reports that while the research is still in its early stages, doctors say preliminary results are promising and could point to a new approach to cancer treatment.
