Martha Porado

Editor, Canadian Healthcare Network

Author Profile

Martha Porado is a Toronto-based award-winning reporter and editor specializing in healthcare, science, business and political journalism. She is the editor of the Canadian Healthcare Network, prior to which she was the managing editor of the Medical Post and Pharmacy Practice + Business.

Her previous roles include associate editor of Benefits Canada magazine, where she specialized in institutional investment news. Her byline can also be found in many other Canadian publications, including Advisor’s Edge, Investment Executive, the Canadian Investment Review, Canadian Insurance Top Broker, Canadian Grocer, Now Magazine and the now defunct Vice. Prior to focusing on print and digital publishing, she worked at BNN Bloomberg’s downtown Toronto newsroom as a broadcast associate and production coordinator for live news broadcasts. She fondly remembers screening call-in questions for its popular Market Call program.

When she is not editing copy on new clinical research or putting together tomorrow’s Doctor Daily newsletter, she can be found watering her ceiling-scraping houseplants, driving around with antique furniture peeking out of her hatchback, or bragging about how she’s definitely seen more movies than you have.

ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR

6/1/2026
RCMP investigating motive in Saskatchewan shooting near health clinic that left 1 dead, 1 injured
Dr. John-Michael Stevens, who has provided services at the clinic for nine years, said staff—and the community at large—are shaken.

Martha Porado
5/31/2026
Stem cells have potent potential for diabetes treatment
Lab-grown cells have different genetics from the patient, so the patient’s immune system attacks the transplanted cells as ‘non-self.’ Researchers and physicians are hoping to overcome this problem by using induced pluripotent stem cells that carry the patient’s own DNA.

Martha Porado
5/28/2026
Do we share with our patients?
Dr. J.P. Sutherland dives into the complex question of whether disclosing personal information about yourself can ever be an effective part of treating a patient.

Martha Porado
5/26/2026
Buy now, pay later
People often suffer from a recurrence of their bipolar illness because of non-compliance with the prescribed treatment, but in this case Stan thought that Melanie had been taking it as ordered.

Martha Porado
5/26/2026
Act one: But isn’t this normal?
I thought my life after fully recovering from an eating disorder would be smooth.

Martha Porado
5/26/2026
The peptide problem: Hype is outrunning the evidence
Health Canada recently warned Canadians not to buy or inject unauthorized peptide drugs sold online, naming products that include BPC-157, CJC-1295, ipamorelin, TB-500 and retatrutide.

Martha Porado
5/26/2026
What if mental health wasn't just about what's wrong?
How do we describe what constitutes well-being? In a consensus study published in Nature Mental Health, an international team proposes a first taxonomy of ‘positive mental health,’ a way of thinking about it that goes beyond simply the absence of symptoms.

Martha Porado
5/25/2026
Travellers coming from Ebola-affected regions will have to isolate for 21 days
The World Health Organization’s director-general says an outbreak of a rare type of Ebola is outpacing response efforts, with more than 900 suspected cases and more than 220 deaths.

Martha Porado
5/25/2026
De-coding prescribing cascades
A case-based reflective approach to help you identify and manage potentially inappropriate prescribing cascades.

Martha Porado
5/24/2026
Gabapentinoids: What is the risk of drug poisoning?
A new study suggests that patients are at increased risk of drug toxicity even before treatment begins, at the start of treatment, and when combined with benzodiazepines and opioids.

Martha Porado
5/21/2026
What if doctors had to take a cognitive test after the age of 70?
In the U.S., some hospitals require cognitive assessments for clinicians above a certain age to renew their privileges. The figures are intriguing, but the model raises questions of validity and fairness. In Quebec, the Collège des médecins du Québec is relying on other mechanisms.

Martha Porado
5/21/2026
NACI update: A new tool to protect infants from RSV
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends adding clesrovimab to the arsenal of preventive measures against respiratory syncytial virus in infants and young children. This monoclonal antibody was approved by Health Canada in February 2026.

Martha Porado