Patient Compliance

For most jurisdictions where they were legal, alcohol and marijuana were available at every stage of the pandemic. In North America, the shops selling marijuana and alcohol were deemed an “essential service” which meant that they were open throughout the pandemic, in the same way as grocery stores and pharmacies were open.

During COVID-19, most doctors have set up virtual offerings for patients so we need to double down on our efforts to ensure continuity of care

A new guideline aimed at helping clinicians identify the difficult-to-diagnose acute aortic syndrome is published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). Acute aortic syndrome (AAS) is a life-threatening condition that underlies 1 in 2000 visits to the emergency department for severe chest or back pain. The rate of misdiagnosis is estimated to be as high as 38%, and the risk of death can increase 2% for every hour of delay in diagnosis.

While doctors were hailed as heroes early in the pandemic, some say they now feel more like cannon fodder in a war that has become increasingly divisive

More people are testing positive for COVID-19 in British Columbia, including a baby in a neo-natal intensive care unit in a Vancouver hospital.

Study reports significant delay in time to hospitalization compared to usual care when LAIAs are used in patients with early-phase schizophrenia

Another record for monthly overdose deaths related to illicit drugs has been set in British Columbia, prompting the former provincial health officer to call for radical steps to reduce fatalities including access to pharmaceutical-grade heroin produced in Canada. Dr. Perry Kendall, now interim director at the BC Centre on Substance Use, said access to injectable diacetylmorphine needs to be ramped up after a sharp rise in overdose deaths four years after he declared a public health emergency.