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When it comes to the privacy of personal health information everyone in British Columbia needs to know how FIPPA (also known as FOIPPA) is different from PIPA, and the same may apply in other jurisdictions across Canada and elsewhere.
Doctors and members of the BC Medical Association are asking what is happening at the helm of the BCMA? Some are saying they think the new CEO Allan Seckel is not good for the Association and a sign that bad things are happening to the Association.
2016-10-16 Dr Z. Essak, MD - Vancouver, BC
On June 2, 2011 US First Lady Michelle Obama and Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack unveiled the federal government's new food icon, MyPlate. MyPlate is a new generation icon with the intent to prompt consumers to make healthier food choices and to seek more information by going to 
2016-10-05 Dr Z. Essak, MD - Vancouver, BC
Dr Z. Essak, MD - Vancouver BC - February 16, 2018
2016-07-21 Dr Z. Essak, MD - Vancouver, BC
The youtube channel "Cracked Science" with Jonathan Jerry provides some good humour and scientific knowledge in ten minute episodes to bring you up to speed and get you thinking.News Items
BC Covid19 Math and Stats modelling lecture May 14, 2020
Public
The "bcCOVID-19 group Lecture: Real time modelling of the COVID-19 epidemic - perspectives from British Columbia" was delivered as a Zoom lecture and was recorded. The first speaker Caroline Colijn provides an interesting explanation of the use of mathematical modelling and how this is being used to develop data driven policies. Her presentation includes some graphs that are quite useful.
BC Covid-19 Survey gets quite personal
Public
The BC Covid-19 Survey has just been launched and people can participate until the end of May 2020.
The survey takes longer than the 10-15 minutes claimed and while the survey does allow people to answer anonymously and answer only the questions they wish to, it does include a number of questions that reveal a lot of private personal information including the individual's PHN if they wish.
Update on CPSBC Bylaw Amendments - Associate Physician
Public
We wish to express our sincere thanks to the more than 600 BC physicians who signed the group response letter in less than 48 hours. The overwhelming response with more than 150 comments expressed strong concerns about the precedent-setting CPSBC Bylaw amendments and the potential detrimental effect on patient safety and the quality of care delivered in BC. Please see our update letter sharing what we have learned and what can be done to help uphold the integrity of physician practice in BC, keeping our patients, communities, and families safe.
Telehealth, what does it mean?
Public
With tongue in cheek some might say it was about time we made more use of the tech we've got and now here we are all using telehealth. What does it mean? What does it look like? How does it work?
Society-changing infections - parallels to the polio epidemic of 1927
Public
Poliomyelitis – a.k.a. “The Crippler” or “infantile paralysis” - is a viral disease that primarily, and quite harmlessly, infects the gastrointestinal system. But if the poliovirus survives and is able to enter the bloodstream and nervous system it can cause damage to motor neurons in the spinal cord that connect the brain to muscles. Such damage interferes with muscle control, causing weakness or paralysis.
The Future of Psychiatry?
Public
Dr. Chris Sedergreen.
A highly respected psychiatrist has recently sent a letter to her patients announcing her decision not to return to clinical practice. I've known her professionally for over 15 years and can attest that her departure will leave a gap in her patient's lives that will be almost impossible to fill.
Will we see changes to copyright laws in Canada?
Public
2019-06-21 Vancouver, BC
Canadian copyright laws were updated in 2012. Now, in 2019, two Canadian Parliamentary Standing Committees delivered reports with recommendations on changes to copyright laws in Canada.
Will we see any changes to the copyright laws in the near future?
What are ethics and why are they important?
Public
2019-03-12 Dr Z.Essak, MD - Vancouver, BC
Ethics are a big part of our lives as principles that govern our actions. Doctors take an oath to serve the patient's interest and not their own or that of others.
We expect ethical actions of people involved with our daily lives: teachers, accountants, professionals, merchants and others. It is the basis of the trust we have in them. We depend on them as people with privilege and power over ourselves, children and others.
It's not just ethics in medicine and health: it's ethics in politics, in technology, in corporations and the list goes on. People are growing more concerned about the decline of ethical leadership in politics and also business tech giants like Facebook, Google and others.
What happens when an individual's actions run contrary to ethical principles?
The late Dr Morris VanAndel, a well-respected GP and subsequent Registrar of the BC College of Physicians and Surgeons, reminded doctors in 2002 this way: "An ethical principle, by nature, is not modified by circumstances, regardless of the validity or justification of the reasons leading to the action."
