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2016-07-21 Dr Z. Essak, MD - Vancouver, BC
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the growing list of names for different generations; boomers, gen-X, millenials, zoomers and what follows? Here are a couple of links that may help.
Dr Z. Essak, MD - Vancouver BC - August 11, 2021.
Mistakes were made (but not by me): Why we justify foolish beliefs, bad decisions, and hurtful acts... a book co-authored by Elliot Aronson.
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?
The I Ching, or Book Of Changes, is an ancient Chinese book. While there are many translations, the German translation by Richard Wilhelm rendered into English by Cary F. Baynes (1950) has become a well respected classic. The book includes a foreword by CG Jung, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, who has elsewhere described using the I Ching in his psychiatric practice from time to time. An electronic version of the text related to the hexagrams (the oracle), from the first part of the translation, can be viewed online or downloaded using the link below.
Book Review
2016-08-22 Dr Z. Essak, MD - Vancouver, BC
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.News Items
BC's new Family Practice LFP model uptake at 45 percent, why are 55 percent still cautious?
Public
Vancouver, BC - March 7, 2023
According to the DoBC Newsflash:
Doctors of BC says more than 2,000 physicians have signed up for the Longitudinal Family Practice pay scheme in the five weeks since it took effect, representing about 45 per cent of longitudinal family doctors. “That gives me great hope, and I think our entire negotiating team and the Ministry of Health some real optimism that we got the model right, because people are joining,” Doctors of BC president Dr Josh Greggain told Global News on Monday.
Is that correct? "We got the model right." At least enough for all the bureaucrats to be happy and smiling: "our entire negotiating team and the Ministry of Health". But, why are 55% of family doctors not so sure and staying with FFS, at least for now?
Provincial Health Ministries disregard for the five principles of the Canada Health Act
Public
In a farewell editorial published in the March 2023 issue of the BC Medical Journal, Dr Brian Day chronicles how the five principles of the Canada Health Act have been disregarded by provincial governments and health ministries across the country. Does this help us understand the sorry state of our medicare system as we see all the media attention related to the nationwide suffering of patients?
More than 10,000 people sign petition to repeal BC's Bill 36
Public
Vancouver, BC - February 13, 2023.
A petition to repeal BC's Bill 36 - Health Professions and Occupations Act has already gathered more than 10,800 signatures. It was presented to the BC Parliament when the session resumed earlier this month. More signatures are still being collected and will be presented to the House later. It is already one of the largest petitions introduced to the BC Legislature.
Request for the Doctors Of BC to send package to all doctors offices to repeal Bill 36.
Public
The next Board meeting of the Association of Doctors of BC is on Friday January 27. Doctors throughout BC who are concerned about Bill 36 can send an email request to the President and the Board to prepare and send a package to all doctors offices with a poster and the petition to repeal Bill 36. Here is a suggested email that doctors can use or modify.
It's time for all doctors and the Association of Doctors of BC to show their leadership and strength. If the Board adopts the motion to send the package that will be a good thing for everyone in BC, patients and doctors. If the Board refuses to address such a request, the member doctors will have their answer on the substance of the Board.
Is BC NDP new legislation poised to politically interfere with licensing of doctors and health professionals?
Public
Vancouver, BC - November 24, 2022.
Does the BC NDP's new legislation: Bill 36 - Health Professions and Occupations Act, introduced on October 19, 2022, set the stage for political interference in the licensing of physicians and other health professionals? Under sections 519 to 532 of the proposed Act, the Cabinet can make changes to the regulations including disciplinary measures, the composition of discipline panels and the oversight of complaints. In BC, will politics trump science when it comes to health professionals?
The Association of the Doctors Of BC has not alerted physicians and the public of problems and concerns related to the new Act. However, social media has been exploding with comments about the recently tabled legislation.
We are in grave danger, we have taken people out of the picture.
Public
Dr Z. Essak, MD - Vancouver, BC - October 17, 2022
It’s about learning, knowledge, sharing and understanding so we can make our society and the world better.
We are in grave danger. Soon those with memories of how things were different will be gone. We will be left at risk of believing the way we do things is the only way.
We have taken people out of the picture. We have become leaders of entities, not leaders of people.
What do Family Doctors do?
Public
Dr Carmen Eadie, Vancouver BC, Sep 4, 2022.
The biggest problem with being a Family Doctor is that no one knows exactly what we do. We are involved in so many aspects of a person’s life that the lens is not clear to other people.
Dr Ian McWhinney, Canada's "Founding Father of Family Medicine"
Public
Dr Ian R. McWhinney was an English physician and academic who moved to the University of Western Ontario as the first chair of family medicine in Canada where he started the country's first Department of Family Medicine in 1968. He became known in Canada and around the world as the "Father of Family Medicine".
He published over 100 articles during his lifetime and is well known for his influential book, Textbook of Family Medicine. The opening chapter, The Origins of Family Medicine, provides a brief history of medicine including the emergence and need for Family Medicine.
Are band-aids the right Rx to save family medicine?
Public
The $118 million announced consisting of $75 million new money plus redistribution of existing funds as a "stabilization fund" is an interim measure, a one-time handout over 4 months October 2022 to Jan. 31st, 2023, to help family physicians (FP) in the community, both longitudinal practices and walk-in clinics with overhead costs to keep their doors open until January 2023. This first step is intended to buy more time for the government and DoBC to develop a "new payment model" that will be introduced and implemented. According to DoBC President's letter, the new model will be based on compensation determined by a number of factors including time, patient encounters, and attachments/complexity.
