Alex Singer

Associate Professor, University of Manitoba

[Dr. Joss Reimer @jossreimer]

With long wait times, and more than 6.5 million Canadians without access to primary care, it’s time to take action to stabilize our health system. There are seven things we can do today, to create a sustainable and equitable healthcare system of tomorrow. 🧵 👇

[Alex Singer @DrAlexSinger]

@MeghanAzad @GairdnerAwards Incredible!! Congratulations and well deserved!!

[Alex Singer @DrAlexSinger]

@DrKathleenRoss1 https://t.co/COa4ZjsuW4 Or were you just sloppy and didn't realize the hospital wasn't bombed at all but a rocket fired intentionally at civilians misfired and hit a parking lot in front of a hospital? We all want the suffering to stop, spreading blood libels won't help.

[Dr Jessica Otte, CCFP, FCFP🇨🇦 - palliative/FP @LessIsMoreMed]

Reduce unnecessary routine vitamin D testing https://t.co/tT1gPqKMwk (and unnecessary vitamin D taking, while you are at it!)

#vitaminD #sunshine #choosingwisely

[Dr. Alika Lafontaine MD @AlikaMD]

I don’t think asking how 🇨🇦 healthcare can be sustainable is a useful question to ask anymore. It takes us down the rabbit hole of hyper-fixating on cutting costs while expecting more and more output. It’s extractive capitalism at its worst, but in a publicly funded, non-profit system.

Better questions,

- if we spend a dollar on healthcare, do we get a dollar of being healthy?
- are there any places where those dollars are amplified, ie - a $1 gives us a $1.50 in health?
- how much health is “enough” to have a thriving society?
- is health evenly distributed?
- how can we move the care part of healthcare back into the community and out of hospitals, etc?
- how do we incentivize providers to do tasks that lead to health, and minimize busywork that doesn’t make a difference to health?

Sure there’s lots of others.

Some of these we already know the answer to already.

[CIHI_ICIS @CIHI_ICIS]

The 2022 Commonwealth Fund survey results show that Canadian family physician practices have improved in sharing information with other health care providers, but there’s room to grow in realizing the full potential of electronic digital tools. Go to: https://t.co/0jSc1Hd5Ns

[CJC Journals @CJCJournals]

Primary care providers play an important role in diagnosing and managing cardiovascular disease (CVD). Understanding the prevalence for patients with CVD being cared for in primary care settings can improve care for this important disease #CJCOpen 👉 https://t.co/MmM4uLkdHY

[Dr. Sarah Newbery 💙💛 @snewbery1]

Brilliant article by Dr. Johanna Lynch about the complexity and value of #generalism.

"GPs intentionally sit near the pain, suffering and uncertainty in their communities, seeking to offer healing relationships that are humane and respectful"

https://t.co/TUAZBbXdO7

@djillk1

[The College of Family Physicians of Canada @CFPC_e]

The cracks in our healthcare system are widening, and family doctors are on the brink of collapse. It's time for urgent action. https://t.co/O8ynpWq1ga #FamilyMedicineInCrisis

[CIHI_ICIS @CIHI_ICIS]

The results are in! Explore the results from the Commonwealth Fund (CMWF) 2022 International Health Policy Survey of Primary Care Physicians to find out what’s impacting primary care in Canada. https://t.co/0jSc1Hd5Ns

[CIHI_ICIS @CIHI_ICIS]

What are the key issues affecting #PrimaryCare in Canada? Explore the results from the 2022 Commonwealth Fund survey to learn how family doctors felt about workload, coordination of care, virtual care and more. https://t.co/0jSc1Hd5Ns

[Tara Kiran @tara_kiran]

We'll be launching the #OurCare Manitoba Priority Panel in September

If you live in Manitoba and are interested in being involved in a citizen dialogue to shape primary care, please sign up at https://t.co/q7QV1QpWQJ

[SevenOaksCDIC @SevenOaksCDIC]

Evaluation of administrative case definitions for #hypertension in Canadian children. @um_mchp @cpcssn #PedsNeph

➡️ https://t.co/Lahy7jwJJL

[Alex Singer @DrAlexSinger]

@MichaelSchwandt @BirinderNarang Fascinating idea.

[Ilan Shahin @IlanShahin]

I agree with this piece but:

How did all our previous change efforts, each with their own moment of optimism and false promise of a new era, still fail to avoid *this*?

Our dollars + brains must fix the ways the machine is fundamentally broken, not just make it more tolerable.

[Dr. Joss Reimer @jossreimer]

Family medicine is the best and most important specialty. We need to make bold changes to our system to treat it that way.

[Dr Jessica Otte, CCFP, FCFP🇨🇦 - palliative/FP @LessIsMoreMed]

Family doctors only need to spend this many hours per day to provide guideline-recommended preventive, chronic disease and acute care:
a) 2
b) 2.5
c) 3
d) 27

SPOILER: 27. It's 27 hours per day https://t.co/qR3xBOVBQs
@DrRitaMc @minnajohansson1 @BCFamilyDoctors @CFPC_e @drcadesky

[Alex Singer @DrAlexSinger]

@CJCJournals @ICESOntario @jayudell @husam247 @mayaasheth @drmikefarkouh @denniskomd @sacha_bhatia @CANHEART_News @WCHResearch Hold on hold on. Did they include SES, deprivation or medical complexity indices in this analysis? My guess is that all this is showing is that PCPs with smaller highly socially and medically complex patient panels have worse outcomes. Surprise surprise.

[Dr. Joss Reimer @jossreimer]

I am so humbled, honoured, and thankful to the MB docs who have voted me the CMA president-elect nominee.

I can't wait to get to work advocating for positive changes to our health systems.

🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[Matt Aronson @mattaronson]

Uh, guys? Do you want a Skynet? Cuz this is how you get a Skynet. https://t.co/EN4JXxxfAp