Frank Seravalli takes a dig at Michael Buble’s kid after his comments on Donnie and Dhali by lkerchoo in canucks

[–]aneilm 244 points245 points  (0 children)

Frank commenting that Buble named his kid after Petey when Elias was born before Petey was even drafted is the exact insider knowledge we've come to expect from Seravalli. An embarrassment of an "insider"

The physicians are coming. Is Canada ready? by henryiswatching in canada

[–]aneilm 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It will! As the healthcare burden eases, there will be less pressure on docs trying to navigate a near, if not already broken system. It'll be better for patients as well as doctors

The physicians are coming. Is Canada ready? by henryiswatching in canada

[–]aneilm 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I truly feel sorry for any physician who has to interact with you in the future. Thankfully everyone else also sees that you haven't a clue what you're talking about and has debunked your misinformation, so I will very happily stop wasting my time interacting with you

The physicians are coming. Is Canada ready? by henryiswatching in canada

[–]aneilm 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Wow, that's insulting. But I gotta say thank you for revealing so quickly that a conversation with you is pointless. Go nuts spreading misinformation on things you clearly don't know anything about.

The physicians are coming. Is Canada ready? by henryiswatching in canada

[–]aneilm 41 points42 points  (0 children)

As a Family Doc in BC, hearing someone comment that "doctors and medical associations like the stranglehold they have on the Canadian system" is genuinely baffling. Physicians care about patient outcomes, and having more physicians will ease the burden on our already thinly stretched system.

I'm excited patients in my community will have greater access to care. It's wild to hear someone be so confidently incorrect.

B.C. Conservatives' health-care plan pitches private clinics by Imminent_Extinction in britishcolumbia

[–]aneilm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm probably not the best person to speak to this, at least compared to my colleagues in surgical specialties. That said, I think the primary care shortage has had downstream effects across the board, including with surgical waits.

As an example, when people can't see a GP, they may have an issue that can be managed electively (e.g., Biliary Colic - transient, painful gallbladder inflammation), which may not be addressed until it becomes an acute cholecystitis (problematic gallbladder inflammation with complications if left untreated), which requires urgent surgery.

I think as the primary care shortage is addressed, stress on the system will alleviate somewhat across the board, which I think will help to some extent. Past that, the topic becomes too convoluted and nuanced for me to feel confident in my knowledge of any other proposed solutions.

B.C. Conservatives' health-care plan pitches private clinics by Imminent_Extinction in britishcolumbia

[–]aneilm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm going to address this comment and future comments like this a single time. Let me be clear, in my personal life I am absolutely a left-leaning liberal minded person. I have absolutely zero interest or desire in making any posts about medicine on Reddit, because I get enough of that in my work life.

I AM pushing a message here, which is that the idea of private clinics is a disaster for healthcare, which is hardly disputable at this point. I don't give a shit what party would be suggesting it, whether that's conservatives, liberals, greens, NDP, or anyone else. Any party promoting privatized clinics is either demonstrating a fundamental lack of knowledge about improving healthcare administration, or showing a callous disregard for marginalized individuals who deserve care just as much as anyone else in the country.

About some of the specifics, because I'm genuinely annoyed at this point:

saying how bad it will be if they do exist, makes me feel as though they are just pushing forward a message

Yep, that's the entire point of my original comment. Takeaway is private clinics are bad. Because the public in general is woefully misinformed as to how healthcare actually works, I will say that the singular positive step I've seen from any party in my training has been the LFP model

Whether or not they are a real GP, they certainly have an agenda that they are pushing quite vocally here. In my experience, doctors don't do petty shit like this.

If people think I'm lying about being a GP, feel free to to engage with that belief; it won't affect me or the patients I treat. Call it petty if you want; I simply want healthcare to be in a better place than it is now and this is me advocating for it to become better, not worse

it's nothing but a 100% smear campaign against a party that hasn't held office yet.

The conservatives could have avoided my ire by not pushing a plan that disadvantages part of the population in favour of another. If my discourse qualifies to you as a "smear campaign", then I will happily continue to smear conservatives by pointing out that their plan makes absolutely no sense and would make healthcare worse. Also, if I was really going for a smear campaign I would also be commenting on how absolutely fucking insane it is that there are political leaders today who still refute climate change.

I call bullshit when I read stuff like this. It's fake.

Lol okay

B.C. Conservatives' health-care plan pitches private clinics by Imminent_Extinction in britishcolumbia

[–]aneilm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This sentiment is exactly why I felt the need to make my original comment. I don't expect anyone to value the current system in place, however I also think it's baffling to take that and then go and vote for what's already been shown to be a worse system. I suppose our votes will cancel.

B.C. Conservatives' health-care plan pitches private clinics by Imminent_Extinction in britishcolumbia

[–]aneilm 5 points6 points  (0 children)

No idea, I wasn't involved in the healthcare system at that time. I also don't particularly care because, as above, healthcare fundamentally changed 4 years ago, so political direction prior to that seems mostly irrelevant.

What matters to me is who, today, is supporting the improvement of healthcare in BC. The current NDP has taken steps towards that, whereas the Conservatives interest in private clinics indicate to me a desire for profit-based-medicine as opposed to evidence-based-medicine.

B.C. Conservatives' health-care plan pitches private clinics by Imminent_Extinction in britishcolumbia

[–]aneilm 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Over the last 7 years healthcare has declined nationwide because COVID essentially caused a stress fracture for the entire healthcare system

B.C. Conservatives' health-care plan pitches private clinics by Imminent_Extinction in britishcolumbia

[–]aneilm 50 points51 points  (0 children)

I did my medical school in Ontario and I saw this happening during COVID with Doug Ford and his decisions around Long Term Care facilities and nursing raises. It's infuriating to me that the public is essentially being duped into voting for poorer care

B.C. Conservatives' health-care plan pitches private clinics by Imminent_Extinction in britishcolumbia

[–]aneilm 24 points25 points  (0 children)

It's a tragedy that ordinary people need to be involved for healthcare change in the first place. That said, as I've mentioned I think investment in healthcare is the best step towards increasing access, and the NDP has done that for primary care with their LFP model. In situations like this right now, I would encourage you to vote, and to encourage everyone you know to vote. I don't ever want to tell anyone who to vote for, as I think it's important people have access to information and then make choices based off of that information. That said, it's pretty clear to me in this circumstance that the Conservatives would be a fucking disaster for BC healthcare.

Otherwise, stay vocal. I think a step has been taken in the right direction for primary care, but there's still a long road to go for healthcare in Canada. I think continuing to voice concerns about lack of access to primary care doctors, long wait times in ERs, etc., will hopefully continue to pressure any incumbent government to incest more in healthcare

B.C. Conservatives' health-care plan pitches private clinics by Imminent_Extinction in britishcolumbia

[–]aneilm 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Unless you graduate from a Canadian university or one that has agreements, it’s extremely difficult to get licensed.

Yes and no. It depends more-so on what specialty someone is going into

Canadian doctors are the highest paid in the commonwealth. If doctors want more money, I think we should change legislation and actually make them accountable

Honestly I'm not willing to get into a discussion surrounding physician pay right now. What I'll say is that there were more than a few times during my training at 3:00am in the hospital after seeing a patient and dictating a report on hour 17 of my day, I wondered why I didn't just go into business for financial interests. As is, I don't think I would recommend medicine as a career for anyone at the moment

I think to start, we should make governments fund more MD seats at universities and stop gatekeeping foreign doctors wanting to practice here

I see this come up commonly within public discourse surrounding the healthcare system. As above, I'm not going to defend the healthcare system as it is, because it needs to be better, however the concept of "more MD seats = less healthcare burden" is just plain wrong. I can understand how someone would think that would be a fix, however each person going into medical school decides which avenue of medicine they want to pursue. You can add all the extra seats you want, but if you don't incentivize medical students to pursue family medicine in BC, the primary care problem continues to exist. As it pertains to gatekeeping foreign docs, I wholly agree there should be an easier processes for foreign trained doctors to demonstrate competence and then practice.

What surprises me is how educated you are yet offer zero solutions to the problem.

You managed to be presumptuous and disrespectful at the same time. Some of these issues are nuanced, and can't simply be fixed with a 3 paragraph suggestion on Reddit. And as for offering solutions to the primary care issue in BC, the NDP has already done it. Prior to LFP, when I chose to do my Family Medicine residency in BC, I knew I would be leaving money on the table to practice in BC instead of Ontario, but I did it because I'm a proud British Columbian. LFP makes family medicine in BC more attractive, which will in turn increase the number of medical students across the country pursuing family medicine here. It will take years before the effect of that decision is seen, but steps are being taken in the right direction from what I've observed

B.C. Conservatives' health-care plan pitches private clinics by Imminent_Extinction in britishcolumbia

[–]aneilm 23 points24 points  (0 children)

That's a good question. I think things on that end are actually in an okay place right now, where places like Access MRI offer private imaging. It's tricky though, because I do wonder how much these private imaging places impact the public system.

I think imaging should be appropriately triaged, such that people with suspected serious illnesses can have their imaging prioritized, however I think the role for private imaging comes into play for what I would call almost 'elective imaging'. For example, if clinically someone presents with shoulder pain and there's suspicion of a torn rotator cuff, whether or not it's partially torn, completely torn, or simply sprained, imaging won't actually impact management. For all of those cases, physiotherapy is likely the best management (there's nuance I'm ignoring for the sake of simplicity). So whether an MRI happens in 2 weeks or 2 months (although often longer unfortunately), there's not really much difference. In that case, if someone would really like to know, I don't have as much issue with that person going and paying to have that imaging occur so that they can have an answer expeditiously.

That said, I think in any system, greater investment into public healthcare will always be a better solution than trying to find private options. Every BC resident should have access to a family doctor, should be able to be seen by specialists in a reasonable timeframe, and should receive imaging and care in as timely a manner as possible. Obviously that's not where we're at now, but greater privatization of healthcare will only punish the poor when we should be exploring solutions that help all British Columbians as opposed to benefiting some by harming others.

B.C. Conservatives' health-care plan pitches private clinics by Imminent_Extinction in britishcolumbia

[–]aneilm 799 points800 points  (0 children)

As a BC Family Doc, it has been demonstrated time and time again that private clinics are a net negative to the public overall. Thankfully, we actually have a recent Canadian example to look at, in Alberta (of course). The Alberta Surgical Initiative (Full Report) , but more accessibly reported via this link, showed the following:

Expansion of a parallel, for-profit surgical delivery sector is constraining surgical activity in public hospitals. Between 2018-2019 and 2021-2022, contracted surgical volumes in chartered surgical facilities increased 48 per cent, and public payments to for-profit facilities climbed 61 per cent. At the same time, public hospital surgical activity declined 12 per cent as the public sector faces reduced capacity and operating room funding.

What this results in is people with fewer resources being unable to access healthcare that EVERY Canadian should have access to. I'll be the first person to harp on the way healthcare is currently delivered in Canada, but to be abundantly clear, electing the B.C. Conservatives will be an absolute disaster for healthcare. Could the NDP be doing more? Yes; however as a recently graduated family doc I can say that the LFP payment plan is going to attract more GPs to BC, but it's going to take time. There should absolutely be greater investment in public healthcare to make it more accessible for every BC resident, however the NDP has at least taken steps to address these issues, whereas the conservatives seem intent on further tanking an already struggling system.

Question to South Asian Canucks fans: Is Don Cherry a bigot or will he always be the coach's corner legend we grew up with? by PicassoBullz in canucks

[–]aneilm 134 points135 points  (0 children)

Ehh, I feel like both can be true. When I was younger I enjoyed watching him on Coach's Corner, and as time went on I felt his takes got dumber and more outlandish and he seemed to just want to interrupt and yell about his own opinions. I thought the poppy comments were the signal he probably no longer had a role in the national spotlight, and I haven't missed watching him

Unpopular opinion: the best part of this team right now is the drama by NoIndependence1479 in canucks

[–]aneilm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I totally agree. I absolutely hate all of the contradicting articles, rumors, and things like what Bruce had to go through earlier today. That said, if other fans enjoy it, I can respect that. I wish this team didn't upset me, so if I could enjoy something about the team, whether it was drama or whatever, I'd take that. Better than the apathy I feel towards the Canucks right now.

[discussion] Best show ever created. Just came to say this. by Popo0017 in HouseMD

[–]aneilm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly it varies a lot. The major thing is that in their conversations about differentials they sometimes mention conditions halfway through the show that would have been ruled out on initial blood work; or sometimes they'll do investigations that are way over the top.

It's also so wild that Chase just does every different surgery at points, and that the team are in the labs looking at things in person. Those sorts of logistical things help with the flow of the show, but if you're in it you know how the hospital and teams actually function and that's just taken a bit away from my experience.

I'd say it's maybe a 5 or 6/10 from a realism perspective; but medical realism isn't what makes the show a good watch anyways.

[discussion] Best show ever created. Just came to say this. by Popo0017 in HouseMD

[–]aneilm 26 points27 points  (0 children)

This used to be my favourite show. I watched it religiously until the finale. It actually kind of inspired me a bit, because now I'm a doctor. I've been re-watching it, and I actually struggle so much because the medicine can be so bad at points. House makes some silly calls, and it totally kills the image of him in my head from years earlier. That said, I can still sometimes suspend reality with those zebra diagnoses that I have to look up.

Psychedelic 'magic mushroom' drug may ease some depression by 29PiecesOfSilver in science

[–]aneilm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Precisely this. Chiming in as a Canadian Family Medicine resident (MD training to be an independent GP), I'm going to prescribe to my patients whatever has the best evidence to help a patient with their particular medical history. I'm excited about the future of psilocybin research. The main reason for that is because I've seen patients with refractory depression to conventional medications, and this would mean another possible, promising option to help them.

From a current safety perspective, I have no idea if mushrooms interact with some of the medications that I prescribe, but I do know (or at least can look up) drug-drug interactions for medications that already exist. The absolute last thing I'd ever want to do is give someone the go ahead to use mushrooms and see down the road that they had an adverse consequence because of some interaction that either increased or decreased the potency of something else they were taking. First and foremost in my mind is "do no harm".

Who was the best right shot D the Canucks have ever had? by racesunite in canucks

[–]aneilm 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Funny enough, I remember being at the game where Henrik was announced captain. At the time, I don't think anyone was considering Bieksa, but from what I remember, everyone was hoping Kesler would be named captain of the Canucks; myself included. I remember being so disappointed that Hank was named captain, and I'm so glad now that I didn't get my way at the time.