CMAJ Podcasts

The use of electric scooters (e-scooters) has witnessed a substantial surge globally.However, the presence of these motorized vehicles on sidewalks poses a significant risk to pedestrians. A recent practice paper published in CMAJ describes the case of a 68-year-old woman who suffered serious injuries while walking on a city sidewalk after being hit by an e-scooter traveling at approximately 30 km/h. While the authors of the paper recognize e-scooters as a popular, efficient and green form of transportation, they argue effective policies are needed to mitigate risks associated with their use. On this episode, Drs. Blair Bigham and Mojola Omole speak with Zach Williams, the director of policy and government partnerships and Jamie Perkins the director of communications for  Superpedestrian. Superpedestrian is an e-scooter company that spun off from the MIT Sensible City Lab. They discuss the necessary changes to urban infrastructure as well as the responsibilities of e-scooter providers to ensure safety for riders and pedestrians.The discussion then shifts to Catherine McKenney, a former Ottawa city councilor and mayoral candidate, who proposed substantial investments in biking infrastructure during their campaign. They argue that debates about safe urban transit have become too polarized and that it is not a matter of being for or against cars, but rather about finding effective solutions to make transportation safe and efficient for all users.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

Uptake of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for children aged 5–11 years has been lower than anticipated in Canada. Although research has explored parental intentions toward SARS-CoV-2 vaccination for children, the drivers of parents’ decisions to seek vaccination for their children - or not -  have not been studied in-depth. A research paper published in CMAJ,  entitled Parents’ perspectives on SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations for children: a qualitative analysis, sought to explore parents’ decision-making. It was a collaboration between physicians, social scientists and research scientists. On this episode, four of the paper’s authors discuss their findings with hosts, Drs. Omole and Bigham. They emphasize the importance of existing trusting relationships between parents and their primary care providers when it comes to making difficult healthcare decisions for children.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Ontario saw a 5600% increase in virtual visits to health care practitioners, while in-office visits decreased by 79% from the previous year. In 2018, only 4% of family physicians in Canada were offering video visits while, at the peak of the pandemic, about 80% of primary care visits were being delivered virtually in Ontario.Media reports at the time suggested patients were substituting emergency department (ED) visits when in-person consultations were unavailable, leading to additional strain on already stretched ED resources.A research paper published in CMAJ looked at whether this shift in care was in fact taking place. Dr. Hemant Shah is an internal medicine physician and hepatologist at Toronto General Hospital and co-author of the study entitled Association between virtual primary care and emergency department use during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada.On today’s episode, Dr. Shah discusses the study’s surprising findings with hosts Dr. Blair Bigham and Dr. Mojola Omole.  Drs Omole and Bigham then speak with Toni Leamon, the CMA’s patient voice chair, a member of CMA's Virtual Care Taskforce and a co-author of the CMA's Virtual Care Companion for Patients. She offers the patient’s vision of high quality virtual care.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

Migraine is a common condition that affects around 12% of adults, with a higher prevalence in women (18%) than men (6%). Global burden of disease estimates in 2019 found migraine to be the leading cause of disability in women aged 15-49 years and the second leading cause of disability overall. On this episode, Drs. Mojole and Bigham interview three authors of two review articles on the topic published in CMAJ, which focus on diagnosis, acute treatment and prevention of migraine.  Dr. Velina Tzankova is a neurology resident at the University of Toronto; Dr. Werner Becker is a neurologist and the founding director of the Calgary Headache Assessment and Management Program, and currently professor emeritus in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary; and Dr. Tommy Chan is a neurologist and director of John H. Kreeft Headache Clinic at University Hospital in London, Ontario. As well, Drs. Bigham and Omole interview two women who have battled severe migraine since childhood: psychologist, Dr. Shanthy Edward, and med student, Zikra Awosanmi. They discuss the impact migraine headaches have had on their lives, the challenges they have faced accessing adequate treatment, and their thoughts on what physicians could better understand about this disabling condition.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

Suzie Goulding, founder of COVID Long Haulers Canada, shares her poignant journey with long COVID, shedding light on the debilitating fatigue and complex symptoms she faced. General internist Kieran Quinn discusses the nuances of diagnosing this condition, emphasizing clinical judgment over extensive tests. They explore the impact of treatments during acute COVID-19 on long COVID development and highlight the importance of understanding and support from the medical community. Their insights aim to reshape healthcare responses to this ongoing crisis.

On this special episode, Drs. Blair Bigham and Mojola Omole interview CMAJ editor-in-chief, Dr. Kirsten Patrick, and executive editor, Dr. James Maskalyk. They talk about the journal's accomplishments over the past year and some of the challenges related to its increased focus on social determinants of health and equity.In the year ahead, Drs. Patrick and Maskalyk say the journal will focus on exploring topics related to access to care, and particularly encourage the submission of articles that discuss bold solutions that can bring about wide-reaching systemic change.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

A popular theory to explain the crisis in primary care in Canada is that newly graduating physicians simply do not see as many patients as previous generations. But recently published research has thoroughly debunked that myth. David Rudoler is the lead author of research published in CMAJ entitled Changes over time in patient visits and continuity of care among graduating cohorts of family physicians in 4 Canadian provinces that looked at the number of patient contacts for physicians at all career stages. He and his co-authors found no generational differences in family physician practice.On this episode, David Rudoler, who is an assistant professor in the faculty of health sciences at Ontario Tech University, tells Drs. Bigham and Omole that, while his research disproves the ‘lazy millennial physician’ trope, it does show that the number of patient contacts has declined for all primary care physicians over the years.Dr. Tara Kiran,  Fidani Chair in Improvement and Innovation at the University of Toronto and a family medicine physician at St. Michael's Hospital Academic Family Health Team, then talks to the hosts about what Canada can do to ensure that everyone in Canada has access to adequate primary care. Dr. Kiran is the author of a commentary in CMAJ entitled Keeping the front door open: ensuring access to primary care for all in Canada. Dr. Kiran argues that interprofessional team-based care, coupled with payment reform, has the potential to improve primary care capacity, access and outcomes for patients, as well as  provider well-being. She advocates for more radical reforms such as regionally organized after-hours care and neighbourhood-based primary care, models that currently exist in several European countries.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

An “old wives’ tale” has persisted in the treatment of anterior epistaxis. A practice article in CMAJ entitled, "Five things to know about anterior epistaxis" discusses what many are doing wrong and the proper way to treat anterior epistaxis. On this episode, co-author and rhinologist Dr. Leigh Sowerby elaborates on the causes and the full suite of options for treating this common cause for emergency department visits.Next, Drs. Bigham and Omole speak with Dr. Michelle Sholzberg, a hematologist and medical director of the coagulation laboratory at St. Michael's Hospital about how to determine if a patient may have a  bleeding disorder and needs investigation. Dr. Sholzberg discusses the usefulness of the INR and PTT and then goes on to call out structural sexism in hematology, and in the diagnosis of bleeding disorders, in particular. "Five things to know about anterior epistaxis"CMAJComments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

A practice article in CMAJ presents 8 images of monkeypox mucocutaneous lesions presenting in Canadian patients from May to July 2022.  The images show a spectrum of common lesions seen in patients with human monkeypox during the 2022 outbreak in non-endemic countries. On this episode, Dr. Sharon Sukhdeo and Dr. Darrell Tan, two co-authors of the article discuss their intention that the image atlas be a necessary corrective to the proliferation of images from endemic countries seen early in the outbreak that primarily featured Black patients, often children. Host Dr. Mojola Omole speaks with these guests about the current epidemiology of human monkeypox in Canada, lessons learned from the 2022 outbreak, the importance of accurately describing who is at risk, and how generating awareness of monkeypox transmission in communities at risk may have slowed its spread.Dr. Sukhdeo is an infectious disease fellow at the University of Toronto, and Dr. Darrell Tan is an infectious disease physician at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions

Artificial intelligence, such as computer-aided detection and computer-aided diagnosis or differentiation uses complex algorithms to identify and characterize polyps in situ during screening for colorectal cancer.  Emergent evidence suggests that the performance of AI models is superior to current standards of practice.On this episode, Drs Bigham and Omole speak with Dr. Michael Byrne, co-author of a practice paper in CMAJ entitled Artificial intelligence in colorectal cancer screening. He argues that while artificial intelligence will not replace physicians, physicians who use AI will eventually replace physicians who don’t.Next they speak with Zayna Khayat, a future strategist and Vice President of Growth & Client Success at digital health solutions firm, Teladoc Health. She's also adjunct faculty at the Rotman School of Business. Zayna says that AI’s biggest impact on medicine will come from reducing costs and increasing the number of patients that can be guided through the system.Comments or questions? Text us.Join us as we explore medical solutions that address the urgent need to change healthcare. Reach out to us about this or any episode you hear. Or tell us about something you'd like to hear on the leading Canadian medical podcast.You can find Blair and Mojola on X @BlairBigham and @DrmojolaomoleX (in English): @CMAJ X (en français): @JAMC FacebookInstagram: @CMAJ.ca The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions