Longwoods Healthcare Services Radio

A conversation with the two leaders in integrated care and co-editors of Healthcare Quarterly. We'll explore the journal, learn more about integrated care and maybe offer a special little tidbit.  Editors of Healthcare Quarterly Dr. Anne Wojtak, East Toronto Health Partners and University of Toronto  Dr. Richard Lewanczuk, University of Alberta

Dr. Sara Allin is the co-editor for the Longwoods journal HealthcarePapers, as well Director of the North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and an Associate Professor of Health Policy at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. In this session we'll learn a little more about Sara, her work in health poli...

How to Fight for What You Need: Advocating for Care in Canada’s Health Care System Canada’s healthcare system is built on principles of universality and access, yet many patients and families experience delays, confusion, barriers and frustration when trying to secure the care they need. In this timely conversation, Michael Decter and Mike McCarthy draw on decades of experience from inside the sys...

In this episode, the discussion examines whether Prime Minister Mark Carney's 2025 pledge to “build a stronger Canadian health care system” can be trusted—exploring provincial budget limits, public appetite for targeted healthcare spending, and the trade-offs between building hospitals, hiring doctors, and strengthening community care to unclog emergency departments. The episode outlines the signa...

Healthcare Policy / Politiques de Santé is a peer‑reviewed academic journal published by Longwoods Publishing in Canada. Focusing on healthcare policy research and policy translation, with an emphasis on issues relevant to health systems, governance, financing, and service delivery, particularly in Canada but with international relevance as well.   Join Jason Sutherland, Editor-in-Chief for Health...

Canada’s progress toward a fully connected health system is measured not just in policies and plans but in how systems actually work together. Projectathons are where that vision is put to the test – structured, non-competitive events that bring together vendors, jurisdictions, and clinical leaders to validate whether digital health solutions can exchange information securely and consistently acro...

A connected health system cannot be built within technological silos or fragmented partnerships. It requires sustained collaboration across government, industry, clinical leaders, patients and communities, and many more, who share a vision for more modern, efficient, and collaborative care. This session will explore how strategic public-private partnerships are accelerating Canada’s digital health...

Innovation can’t scale without strong, connected foundations. As Canada’s health system becomes more digitally enabled, it needs infrastructure that supports secure, seamless, and real-time information sharing. That is where interoperability comes in. But achieving it means more than just linking systems. It requires thoughtful design that reflects how care is actually delivered. This session expl...

Digital health innovation often emerges from research labs and policy tables, but some of the most impactful solutions begin at the community level, in response to real-world needs. Across Canada, clinicians, Indigenous leaders, health organizations, and local changemakers are designing and deploying digital tools that are improving care in rural, remote, and underserved settings. These efforts re...

Explore how AI-powered scribe tools are easing clinicians’ documentation burden, improving care workflows, and giving time back to patients through responsible, real-world integration. Speakers Dr. Rashaad Bhyat, Senior Clinical Leader, Canada Health Infoway   Dr. Eileen Lynn McCallum, Primary Care Physician, Enhance Health Medical in Edmonton  Dr. Jaron Easterbrook, Co-chair of the Information Sh...

Over the past thirty years, groundbreaking innovations have saved and transformed thousands of lives of Canadians with cancer. Immunotherapies and precision medicines in particular have made huge strides for many cancer types, including lung, prostate and melanoma, sometimes turning a diagnosis people dread into something that requires less invasive treatments. However, some cancer types are far m...

Canadian provinces are struggling with affordability, access and equity as populations age and demand rises. This episode compares Canada’s provincial systems with Australia’s states, highlighting Australia’s stronger performance on equity and health outcomes and examining how private insurance operates alongside public medicare. The authors call for low‑cost, high‑impact collaboration: federal‑le...

The Renfrew County Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre (RC VTAC) is an innovative, collaborative healthcare program launched in 2020 to provide timely, rural-focused care, connecting patients with virtual or in-person support from family doctors and paramedics, reducing ED visits, and managing non-urgent needs, acting as a crucial link for residents without regular primary care.   Featuring: Robe...

How Can We Better Protect Older Canadians – A Booster Shot for Canada’s Vaccine Policies With Canada’s age demographics continuously shifting, policymakers and science hubs have invested in strategies that can better serve our social, economic, and healthcare infrastructures. This session will focus on the latter, highlighting recent advancements for optimizing infectious disease mitigation throug...

Ontario faces a significant challenge: 2.5 million Ontarians do not have a family doctor or any other access to primary care, and that number is projected to grow to 4.4 million people in 2026. This challenge is even greater for people in Ontario living with complex, difficult to manage chronic diseases as they struggle to access the comprehensive, team-based care they need, close to home and in c...

The Canadian Thoracic Society COPD Guidelines were updated in the Fall of 2023. The evidence based recommendations represent a significant change in the pharmacological management of COPD when compared to the previous versions. They represent a pro-active management approach to improve quality of life, reduce the frequency and severity of exacerbations and reduce the mortality associated with COPD...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can introduce clarity to the clinical journey for the most-challenging diseases and treatment pathways.  AI brings power to consume large disparate data sets and transform information into succinct, actionable insights with the power to identify opportunities to reduce avoidable costs, predict medical events, and, ultimately, improve patient care. But developing, imple...

Gene therapy has emerged as an exciting innovation for Canadians with rare diseases. As more gene therapy treatments gain approval in Canada, there is promise for transforming and advancing healthcare, especially in areas of high unmet need. Access to those new therapies, however, remains challenging. Join us to discover the untapped potential of gene therapy in Canada as this panel of experts add...

Ontario healthcare landscape. There was a time when Canadians could confidently claim theirs was the best health system in the world. Time to face reality – that is no longer true. The system faces major challenges, with access to care at the top of the list of concerns. Despite spending more on healthcare than most developed countries, we struggle to create enough capacity to meet the needs of a...

Insights on the struggles of life limiting experiences and understanding end-of-life care for patients, care providers and medical professionals. Patients and their caregivers require physical and emotional care, especially as they enter the later stages of life. Failure to attend to personhood can be as subtle as being kept waiting for an appointment, as insidious as being required to wear a plas...

After decades of research and innovation, cell and gene therapies (CGTs) are unlocking new ways to revolutionize medicine. Distinct from traditional pharmaceutical treatments, CGTs represent highly precise and innovative approaches that target the underlying causes of genetic and acquired diseases with the aim of treating, preventing and potentially curing disease. Over the past few years, we’ve s...

Featuring: Kimberley Hanson, Chief Executive Officer, HealthPartners Dr. David M. Kaplan, Vice President, Quality, Ontario Health Dr. Karen Cross, Chief Executive Officer, MIMOSA Diagnostics Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe, Senior Scientist, Women's College Hospital Research Institute Amir Naseri, Senior Director, Pharmacy Services Strategy & Innovation Shoppers Drug Mart Moderator: Dr. Tamara Wallingt...

Leigh Chapman, Chief Nursing Officer, Health Canada with Tim Guest, CEO, Canadian Nurses Association and Carly Weeks, Health Reporter, The Globe and Mail discuss why Retention is critical to today’s health workforce challenges in the context of a global nursing shortage. This title “You can’t recruit your way out of a crisis” follows the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress, co-hosted by...

The Ontario Long Term Care Association represents 70% of Ontario's long-term care homes.  In four years, the oldest of the baby boomers’ generation will turn 80. By 2040, Ontario’s population over that age will nearly double. Listen to today's conversation with Donna Duncan, CEO for the Ontario Long Term Care Association as we discuss this issue and many more.   

Phyxable – a world-class virtual care provider – and its partners, Micron Digital and Wizcraft Design Build Inc., have been selected by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) as one of five Canadian companies to contribute to its  “Health Beyond  Initiative” for 2023.   By initiating a leading role in deep-space healthcare innovation, Canada can position itself on the international stage as a pioneer in...