Pat Rich
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pathealth.bsky.social
Pat Rich
@pathealth.bsky.social
2.6K followers 430 following 210 posts
Canadian medical writer, editor and content curator
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pathealth.bsky.social
Pat Rich @pathealth.bsky.social · Dec 3
Bye Bye Birdie: Ruminations on social media 2024: Part 1. No longer posting on Twitter/X after almost 16 years.
prich5757.wordpress.com/2024/12/03/b...
Photo in Luxor Egypt of the remains of the statue that promoted Shelley to write his poem Ozymandias
Reposted by Pat Rich
nicktsergas.ca
Alberta just opened the door to two-tier healthcare.
This is what that actually means.

New CHW piece by Dr. Paul Parks:
November 28, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Reposted by Pat Rich
arieltroster.com
Bill 60 means that we will not be able to add cycle tracks to Albert and Slater Street or extend the O’Connor bike lane to Wellington Street. It’s an absurd overreach by the Ford government that will make all road users less safe and waste millions. I hate it here.

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Ottawa says new provincial bill likely kills at least 3 bike lane projects | CBC News
New provincial legislation prohibiting how municipalities can build bike lanes means three projects in Ottawa likely can't move forward and others will get more expensive, according to a city report.
www.cbc.ca
November 27, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Pat Rich
hswapnil.medsky.social
An announcement

www.nephjc.com/news/2025/11...

#NephJC

@kidneyboy.bsky.social and moi hand over the @nephjc.bsky.social reigns to @nephroseeker.medsky.social & @brianrifkin.bsky.social
Taking the reigns — NephJC
In April 2014, Swapnil and I launched NephJC—and within weeks we were overwhelmed by the sheer work of running a twice-monthly, Twitter-based journal club. Fortunately, we also had a deep bench of fri...
www.nephjc.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Pat Rich
hswapnil.medsky.social
Surrogate outcomes

Screening versus prevention schools of thought

And much more in this extremely readable @hildabast.bsky.social post absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/11/24/t...

(Remember Nordic Cochrane aka Gøtzsche went off the rails a few years ago? This is the outcome)
This Evidence Fundamentally Shifts the Debate About the HPV Vaccine - Absolutely Maybe
We’ve had to wait a long time to get to this point. If cervical cancer develops after HPV infection, it will take…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
November 24, 2025 at 11:59 AM
pathealth.bsky.social
Two new Cochrane reviews confirm efficacy of HPV vaccination
www.cochrane.org/about-us/new...
New research confirms HPV vaccination prevents cervical cancer | Cochrane
www.cochrane.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by Pat Rich
canadahealthwatch.ca
Why the AMA’s actions are raising alarms canadahealthwatch.ca/2025/11/22/w... by @codeblackamerica.bsky.social, @nicktsergas.ca
Why the AMA’s actions are raising alarms
Something is breaking inside of American medicine.
canadahealthwatch.ca
November 23, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Reposted by Pat Rich
northshorenews.bsky.social
'Life and death': Chief tells of trauma and bravery in grizzly attack on B.C. pupils
'Life and death': Chief tells of trauma and bravery in grizzly attack on B.C. pupils
What was to be a short afternoon field trip for about 20 students and staff of a school in Bella Coola, B.C.
dlvr.it
November 22, 2025 at 1:56 AM
pathealth.bsky.social
A must read for any assignment editor today: By Nicholas Hune-Brown in @thelocal.to thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 19, 2025 at 5:35 PM
pathealth.bsky.social
Forgot how strongly pro-vaccine Neil Young is until reminded in the 3hour @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social Radio 1 retrospective on his 80th birthday
November 12, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Reposted by Pat Rich
canadahealthwatch.ca
Mining your health data to build a stronger Canada prich5757.wordpress.com/2025/11/07/m... @pathealth.bsky.social

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 ⇢ CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁
a hospital unit's computer
November 12, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Pat Rich
isaacbogoch.bsky.social
Canada has lost its measles elimination status...a sad milestone.

Now is the time to double down on lowering barriers to routine childhood immunizations and ensuring Canadians have access to credible, science-based information.

Link: tinyurl.com/c8nfxvk3
November 10, 2025 at 2:20 PM
pathealth.bsky.social
Mining your health data to build a stronger Canada

Fractures, follicles and forceps should replace furs, forests and fossil fuels as the main building blocks for a stronger and economically prosperous Canada.

prich5757.wordpress.com/2025/11/07/m...
Mining your health data to build a stronger Canada
Fractures, follicles and forceps should replace furs, forests and fossil fuels as the main building blocks for a stronger and economically prosperous Canada. In not so many words this is how four l…
prich5757.wordpress.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:33 PM
pathealth.bsky.social
Audit and feedback can improve the care provided by general practitioners in Canada

prich5757.wordpress.com/2025/11/06/a...
Audit and feedback can improve the care GPs provide: Period
Audit and feedback (AF) is a cost-effective way to improve the quality of care provided by general practitioners and it does not require further research to prove this. That’s the contention of Dr.…
prich5757.wordpress.com
November 6, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Pat Rich
ctvnewsmontreal.bsky.social
The day after Dr. Emmanuelle Britton raised concerns about Quebec's Bill 106, changing the way doctors are paid, she was let go from her ministry position.
Wakefield doctor says she was fired from ministry role for speaking out
The day after Dr. Emmanuelle Britton raised concerns about Quebec's Bill 106, changing the way doctors are paid, she was let go from her ministry position.
bit.ly
November 6, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Reposted by Pat Rich
nicktsergas.ca
Wrote a thing canadahealthwatch.ca/newsletter/2...
Health promises walked back in run-up to Carney’s first budget
The federal Health Minister said it’s “impossible” to release the $4B promised for health projects, for now.
canadahealthwatch.ca
October 31, 2025 at 1:58 PM
pathealth.bsky.social
@cmadocs.bsky.social had left the World Medical Association 7 years ago after alleging the WMA had plagiarized a speech by the CMA president.
October 31, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Reposted by Pat Rich
hswapnil.medsky.social
A more sensible take in the CBC apple.news/Av1E3jdIHR6C... (with no byline)
Is it effective? When someone is diagnosed with dementia, a common fear is losing the ability to stay independent, said Dr. Samir Sinha, a geriatrician and clinician scientist at Sinai Health and the University Health Network in Toronto. "Right now, it takes about 18 months before you might notice some sort of significant difference," Sinha said. It's estimated 750,000 Canadians live with dementia and about 500,000 of them have a diagnosis, said Sinha. By the time a lot of people receive a formal diagnosis, they may no longer be good candidates for this medication, he said. Sinha said he thinks more research is needed to answer whether lecanemab's benefits are worth the $26,000 US it costs in other countries. He questioned whether the results would be noticeable enough to allow patients to stay independent. "It's a positive development that there's another medication that's been approved and it's available, but it's not necessarily a medication that would be the most practical one for me to prescribe or recommend for the majority of my patients."
October 29, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Reposted by Pat Rich
hswapnil.medsky.social
Surprisingly rah-rah report in the lencanemab approval in @ottawacitizen.com from @egpayne.bsky.social

ottawacitizen.com/news/local-n...

It’s really not clear what its benefits are (apart from the $$$) eg see icer.org/news-insight... or @dereklowe.bsky.social www.science.org/content/blog...
Approval of new Alzheimer's drug in Canada called historic
The drug, Lecanemab, could be available to some Ottawa patients within months. But it is not yet covered by provincial drug plans.
ottawacitizen.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:58 PM
pathealth.bsky.social
AI and your health: Plain Talk
Blog summarizing two sessions dealing with patient involvement in the fast-moving implementation of AI in healthcare
prich5757.wordpress.com/2025/10/23/a...
AI and your health: Plain talk
In the headlong rush to use artificial intelligence (AI) in health care, patients can, should and must be involved. That was the unmistakable conclusion to be drawn from two sessions held on the sa…
prich5757.wordpress.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:04 PM
pathealth.bsky.social
"What AI is going to do is keep myself and more of my colleagues in practice longer," Dr. Chandi Chandrasena,
Chief Medical Officer at @ontariomd.bsky.social speaking a public forum on AI in healthcare in Ottawa.
October 23, 2025 at 12:12 AM
pathealth.bsky.social
AI is the only thing that will be able to transform emergency care in Ontario hospitals: Bold contention from Dr. Venkatesh Thiruganasambandamoorthy, an emergency physician at @ottawahospital.on.ca speaking at a public forum on AI and healthcare in Ottawa.
October 22, 2025 at 11:24 PM
pathealth.bsky.social
"We can’t really believe we are taking care of a population of patients when we only see them once or twice a year. Health happens outside of visits” @drdannysands.bsky.social, a US primary care physician and pioneer of participatory medicine.
October 22, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Reposted by Pat Rich
theonion.com
Katy Perry Releases New Single About Superiority Of Canadian Manufacturing
Katy Perry Releases New Single About Superiority Of Canadian Manufacturing
MONTECITO, CA—Signaling a new chapter in her career, pop star Katy Perry released a new single Monday about the superiority of Canadian manufacturing. “When I learned about the strength of Canadian au...
theonion.com
October 20, 2025 at 5:59 PM
pathealth.bsky.social
AI tools that provide health information to patients are only accurate 60%-80% of the time: Dr. Elizabeth Borycki, Director of the Global Laboratory for Digital Health Innovation at @uvic.ca speaking at #HealthWorkforceConnects
October 16, 2025 at 8:41 PM
pathealth.bsky.social
"Health care worker safety is a moral and strategic imperative when we look at costs to the system (and it) directly impacts patient care," Michael McMillan, President and CEO, Health Employers Association of British Columbia at #HealthWorkforceConnects
Screen capture of Michael McMillan addressing Health Workforce Canada conference
October 16, 2025 at 4:35 PM