Professor of Emergency Medicine. Old fashioned bedside clinical educator & lover of almost all sports. My views are mine & don’t represent the views of my work
I tweeted about strep today. It seems like the feeling of “I have strep” seems to be a common presentation of Omicron. Minimized is the loss of smell and taste from the prior variants. Take a scratchy throat seriously. This is likely your initial presentation of covid
If you are offered Pfizer for you booster, take it. If you are offered Moderna for your booster, take it. Win win. I am hearing from people who are bothered by this and are thinking of delaying. Don’t delay.
The way I look at it is actually quite simple. Pay nurses whatever it takes to stop them from going part time, moving provinces or countries or going agency. Repeal 124. Create a new pay equilibrium. Magically our ED’s and floors will have the nurses to take care of patients.
There is a major problem right now in hospitals. They are full. Covid is not directly driving this bus. General medicine floors are full with backlog from covid delayed care and an aging population that needs further care. Long road ahead. Creative solutions needed.
I have become a pediatrician. It’s crazy the disproportion of children I see at an adult based emergent department. What’s even crazier is the fact that none of these parents have access to liquid Tylenol or Advil for their kids fever.
How come it is common courtesy for parents to send kids to school without peanut butter on their sandwiches but the same people don’t have the courtesy to get themselves or their kids vaccinated and send them to school?
A fundamental problem in health care right now is that patients no longer respect health care workers or their knowledge. Covid is severing the HCW-patient dynamic. This will be harmful to all the parties involved. We will need to revisit boundaries and tolerance for abuse.
When I call high risk patients with COVID, I am so relieved when I hear they had a prior vaccine. If it is one dose or two, Pfizer or moderna, time and time again, their symptoms seem milder. In some cases, it likely saved their life. Get vaccinated when you have the chance.
Is it just me or do others feel like Ontario just wiped out virtual care and replaced it with allowing pharmacists to prescribe medications for “13 common ailments”?
I keep seeing VIRTUAL CARE patients receiving Z-PACKS for covid pharyngitis. They are coming in droves. Please stop this insanity. This is bad care. This is bad medicine.
It’s incredible to see the vaccination uptake in 40 somethings getting AZ. This will be a game changer here and it’s starting to rub off on the 50-74 group as well. People want what they can’t have and want their life back. It could not be coming at a more crucial time in On.
I find myself wondering why as an ED physician, I am often the one clarifying code status on cancer patients towards the end of their journey. These are important discussions and considerations that should occur upstream by their longstanding trusted treatment team.
@jkwan_md
No vaccinations on the weekend or holidays. No need to update your vaccine data till the 30th. Early closures of vaccine clinics on Dec 24th with reopening on the 29th? Not sure now is the time to take 4.5 days off. Covid is not on holiday.
It is getting emotionally more challenging to look after covid positive patients at this point in the pandemic in 🇨🇦. This is a vaccine preventable illness. Kinda like patients with measles. Trying to balance my countertransference. Any other HCWs feeling this way?
Yesterday we were looking for an allergy med for our daughter and asked the pharmacist. She asked if she could do a consult & she started taking a history. She told us she could Rx medications. All we wanted to know was where is the Claritin. We did not want to be upsold.
I don’t care which political party you love or hate. We are administering vaccines at an inspired pace. Picked up tons of momentum and truly are world leaders as a society. Lots to be proud and Thankful for 🇨🇦
Medical, nursing, pharmacy, PA, paramedic students etc. How would you feel if the government erased/eased your student debt & you committed to mass vaccinations over the next month? We need to look for less costly vaccinators & free up valuable established docs & nurses.
We can run MRI’s 24/7. Why can’t we do the same for vaccination clinics? At least until supplies last and while the pandemic is burning. Patient’s and HCWs are willing and able.
To quote one of my most respected ED colleagues “Continuing to bring Covid cases to hospitals for screening is like inviting a propane truck to a forest fire”. Time is now.
When every patient you refer for admission from the ED has covid as their admitting diagnosis, clearly we have a problem. I never thought one diagnosis would take up all my work. Unfortunately the variants came faster than the vaccines in 🇨🇦
Two points I want to make: 1. I would gladly take moderna or pfizer after AZ. 2. I would gladly take a 2nd dose of pfizer or moderna regardless of if my 1st dose was the opposite mRNA vaccine. No one knows who made your flu shot. One day we wont care who made our covid shot
December 18th positive advent covid content. Hat trick today - Ontario Edition. 1) Rapid Antigen Tests work for omicron, so find ‘em and use em’ 2) 169K jabs in Ontario yesterday and climbing 3) 154 ICU patients stable for NOW. Excited to find the golden nugget in the calendar
I am going to tweet a daily advent calendar of POSITIVE covid content for the final 2 weeks of 2021.
December 16th: 1870 + is totally doable for a shift
I know, weak start. Hopefully tomorrow will be better
Ontario, it is time to tighten back the leash on yours and your children’s playdates with friends. Summer relaxation mode is now over. Cases are quickly doubling. Now is the time to get serious again about covid. Bars need a timeout.
@fordnation
@celliottability
@TOPublicHealth
So much influenza this past week. Every single case of the flu I saw occurred in an unvaccinated patient. Please get your shots. You are putting your life, your kids, your parents and grandparents lives at risk.
#NotTooLateForTheFluShot
@picardonhealth
@theresaboyle
@UHN
I am super proud of the vaccination uptake of Canadians. The new heroes of the pandemic are the people of 🇨🇦 . With 🇨🇦 excelling globally in the uptake of first dose vaccinations, it is time to be rewarded. We need to recognize the contributions of those who have done their part.
How many of your eligible patients today were unvaccinated? I had 3. I wish I could have offered vaccines to all of them when they left. 2/3 asked if I could. Talk delta with your patients. Have a discussion. Have an impact. Make it simple for them.
I am happy to share that I have been promoted to Full Professor at the University of Toronto as an Academic Emergency Physician. I would not have been able to achieve this recognition w/o the most incredible mentors & learners who pushed me to aim higher and strive to be better.
Tell your children to bring home their belongings from school tomorrow. Unfortunately it is time. Please be safe over the Easter break.
@Sflecce
@fordnation
@celliottability
Difficult to hear of 30 and 40 year old healthy non-HCW’s being vaccinated in the US and all over the world, while our front line and non-front line HCW’s wait their turn. When will our healthy 70 and 80 year olds outside of LTC get their jab? Asking for a friend.
25% of adults in Ontario have not had a dose of the vaccine. This is starting to become more of a demand than supply issue a this stage. We need the messaging to be clear with delta. HCW's... Ask every patient you see if they have been vaccinated. Have the discussion.
If it hasn’t happened already, someone you know will test covid + They are not a doctor, nurse or live in LTC. They may be poor or they may be rich. They look just like you. Covid is everywhere now. Time to live your life like you have covid again. Please take this seriously.
@DallasDuncanMD
Are you comparing the hospital tunnels from UHN to MSH to the tunnels in Gaza were hostages have been held? Please tell me your account been hacked? This is not OK Dr. Duncan.
The elimination of RAT for Covid has led to an increase in the number of chest X-rays performed and more importantly, way too many Rx of antibiotics for viral pneumonias.
If we are truly attempting to target essential workers, we have to realize the weekends are a golden opportunity to vaccinate those who work Mon-Fri.
Why are our weekend numbers historically our lowest?
Our metrics have shifted from case counts to hospitalizations and icu #’s. I suggest something new to follow. Trend health care worker absenteeism. Take a look at organizations. NHS is estimating 25% of staff down. You may have beds, but you may not have hcw to provide care.
In a twitter world of fakes,
@alandrummond2
has remained real. Not a virtual a signaller. Not motivated by political gain/aspirations. Not paying for a blue check. Not selling items on a website. Not in a uninvolved speciality. Thank you for being U
EM docs know that kids are not little adults. Problem is the internists, adult intensivists and nurses have not learned about children since med and nursing school. We don’t have enough paediatric icu beds to care for children. Scary to think about who will care for your kid.
Can we just stop reporting case counts in Ontario. Not sure what the point is. Way too many inaccuracies with a cap and restrictions on testing requirements. Yet I still hear everyday “cases didn’t go up too much today” 🤷♂️
If we want to decant the ED and hospitals, I have 3 suggestions. 1) Supply Fam docs with ample PPE/RAT's for their patients. 2) Set up Physician/NP/PA driven assessment centres for on site assessment of flu like illnesses. 3) Pay nurses/RT's etc what they deserve. STAT
7-10 Days from now... we will be over 500 cases per day
It is painful to see pics of Trinity Bellwoods today. One can only foreshadow that park to look like my ED waiting room
@DaniellekPenney
I had my gallbladder out during my general surgery rotation as a 3rd year clerk. Ended up sharing a room with a patient I had admitted 2 days earlier. Feel your pain. Get well soon.
For so long, I felt like an imposter discussing Covid experiences with my European and American ED colleagues. It was hard to imagine their lens. I am no longer an imposter in Ontario. April will be our worst month. Stay home and safe. Lockdowns suck but Covid is much worse.
Not every fever is Covid. All those other diagnoses still exist. Take a history. Dust off your stethoscopes. Multiple negative Covid tests, Missed Endocarditis.
148 in Ontario today. Numbers heating up everyday this week. Hospitalizations on the rise. We are slowly and surely limping into the second wave. It is happening.
We are lacking Covid drugs. It is frightening and a major problem. It is probably worse than no beds. For the first time in my 20 + years of medicine, I feel like I can relate to the challenges of the developing world. Key difference, we have vaccines that people don't want.
We need to stop shaming people for wearing masks. We need to stop criticizing people for not wearing masks provided they are following local guidelines. We are moving to risk mitigation strategies that are individualized. I wear masks in public spaces. Most don’t. I don’t judge.
If you are a PUI and your covid test is pending...please isolate. It is irrelevant if you really don’t think it’s covid. You will be wrong. You will harm others. I keep seeing this. It’s heartbreaking.
With outbreaks raging in hospitals in the GTA, we are afraid of getting covid from patients. However, to me the underrated concern is the perceived safety of interacting with colleagues. Eat alone and socialize less. Outbreaks start in lounges and communal spaces. Be safe.
GTA Twitter peeps. Be on the lookout of a food borne toxic ingestion in the Markham area that appears to have GI, neuro and cardio toxic effects. In some cases requiring critical care and VT arrest. Na channel blocking like. Role for bicarbonate? Role for intralipid.
How do we account for those Canadians who received their vaccines abroad in our metrics? Lots of vaccine tourism amongst our snowbirds and vaccine border shoppers. Mild undercount
@EdTubb
@Billius27
@BogochIsaac
Omicron quite possibly will lead to the unvaccinated losing their benefit of safely existing within a highly vaccinated population. The free rider gain appears to be shutting down. For those still doing their own research, now may be a time for a serious reconsideration
ER staff shortages in Ontario | CTV News. Happy to echo
@CAEP_Docs
position. Overcrowding and boarding harms patients. Need to advocate for our nurses.
@Billius27
Would love to see our front line paramedic colleagues getting the jab in Ontario. It is an honour to work alongside these heroes in the trenches. Like Bryan Rusk or Mike Larsen or Stephen Callisti. Let’s get it done.
@TorontoEMS_live
@celliottability
@fordnation
The key principle with pharmacists providing care in ONT is that they have to be a complement not a substitute. It seems like the government is looking for an inexpensive fix to the problem that 2.5 million ONT residents don’t have a fam doc. I have seen the harm of this strategy
Very saddened to see the large numbers of unmatched family medicine spots. Pretty much coast to coast (few exceptions). Time to take this seriously. The problem is compounding. We need to start recognizing and prioritizing family med economically. Do you have a family doc?
Seeing a lot of late covid. Patients coming in with classic covid but of course no prior test. For some, no problem. For others, the delay of more than a week of symptoms may impact their treatment options. If we don’t test, we need to communicate who needs medical care & when.
Conscripting medical students to become family doctors is not the answer. Why don’t we make it that the conditions support medical students to want to become family doctors. The first step will be to pay family doctors what they deserve. Not $40 -40% overhead per patient.
If you are a specialist in a hospital and send a pt to the ED. Notify your specialist colleague on call that you are sending a patient down requiring care. Make it direct to your service if relevant. This helps us a lot. You will make friends with ED staff quickly
Fully vaccinated and want to watch
@VladGuerrero27
belt homers in Buffalo. Happy to get tested pre and post. When is this 14 days quarantine gonna end for those vaccinated? Asking for a friend.
@BlueJays
Why are we waiting till next week before requiring a negative Covid test prior to entering to Canada? Why not now? We won’t capture all those returning during the busy holiday period. We have had a lot of time to think about this.
I have many medical colleagues with differing views on the varying degrees of lockdowns and school closures. What needs to be abundantly clear, is that the overwhelming majority of physicians are pro vaccine and pro masking. Let’s not confuse these issues.
1/2. Simple fix: Family docs working in health teams are penalized financially if their patients go to walk in clinics. As a result, they tell their pts to absolutely never go to WIC’s. If you are sick GO TO THE ER instead. This has to change. Why penalize them? Why tax the ED’s?
Never have I been so appreciative of the skills and importance of the pharmacists in the ED & hospital. Prescribing paxlovid needs a team. Pharmacy needs to be the quarterback. Shout out to
@MattChowPharm
and all the other pharmacists at
@UHN
@MackenzieHealth
It is great to see a hospital prioritize the safety of their patients and staff. Thanks for sharing what I hope will be a glimpse into the future of the Canadian health care landscape. Patients need to feel safe when they go to the hospital. Way too much avoidance already.
Houston Methodist Hospital has mandated employees be vaccinated by Monday. If they didn't meet the Monday deadline, they'd be placed on a 2-week unpaid suspension. If not vaccinated by June 21, the hospital will “initiate the employee termination process.”
Urology pearl: Instead of a trial of void when removing a foley in the ED (and wait for them to drink lots of water) Fill bladder w/300 cc NS through foley then remove and see if they can urinate. If so, very quick d/c
@HumanFact0rz
@EMCases
@petrosoniak
@First10EM
@EMManchester
When you ask a patient if they smoke, if there is a pause as a clinician you just know the answer. Seeing the same thing with asking about Covid vaccination status. This is not shame. We are on the same team. We are here to help. If you won’t trust us, who do you want to trust?
If you call an ambulance and are taken to a hospital, you will not be seen quicker based on your mode of transport. Please call an ambulance only if you need one. Wait times are dangerously long in Toronto and other parts of the province.
Disappointing news that we all saw coming. The most impactful hit will be a significant reduction in the interest in residency training spots in family medicine. This will also lead to the devaluing of the CCFP emergency medicine stream. Terrible decision.
Proud to work at an organization that will continue to protect their patients and HCW’s . Waiting for other hospitals to follow suit.
@UHN
@KevinSmithUHN
ED wait times and the current situation is at a crisis level. Solutions are complex w/no simple fix. Macro issue not micro! The scariest part is that if EDs were given 2X the funding to double the staffing of nurses, docs, APPs etc..it still would not cut it. We have no reserves.
My take on the current situation revolves around two key principles. 1. Hospital capacity is the key metric. We need our ICUs, EDs and hospital beds to have space to look after patients of all ailments 2. We need to do what we need to do as a society to keep our kids in school
None of the county-operated hospitals in Los Angeles County have admitted a single COVID-19 patient who was fully vaccinated.
"At this point this really is a preventable illness, a preventable infection," a county health official said, according to NBC LA
65K backlog and rising. Funding needs to be allocated to get the backlog cleared. The virus and second wave are here. But if we don’t clear the backlog , we can’t effectively contact trace. Big problem.
@celliottability
@fordnation
@TOPublicHealth
@PublicHealthON