barriers
For those living with addiction and housing challenges, there are many intrinsic barriers to seeking health care. In this section we explore these barriers as well as potential solutions that doctors can consider in their practices.
CASE STUDY: My patient with opioid use disorder (OUD) has terrible cancer pain.
Identifying challenges when treating patients with concurrent substance use disorders and cancer pain
CASE STUDY: My patient just told me they are trans. What do I say?
Communicating with transgender patients ISSUES IN PracticE Transgender patients experience significant barriers to accessing health care. As with many marginalized communities, physicians as a profession have contributed to the trauma inflicted on transgender people....
CASE STUDY: My obese gay patient just told me he is a Bear.
What does that mean, and how can I support his health?
FREE RESOURCE: Trans Care BC Primary Care Toolkit
This resource continues the groundbreaking work in gender-affirming care that has evolved from Vancouver-based healthcare providers for more than a decade.
FREE RESOURCE: Trans Primary Care Guide from Rainbow Health Ontario
Rainbow Health Ontario has created an excellent resource for healthcare providers and trainees with regards to providing gender-affirming care. initially launched in 2016, it was a recently updated along with the 4th edition of the primary care guidelines from Sherbourne Health Clinic in Toronto, a leading provider 2SLGBTQ+ care.
Ninety Seconds
A worsening doctor-patient communication problem Back in Medical school, we learned that doctors are quick to interrupt patients at the very start of the clinical encounter — my colleagues and I all committed to doing better. Interestingly, that study from the 1980s...
How to diagnose gender dysphoria.
how do I know if my patient is transgender? In my practice I work with many medical students and residents who we train in part to provide gender affirming care. I frequently speak with colleagues who know I have a transgender-inclusive family practice and field many...
Treating cancer pain in patients with Opioid Use Disorder: FREE Resources
People who use drugs (PWUD) deserve same access to primary care as everyone else One of my biggest frustrations as a doctor are the “care-silos” patients get stuck in. A colleague who’d taken a gig at a methadone clinic told me she was reprimanded for prescribing...
Patients Avoid the Emergency Room for Good Reasons – Doctors Can Change That
Many of my patients living with addiction and homelessness who attend our downtown Vancouver health clinic refuse to go to the emergency room.