“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them” Albert Einstein The current standoff (2026) between Prince Edward Island family physicians and Health PEI is likely reflective of a larger trend in medicine, and healthcare in general: dehumanization. The doctors want the opportunity to provide humane person-centred care, with …
Author Archives: Hendrik Visser
‘March Weather’ at HPEI
March weather on PEI is known for its ups and downs – spring back to winter – repeat. “In like a lamb and out like a lion.” Or “In like a lion … “ For Health PEI and the Department of Health and Wellness, March came in like a lion. On February 27th, three …
New book – Health for All
Dr. Jane Philpott, former federal Minister of Health and current Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen University, has written a beautiful book which every healthcare and political leader in Canada should read (in my opinion, regardless of political stripe). Both as a memoir of her medical career beginning in Africa and an …
Reflections on the Primary Care Gap in Canada
There is much handwringing and finger pointing regarding the state of Primary Healthcare in Canada. If not daily, certainly weekly, media reports highlight the shortage of family physicians. And deaths from virtual care misdiagnoses. Groups such as our own Retired Physicians Advocacy Group are writing and posting reports with suggested solutions. Here is a recent …
Continue reading “Reflections on the Primary Care Gap in Canada”
Why is Canada short of family physicians
When I began my medical career in an underserved part of West Africa in 1980, we trained village health workers using this book: Where There Is No Doctor is a great book title. It was and continues to be a resource for underserved areas in the Global South. Then I saw this headline in the Globe and …
Lessons from the UK
The problems facing the the NHS (National Health Service) in the UK are pretty similar to ours in Canada — family physicians leaving practises, long surgical wait times, poor access to primary care, backed up ambulances at the ER (emergency rooms or A&E’s as they call them). The Times and Sunday Times (of London) established …
The next (big) pandemic
According to Diabetes Canada, one third (33%) of Canadians will likely have either diabetes or one of its forerunners by 2032. The downstream healthcare burden and costs, on top of the stretched Canadian healthcare system, are staggering. Diabetes, and its related metabolic disorders, contribute to 30% of strokes, are the leading cause of blindness, cause 40% of …
Inspiration to the theme
This is the inspiration to the theme of “Upstream Well-Being Solutions.” My wife and I recently completed a long road-trip covering 26 states in America. Waterfalls were a common theme, as was rivers (we crossed the Mississippi twice, walked along the Rio Grande, and picnicked on the Colorado. Here we are at Twin Falls (the …