Dr. Colleen Dy, Zerlyn Lee, and Adrienne Sim
April 7, 2021
A Refresher in Pelvic Pain
Individuals with Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP) often experience disruptions in multiple aspects of their reproductive health care. Routine pelvic examinations often become extremely challenging due to pain. read more...
Dr. Susan Hollenberg
March 17, 2021
Clearing up the confusion around pneumococcal vaccines
It is prudent to reduce the risks of pneumococcal illness during this time of potentially severe respiratory sequelae of COVID-19, and the newly introduced BC Care Bundle Incentive payment includes a focus on ensuring eligible people receive this vaccine. read more...
Dr. Linda Uyeda and Dr. Ashley Miller
March 3, 2021
Curing Through Connection: A 3-part series on attachment, resilience, and health. Article 1: Cultivating secure bonds with our children during stressful times
(Please stay tuned for Article #2: ‘Parenting during a pandemic’. We will expand on how to nurture these secure attachments with our children.) By Dr. Linda Uyeda (biography and disclosures) and Dr. Ashley Miller (biography and disclosures) (Members of the Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Community of Practice and the Working Group […] read more...
Drs. Christopher C. Cheung, Kenneth G. Gin, Jason G. Andrade
February 10, 2021
Rate versus Rhythm Control in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Time to Change the Paradigm?
Patients with persistent AF, less symptomatic and/or older patients, and those with prior anti-arrhythmic failure are best managed with a rate control strategy. The EAST-AFNET 4 study is a practice-changing trial, and strongly supports the role of early rhythm control in patients with newly-diagnosed AF. read more...
Drs. Raymond Mak and Tiffany Wong
January 27, 2021
Specialists and Family Practice: Tackling the Pseudo-Penicillin Allergy Epidemic Together
Between 5% to 10% of the population reports an allergy to penicillin. After careful assessment, over 90% of these individuals are found to carry a false allergy label. Having a penicillin allergy label carries many potential harms, including prolonged hospital stays, increased patient costs, risk of more side effects, and an increase in resistant organisms. As such, penicillin allergy has become a major public health concern. read more...
Tanveer Brar BSc BSc(Pharm) ACPR, Doson Chua BSc(Pharm) PharmD FCSHP BCPS BCCP, and Laura Atiyeh
January 13, 2021
Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) Inhibitors: New drug class in the treatment of Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction — DAPA-HF and EMPEROR-Reduced trials
Heart failure (HF) is a clinical syndrome associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In 2020, the prevalence of HF was approximately 64.34 million cases (8.52 per 1,000 inhabitants) worldwide and this number has been steadily increasing over time. There is compelling evidence to suggest that in individuals with HFrEF in the presence or absence of T2DM, both dapagliflozin and empagliflozin have profound effects on reduction of HF hospitalizations and possibly CV mortality. read more...
Dr. Steve Wong
December 23, 2020
Letter from the editor
2020 will go down as the most challenging year on a number of fronts — with unprecedented stressors affecting our personal and professional lives, not to mention the enormous struggles facing our local and global communities. Thanks to everyone on the front lines, and condolences to all those touched by this pandemic. I hope we can continue to work together to beat COVID-19 and I take solace in the fact the turning point seems to be coming as vaccines are deployed. This year also marks This Changed My Practice's 10th year. It's been an incredibly rewarding journey. Given this milestone, I'll indulge in a little bit of history and acknowledgments but also share some of our learnings and future plans. read more...
Dr. Jeff Harries
December 7, 2020
Alcohol Use Disorder — New Name, New Standard of Care, Dramatically Better Outcomes
Editor’s note: Here is the revised article on AUD by Dr. Harries, which more prominently emphasizes the stepwise approach in the BC AUD guidelines. We appreciate the patience of our readership and special thanks to Dr. Harries for his passion and commitment to treating AUD. We would also like to thank Dr. Keith Ahamad (co-chair […] read more...
Dr. Jennifer Russel & Françoise Mathieu MEd RP
November 18, 2020
Psychological PPE during COVID-19
A few weeks into the COVID-19 crisis and as a psychiatrist working in a tertiary care hospital, while homeschooling my two boys, I had a strong awareness that I needed to really work to keep myself healthy in a way that I have never felt before to make sure I was able to survive this crisis. I needed to grab my psychological PPE. read more...
Dr. Simon Moore
November 4, 2020
“Can you prescribe me cannabis, doc?”
A 2019 systematic review of 26 studies (4 from Canada) concluded that there is a “unanimous lack of self-perceived knowledge” among practitioners regarding medicinal cannabis use. Now, when a patient asks me about cannabis, I no longer suffer from dizziness, dry mouth, and paranoia. read more...
Dr. Eileen Murray
October 14, 2020
Treating Teenagers with Acne
Acne vulgaris is a distressing disease beginning at puberty, involving the pilosebaceous follicles of the skin on the face, chest, and back. The incidence of acne in teenagers is nearly 100%. Treating teenagers with acne was an exceptionally important part of my practice. read more...
Drs. Philip Lee and Stefanie Falz Mclellan
September 30, 2020
Portable ultrasound
The integration of point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) in the emergency department workflow is not always easy, and these challenges have been amplified in the time of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increased interest in the use of handheld ultrasound devices as they simplify infection control procedures and take up little space in emergency rooms crowded with critical care equipment. read more...
