All articles

Jordan Friedmann, Neda Amiri, Mohammad Bardi, Natasha Dehghan
Apr 28, 2021

Giant Cell Arteritis Part 2: Treatment

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common vasculitis in adults above 50 years of age. GCA is a rheumatological emergency. Rapid diagnosis and treatment are required to reduce the risk of complications. read more...

Dr. Colleen Dy, Zerlyn Lee, and Adrienne Sim
Apr 07, 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
Mar 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
Mar 03, 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 Cheung, Kenneth Gin, Jason Andrade
Feb 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
Jan 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
Jan 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
Dec 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
Dec 07, 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
Nov 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
Nov 04, 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
Oct 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...