Dr. Barry Dworkin

  • I need a Big Mac before my Olympic time trial

    Ottawa Citizen journalist Dan Gardner castigates, and rightly so, how Olympic athletes sell out to corporations for oodles of cash without any consideration for the potential harm to public health outcomes. His column can be read here.

  • A headline's tale of two flu stories: Reality vs deliberate misrepresentation of risk

    I am not a fan of how newspapers use headlines to misrepresent stories to provke unwarranted fear, and heightened risk perception. Today, the Ottawa Citizen published two stories about seasonal and H1N1 vaccine. The first story, For Guillain-Barre survivors, flu shot stirs up unwelcome memories, emblazoned on the front page has all the elements of…

  • Cycling the virtual highway this Christmas

    Originally published in The Ottawa Citizen December 19, 2003 Original Title: Cycling the virtual highway WARNING: Before you read any further, I have to confess that I am a cycle nut. Forgive my indulgence in sharing my love of this world with you in one column.

  • Driving is still more risky than West Nile virus

    We are in the midst of a large-scale data collection and evaluation process of West Nile virus infection and outbreak in North America. Although West Nile virus affects other areas of the world like Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Tunisia, Morocco and South Africa among others, it is difficult to extrapolate their experience to the…

  • Death of caring doctor should concern all Canadians

    Dr. Tony Hsu, a Welland pediatrician in practice for 30 years died last week, his body recovered from Lake Ontario. Humiliated and abused by the Medical Review Committee (MRC), his plight, profiled by CTV’s Avis Favro last November, showed us a caring and dedicated physician destroyed by the committee. Dr. Hsu worked on-call one every…

  • Doctors must factor in free will of the patient

    A recent front-page story in the Citizen remarked how a Health Canada anti-tobacco campaign using Olympic skaters Elvis Stojko and Josée Chouinard did not have much influence on reducing or quitting cigarette use. Indeed, how effective are health promotion campaigns?

  • Patient chart transfers warrant a reasonable fee

    A recent Dave Brown column touched upon the thorny issue of patient chart transfer requests. He cited the case of one individual who expressed his irritation with transfer fees that he felt should be free of charge. Copyright law analogy provides the basis for his assertion. His claim is that patient chart notes are paid…

  • Health and happiness still key as we live longer

    Recent and projected health technology and treatment advances pose interesting dilemmas regarding the human lifespan. Nanotechnology, stem cell research, gene therapy, new drug therapies, cancer vaccines and electromechanical life support devices are just a few of the lines of research and development in our quest to cure disease and maintain our health. These are indeed…

  • Drug dispensing fees need to be explained

    Many patients express their disdain over medication dispensing fees. All Canadian pharmacies charge this fee. I too had some misgivings about the fees but did not have the necessary background to draw any firm conclusions. Further enquiry to determine their origin and their original purpose was needed. Do people get value for their money? Why…