Chet Walker wants to warn Canadians about how dangerous e-scooters can be. His son Austin was killed after a driver hit him while he was riding home on an e-scooter. In fact, CIHI data shows a 22% increase in hospitalizations from e-scooter injuries across the country. Doctors are starting to send out an alert — as they document the rising fractures, brain injuries and worse, with most riders not wearing helmets. Host Avis Favaro meets Dr. Brian Rowe, who studies e-scooter injuries in Edmonton, ...
Jul 22, 2025•32 min•Ep. 40
What can we learn about the mysteries of autism by combining artificial intelligence and Canada's valuable health data? That is the question posed by Dr. Christine Armour, pediatrician and geneticist at the University of Ottawa, and a physician scientist at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Join host Avis Favaro as she learns about a first-of-its-kind study being led by Dr. Armour and her team at CHEO, into whether machine learning can effectively analyze health data on Canadian mother...
Jul 09, 2025•24 min•Ep. 39
Imagine being just 8 years old and having to translate your parents’ medical information into a language they understand. That’s the story of Kayathiri Ganeshamoorthy, who’s made a career out of helping others avoid the misunderstandings and medical errors that come from inaccurate and poor communication. This episode is about how CIHI is drilling down into equity sources of hospital-based medical errors, as data from a recent report shows that people who don’t speak English or French are 30% mo...
Jun 30, 2025•27 min•Ep. 38
He’s a doctor and scientist who’s helped steer Canada’s public health systems through new diseases like COVID-19 and through a revolution of data-based health care. Dr. Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo and CIHI’s former Board chair, joins host Avis Favaro to discuss his long career as an academic and the insights he gained as chair of a federal expert advisory panel that called for an end to barriers that prevent health data from being shared more widely in...
Jun 24, 2025•35 min•Ep. 37
What are the challenges of leading a national health data organization like CIHI? CIHI’s new CEO, Dr. Anderson Chuck, talks about transformation in a changing world — from giving patients, health practitioners and researchers faster access to data, to improving analysis and context around the numbers. Find out his vision for how data can power the future of health care and what part of his new job keeps him up at night. Click here to learn more about the way we’re transforming to help ensure a h...
May 08, 2025•27 min•Ep. 36
How far do you have to travel for health care? Down the street? To a hospital in another town? How about to an entirely different province? A new CIHI report shows that 1 in 11 people admitted to hospital in Canada have what’s called a high travel burden. Meaning there’s no clinic, no hospital — sometimes not even roads to get to the medical care they need. In this episode, we meet Paula Alorut, an Inuit mother of 5 from Nunavut who travels over 2,000 kilometres to Ottawa to get medical care for...
Apr 08, 2025•27 min•Ep. 35
Behind operating room doors, medical teams work under extreme pressure to save lives. And all that pressure can make for a toxic work environment. Research shows that many OR staff and trainees report being victims of uncivil behaviour — rude and demeaning comments, being ignored or sometimes colleagues not even knowing their name. Dr. Carol-Anne Moulton, of University Health Network, is on a new medical mission — to change the culture of operating rooms at one of Canada’s biggest hospitals. The...
Feb 18, 2025•20 min•Ep. 34
It’s called the hidden killer. That’s because there’s little public awareness about sepsis and not a lot of data on how many people it really affects. But Amalie Henze is out to change all that. This Canadian teen knows its dangers all too well after almost dying from septic shock and having her hands and feet amputated to save her life. She’s not alone. Dr. Alison Fox-Robichaud has been researching sepsis for years — and she wants to get better data on the true number of cases while creating a ...
Jan 07, 2025•33 min•Ep. 33
Each year, there are over 15 million visits to emergency departments across Canada. But new CIHI data shows that 15% of these — that’s 1 in 7 — could potentially have been treated by a doctor or nurse practitioner in primary care. While ED doctors don’t want to discourage anyone from going to emergency, they do acknowledge that this statistic highlights the crisis in primary care happening in Canada. This episode is available in English only. Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web p...
Dec 05, 2024•20 min•Ep. 32
“You have dementia” are 3 words no one wants to hear. For the three-quarters of a million Canadians living with the disease and the 1.7 million projected to develop it, it’s a painful reality they all must face. But what happens after diagnosis — to patients, families and caregivers? Host Avis Favaro speaks with • “Care-y godmother” Katrina Prescott, a caregiving coach who helps families get the help she didn’t while she was looking after her mother, who lived with dementia • Retired family doct...
Nov 29, 2024•31 min•Ep. 31
40 amputations a day are performed at hospitals across Canada. And the single biggest culprit is diabetes. Host Avis Favaro meets with • Harish Rangan, who knows first-hand what it’s like to lose a limb to the disease • Dr. Karim Manji, director of the Zivot Limb Preservation Centre in Calgary, whose team is working on ways to reduce the number of amputations, with encouraging early successes This episode is available in English only.Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page. Lear...
Nov 14, 2024•32 min•Ep. 30
In this special edition of the CHIP, host Avis Favaro sits down with David O’Toole as he contemplates the biggest challenges and successes of his 10 years as CIHI’s president and CEO. To read more about the Pan-Canadian Health Data Charter click here . This episode is available in English only. Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page . Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) . Say hello on LinkedIn , Facebook and Instagram , or subscribe to our YouT...
Jun 24, 2024•22 min•Ep. 29
With an exodus of family doctors — due to burnout caused by heavy workloads, difficulties getting patient referrals and financial stress — 1 in 5 Canadians do not have direct access to primary care. Why is family medicine so important and what can we do to repair this over-burdened health care sector? Listen as host Avis Favaro speaks with 2 physicians who say they know how to turn this around — and that every Canadian should have the right to basic health care near their homes. Guests are • Dr....
May 21, 2024•25 min•Ep. 28
According to the latest CIHI data, almost all (93%) patients experiencing homelessness were admitted to hospital via the emergency department — a high proportion that suggests inadequate access to primary care. In this episode of the CHIP, we’ll hear about the complex health needs of the growing number of people who are unhoused and turning to hospitals for help, and how doctors are working toward solutions. Guests are • Dr. Louis Francescutti, an emergency physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospi...
May 14, 2024•35 min•Ep. 27
From staffing shortages and physician burnout to department closures and lengthy wait times, there is little question that Canada’s emergency departments are overwhelmed. Some EDs are so busy that hallways are packed with gurneys of patients waiting days to be admitted or, in some cases, choosing to walk away without receiving the emergency care they need. In this episode of the CHIP, host Avis Favaro sits down with guests working on the front lines to discuss the ongoing crisis gripping Canada’...
Apr 22, 2024•28 min•Ep. 26
As Canada’s population ages, it is expected that an increasing number of people will become frail. Individuals living with frailty have an increased risk of the following: hospitalizations, longer hospital stays, hospital readmissions, emergency department visits and in-hospital death. New data shows that more than one-third of all hospitalized older adults in Canada are at risk of frailty. On this episode of the Canadian Health Information Podcast, host Avis Favaro speaks with Dr. Kenneth Rockw...
Feb 21, 2024•27 min•Ep. 25
Hospital harm — medical conditions that patients experience in hospital that they did not have when they were admitted — is on the rise. A new CIHI analysis shows that 1 in 17 patients admitted to hospital was unintentionally harmed during their stay. Meanwhile, nurses and other health care workers charged with caring for patients in Canada are struggling. Sick time and overtime hours are skyrocketing. In this episode of the CHIP, we are joined by Kate Parson, Health Human Resources program lead...
Nov 09, 2023•40 min•Ep. 24
Clips from the following sources were used in this recording: CTV News (Drivers dodge flames and smoke from Nova Scotia wildfire | DRAMATIC VIDEO) CBC News (As unprecedented fire year rages on, experts warn of longer, more destructive seasons) Reuters (Nova Scotia floods cause 'unimaginable' damage) CTV News (State of emergency in Quebec | Mass flooding across the province) The Guardian ('The era of global boiling has arrived' warns the UN – video) CTV News (B.C. family suspects wildfire smoke c...
Sep 21, 2023•28 min•Ep. 23
The federal government reached a funding agreement recently with Canada’s provinces and territories that will add roughly $46.2 billion in new money over 10 years to be directed at 4 priority areas: family health services, health workers and backlogs, mental health and substance use, and a modernized health system. In this episode of the CHIP, we speak about what this agreement will mean for average people in Canada and how quickly we can expect to see the effect of this funding. Our guests are ...
Jul 13, 2023•27 min•Ep. 22
More people in Canada are receiving palliative care near the end of their lives than ever — but a lot of work remains. A new CIHI analysis shows there are still many who are not getting the care they need. In this episode of the CHIP, host Avis Favaro speaks with Dr. Naheed Dosani — a palliative care physician at St. Michael’s Hospital at Unity Health Toronto, the lead physician for Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless (PEACH) at Inner City Health Associates and medical director at Ken...
May 08, 2023•34 min•Ep. 21
Virtual health care in Canada has boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering Canadians unprecedented online access to medical professionals. Now, as the day-to-day effects of the pandemic are lessening in much of the country, the question on many minds is “will I still have this convenient option going forward?” In this episode of the CHIP, host Avis Favaro speaks with Dr. Ewan Affleck, the senior medical advisor for health informatics at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta and ...
Apr 13, 2023•33 min•Ep. 20
Canada’s health care systems were already facing numerous challenges with wait times for surgeries before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Now those problems are far worse. On this episode of the CHIP, host Avis Favaro speaks with Dr. David Urbach, head of the department of surgery at Women’s College Hospital and professor at the University of Toronto, about how hospitals and health systems in Canada are trying to deal with the huge backlog of surgeries and what could be done to fix the problems for t...
Mar 23, 2023•28 min•Ep. 19
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed some clear gaps in Canada’s health care systems, including the need to better understand the roots of health inequalities and disparities based on race. On this episode of the CHIP, host Avis Favaro speaks with Dr. Chika Stacy Oriuwa, poet, author, advocate and the only Black woman ever selected as sole valedictorian at the University of Toronto’s medical school, about the value of race-based data and the importance of Black representation in health care in Canada. ...
Feb 22, 2023•39 min•Ep. 18
In this episode of the CHIP, host Avis Favaro speaks with nurse practitioners Cindy Fehr and Stan Marchuk about where their field fits in Canadian health care and the challenges they face. Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page . Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) . Say hello on LinkedIn , Facebook and Instagram , or subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and upcoming releases with our monthly newslet...
Jan 31, 2023•27 min•Ep. 17
Overuse of medical procedures and tests is a serious concern that costs Canada’s health care systems a lot of time and money and can even be harmful to patients. Host Avis Favaro is joined by Dr. Janet Reynolds and Dr. Wendy Levinson of Choosing Wisely Canada to discuss the roots of this issue, the progress made since a previous report on the topic in 2017 and alternatives to reduce overuse. This episode is available in English. Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page . Learn mo...
Dec 01, 2022•30 min•Ep. 16
Canada is facing an unprecedented shortage of health care professionals. COVID-19 is partly to blame, with some doctors and nurses simply burned out by the huge demands the pandemic has put on them. But there are several other key factors, including severe workplace stresses and a large cohort entering retirement age. On this episode of the CHIP, host Avis Favaro discusses the causes of these issues along with possible solutions with Dr. Leigh Chapman, Canada’s new chief nursing officer, and Dr....
Oct 25, 2022•27 min•Ep. 15
The COVID-19 pandemic changed life as Canadians knew it beginning in spring 2020, and among the hardest-hit groups were children and youth. On this week’s show, host Avis Favaro digs into the data with CIHI’s manager of Health System Analytics, Liudmila Husak. She is then joined by Chris Daken of Fredericton, N.B., who talks about losing his 16-year-old daughter, Lexi, to suicide amid the pandemic; and by Dr. Chris Wilkes, the division head for child and adolescent psychiatry for Alberta Health ...
Jun 28, 2022•29 min•Ep. 14
The COVID-19 pandemic forced health care systems across the country to rapidly shift priorities to help save lives, but the result has been a huge backlog in care that will likely take a long time to fix. On this episode of the CHIP, host Avis Favaro chats with Laura Greer, who developed breast cancer while missing out on screening tests during the pandemic; thoracic surgeon Dr. Christian Finley of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton; orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kishore Mulpuri of BC Children’s Hospital...
Jun 14, 2022•37 min•Ep. 13
Season 3 of the Canadian Health Information Podcast is coming soon and here to introduce herself ia our new host, Avis Favaro.Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page. Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). Say hello on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, or subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and upcoming releases with our monthly newsletter. Vous préférez les balados français? Voyez le Balado d’informat...
Jun 08, 2022•48 sec
COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of the health care system in Canada, and one area where that impact is being felt the most is organ donation and transplantation. In 2020, there was a 14% decrease in solid organ transplants, with 4,129 Canadians on wait-lists to receive a transplant and 276 deaths while on wait-lists. Dr. Joseph Kim, nephrologist and co-chair of Health Canada’s Organ Donation and Transplantation Collaborative Data System Working Group, and patient Sandra Holdsworth, liver tran...
Jan 24, 2022•31 min•Ep. 12
