Dear Editor
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
tures of the EMR that I am not fully using – or perhaps even using properly .
So it was with real interest that I read the article in this issue of Dialogue about OntarioMD ’ s Peer Leader program . The program works by having doctors who have an advanced understanding of how EMRs work mentoring their fellow doctors to help them realize the full potential of their EMRs . In short , peers are helping peers master their EMRs without the headaches , cursing and tears that were such a part of my journey .
Dr . Jeff Habert , a family physician from Thornhill , has been an OntarioMD Peer Leader since 2012 and a College assessor since 2004 . Wearing both hats , he says , has allowed him to help doctors understand how to better optimize their EMRs from both a technical and clinical perspective .
Physicians who use an electronic medical record must have a level of comfort and fluency with their system to meet the requirements for record-keeping as set out in the College ’ s Medical Records policy and relevant legislation .
Reflect on your ability to effectively navigate your electronic medical record . If you do not have a level of comfort , I urge you to very seriously consider giving OntarioMD a call .
Please read more about this program on page 40 .
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Editor
Re : Opioid Crisis ( Dialogue , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , 2017 ) The Registrar ’ s editorial ( Dialogue , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , 2017 ) rightly describes the opioid crisis as ‘ the biggest drug safety crisis of our time ’. Canadian physicians bear full responsibility for their initial introduction of narcotics to patients . The pharmaceutical company ’ s marketing campaign was almost entirely driven by paying pain specialists and other physicians to promote its narcotic products through lectures and seminars , even to the extent of running speaker-training conferences and pain “ education ” seminars for selected physicians . ( N ENGL J MED 376 ; 16 . April 20 , 2017 .) Even the release of the 2017 Canadian Guideline For Opioids for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain was tainted when the Globe and Mail reported that one of the guideline ’ s committee members had received money from Purdue ( May 17 , 2017 ). How long will it be before the College takes leadership and decides that doctors receiving money from drug companies cannot ethically be allowed to teach other doctors ? Such a conflict would be unimaginable to an employee at any level of government . We have replaced Eisenhower ’ s Military-Industrial Complex with a Medical-Industrial Complex that has killed or ruined the lives of hundreds and thousands of Canadians . Canadian physicians and their patients deserve better from their respective Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons .
Paul Cary , MBBS . Cambridge , Ontario
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DIALOGUE ISSUE 3 , 2017