Health811 Promises 24/7 Health Advice—If You Can Wait
Data obtained through freedom of information requests show wait times have increased dramatically since Health811 replaced Telehealth Ontario, peaking at a monthly average of more than 11 hours.
When Your Dermatologist Becomes a Salesperson
Getting a mole checked can takes months, but Botox appointments are readily available. Why dermatologists say their practice is the canary in the coal mine for privatized care.
How Ontario’s Corporate Pharmacies Are Burning Out Their Pharmacists
At corporate pharmacies like Shoppers Drug Mart, pharmacists say they face overwhelming pressure from their parent companies to perform medically unnecessary tasks in the interest of profit.
Inside the Booming Industry Selling Lifestyle Drugs Online
From erectile dysfunction medicine to hair loss treatment to weight loss drugs—a thriving online market has emerged to seamlessly deliver drugs straight to your door. But what happens when prescriptions meet profit incentives?
Saving Rhea Seegobin
For the growing number of Canadians who will get cancer in their lifetimes, the financial stress can be profound. But despite her terminal diagnosis, with the support of her community, Rhea is determined to live well.
And How Will You Be Paying for Your Baby Today?
When I first came to the pediatrics unit as an idealistic medical student, I ran into an uncomfortable reality about our universal health-care system.
How Privatized Cataract Surgery Helped Ontario’s Wealthiest—and Left Others Behind
Why a routine surgery offers a window into the possible future of care in this province.
A Clearer Look at the Cost of Care
Dispatches from the edge of the health care system, where money meets medicine and patients are customers.
Under Ford, Hallway Health Care Has Devolved into ‘Chair Care’
Doug Ford became premier on a promise to end hallway health care. Seven years later, ERs are more crowded than ever and the system has never been in greater disarray.
When a Hospital Visit Costs $11,000
Amid changes that make accessing health care for uninsured residents more difficult than ever, midwives have led the charge for universal care.
Ontario Needs Nurses—Many Are Already Here, and Waiting to Practice
In the midst of a labour shortage, nurses who come as caregivers and students remain shut out of their profession, with many working gig economy jobs and contemplating leaving.
Life Expectancy Varies by Almost 12 Years Across Toronto Neighbourhoods
A joint project by The Local and St. Michael’s Hospital, the first-ever neighbourhood-level analysis of life expectancy in Toronto, reveals stark disparities across the city.
Moss Park’s Lost Years
Grief, and hope, in the downtown eastside neighbourhood with the lowest life-expectancy in the city.
Why a Two-Kilometre Strip of Yonge Street Has the Highest Life Expectancy in Toronto
This North York neighbourhood has plenty of public amenities and walkable streets. But the secret to residents’ good health may have a less expected explanation: immigration.
A Mississauga Factory Is Using a Known Carcinogen. Residents Had No Idea
High levels of ethylene oxide were detected near a now-closed Scarborough plant owned by Sterigenics, which has agreed to pay over US$400 million to claimants alleging cancer in the U.S. The company has since moved to Mississauga.
The Trouble with Home Care
Aging at home is what people want, and what governments have long said is the key to easing pressure on the health care system. So why is home care so broken?
When Seniors Wander
Each year, over 500 seniors are reported missing to the Toronto Police. As the city ages and dementia rates rise, what can we do to ensure older Torontonians get home safe?
The Private Deals Remaking Long-Term Care
In a province with the highest percentage of for-profit LTC homes in the country, new deals are further consolidating the industry into the hands of a few companies with some of the worst COVID death rates in the country.
A Voice on the End of the Line
For the last sixty years, crisis hotlines have been the emergency rooms of the mental health world. But remote work has transformed the already challenging overnight shift into a deeply lonely one.
Death in the Small Hours
In the middle of the night, palliative care doctor Joshua Wales drives across the city, making house calls to people during the most emotionally complex, vulnerable moments of their lives.