jjablkowski's blog

Family doctors are invited to join a six-part webinar series about billing GPSC fees to build confidence when billing GPSC incentives, better understand correct billing and fee rules, and to ensure comprehensive billing for all services.

A recent interview in the Canadian Medical Association Journal cautioned that reopening schools should be delayed until more robust data are available, and that school attendance should, therefore, remain voluntary.[1] This would provide an option for high-risk students and staff who may suffer from severe complications if they were to contract COVID-19.[2]

I was born in 1929 in the city of Szeged, then the second largest city in Hungary. By the time I was 8 years old I had survived measles, chicken pox, whooping cough, and a mild case of scarlet fever. In those days getting through infectious diseases one by one was almost expected as part of growing up. In the late 1930s, Europe, including Hungary, was in the midst of a severe polio epidemic. For a whole summer I was not let out of the house to have fun on the local playgrounds. In 1955 during my internship at St.

Evidenced-based medicine was formally defined in 1966 by Dr David Sackett, a professor of epidemiology at McMaster University, as “the conscientious and judicious use of current best evidence from clinical care research in the management of individual patients.” The basic idea has ancient roots. Anecdotal clinical recommendations had been passed on for centuries; then, from the mid-1600s, physicians’ personal journals then textbooks became sources for sharing knowledge. Peer-reviewed journals were the next messengers of clinical information.

I am a hugger, so the physical distancing rules that have been in place during the past months put a cramp on my usual interpersonal behavior. The phenomenon of physically staying away from one’s friends and loved ones—a smile hidden under a mask, no handshakes, and certainly no hugs—has bothered me in various ways and, I am sure, many people have been similarly affected. Do I stand my ground or step back a few feet when my best friend approaches me without a mask on his face? My best friend! What is wrong with him! He might be giving me his bugs!