October

An attending physician may request to consult a medical advisor for their patients who have submitted a WorkSafeBC claim for a workplace injury, occupational disease, or mental health condition. Physicians may request assistance with referrals and imaging, ask about the claim’s status, request clarification about or assistance with WorkSafeBC documentation, or discuss the claims process in general. Similarly, medical advisors may need to contact the responsible physician to discuss clinical care plans for injured workers.

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My views on statistical relevance and peer review have evolved over the years. At a recent Zoom session of the BCMJ’s Editorial Board we discussed the topic of peer review. Peer review has been defined as a process of subjecting an author’s scholarly work or research to scrutiny by other experts in the same field.

I, like Richard Feynman (“Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts”), have become aware of the dangers of believing in experts, and I have acquired some reservations regarding editorial peer review.

Since we are probably all suffering from a bit of COVID-19 fatigue, I decided to write about something a little more calming and relaxing—cannabis. In the October 2018 issue, I authored an editorial on the legalization of cannabis in BC for residents aged 19 and older. Since almost 2 years has passed, I thought it was time to revisit this topic.

Real-Time Virtual Support (RTVS) pathways is a new virtual support initiative enabling rural health care providers to deliver timely patient-centred care closer to home. Physicians, nurse practitioners, and nurses in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities will have access to 24-hour, just-in-time advice through Zoom and can be connected to one of five teams providing culturally safe and compassionate support: