White Coat, Black Art CBC Health & Sport

Newfoundland and Labrador leaders are ramping up virtual care for the thousands of residents without a family doctor. They’ve turned to private company Teladoc Health Canada to not only have doctors see patients virtually but also fill in on remote and rural ERs, for the next two years. But medical associations say it comes at the expense of recruiting and retaining healthcare workers long-term, and patients aren’t getting the care they need.

A restaurant in Muskoka, Ontario is doing its best to respond if necessary, after the slate of poisonings with a more dangerous form of fentanyl in Belleville. A manager and employee have taken training to accompany their new naloxone kit. But the deputy chief paramedic says the best hope to save people may be to teach bystanders to do CPR and rescue breathing and not flee the scene.

A unique medical team in the UK is able to treat hospitalized patients in their own homes. The team can make a diagnosis in the field, so they can offer treatment on the spot. The result? They're providing the same volume and complexity of care as a 20-bed ward, active 24/7. And it’s cheaper.

As a rapper, Bishop Brigante is no stranger to on-stage battles. Now, the 45-year-old is battling Stage 4 colon cancer, which he says was caught too late. Bishop wants Canadians to have easier access to colonoscopies and says advocacy has given him newfound purpose.

The burden of loneliness on seniors is real and well-documented. That’s why med students at McMaster University in Ontario are visiting a seniors’ home one Saturday a month… not with clipboards, but with emery boards. With manicures comes conversation – helping seniors feel less isolated, and helping med students “polish up” on their soft skills.

Receiving a cancer diagnosis and trying to weave through the health-care system can be confusing and frustrating. That’s where cancer patient navigators come in. They’re the person who takes your calls and listens when it seems like no one else will, and they’re the nurse who wants the best for their patients. They're not available to everyone in Canada — but both navigators and their patients think they should be.