When you call 911, police, fire or paramedics respond. But did you know they have no access to any medical information before they arrive? They’ll only get it at the scene — if you’re conscious and can tell them, if someone else is there, or if you have a medical bracelet or card with details. But even then, studies show the information, which is relayed by phone, takes an average of 7 minutes from dispatch, which delays medical treatment.

In this episode, host Avis Favaro talks with Leslie McGill, president and CEO of MedicAlert, about a world-first experiment with Ottawa’s emergency services to get 911 dispatchers access to health data, not when first responders reach the patient, but in the blink of an eye.

This episode is available in English.

Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page.

Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Say hello on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, or subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and upcoming releases with our monthly newsletter.

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New data shows that 2 in 5 Canadians say they aren’t getting any or enough mental health care to improve their lives. Host Avis Favaro talks about a first, and historic, step for mental health in Canada. Data collected from a new agreement between Ottawa and the provinces and territories is being used to measure how mental health services in the community are being delivered — and how new targeted funding is improving those services.

You’ll hear from 3 people committed to improving mental health services. Sachin Latti is a first responder from Vancouver who ran across Canada to raise attention and funds for mental health services. He says he witnessed mental health issues and substance use that were off the charts. Cheryl Chui is the lead on CIHI’s Taking the pulse report on wait times for counselling and the disconnect between hospital care and follow-up in the community. And Dr. Kevin Young is highlighting a remarkable project that has cut hospital readmissions for severe mental health crises by 400%.

Explore the Taking the Pulse, 2025 report here.

This episode is available in English.

Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page.

Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Say hello on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, or subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and upcoming releases with our monthly newsletter.

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“Canada First” is a phrase politicians have been using a lot lately. But it’s been focused primarily on steel, aluminum and other consumer products. Nurse and scientist Anne Snowdon wants to change that. She’s been documenting Canada’s chaotic and vulnerable medical supply system that she says puts patients and health care workers at risk. There are over 3,000 shortages of critical medical tools and medications every year — with Canada suffering the highest rate of disruption in the world. And most of these tools that are used to care for Canadians are being trucked in from other countries. If borders close or trade wars expand, the risk to health care front lines could be catastrophic. The COVID-19 pandemic, says Snowdon, was a warning.

The goal is to make Canada’s invisible health care supply chain visible — spotting shortages quickly, promoting the sharing of products across provinces and territories, and preventing the waste of expensive medical equipment. Her team at the Supply Chain Advancement Network in Health (SCAN Health) has also launched a Built Here: Bought Here test website — helping hospital procurement teams reduce the massive reliance on imported products by looking for Canadian makers of medical supplies.

This episode is available in English.

Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page.

Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Say hello on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, or subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and upcoming releases with our monthly newsletter.

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 Chet Walker wants to warn Canadians about how dangerous e-scooters can be. His son Austin was killed after a driver hit him while he was riding home on an e-scooter. In fact, CIHI data shows a 22% increase in hospitalizations from e-scooter injuries across the country. Doctors are starting to send out an alert — as they document the rising fractures, brain injuries and worse, with most riders not wearing helmets.

Host Avis Favaro meets Dr. Brian Rowe, who studies e-scooter injuries in Edmonton, and Dr. Daniel Rosenfield, a pediatric emergency specialist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto who believes children younger than 16 should not be allowed to ride these powerful devices.

This episode is available in English.

Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page.

Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Say hello on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, or subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and upcoming releases with our monthly newsletter.

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What can we learn about the mysteries of autism by combining artificial intelligence and Canada's valuable health data? That is the question posed by Dr. Christine Armour, pediatrician and geneticist at the University of Ottawa, and a physician scientist at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Join host Avis Favaro as she learns about a first-of-its-kind study being led by Dr. Armour and her team at CHEO, into whether machine learning can effectively analyze health data on Canadian mothers and babies in an effort to turn it into a tool to identify children at risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Studies show early detection and treatment can improve health outcomes.

This episode is available in English.

Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page.

Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Say hello on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, or subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and upcoming releases with our monthly newsletter.

Vous préférez les balados français? Voyez le Balado d’information sur la santé au Canada.

Imagine being just 8 years old and having to translate your parents’ medical information into a language they understand. That’s the story of Kayathiri Ganeshamoorthy, who’s made a career out of helping others avoid the misunderstandings and medical errors that come from inaccurate and poor communication. This episode is about how CIHI is drilling down into equity sources of hospital-based medical errors, as data from a recent report shows that people who don’t speak English or French are 30% more likely to experience a harmful event while in hospital. So how do we fix these gaps? Host Avis Favaro looks at what this report adds to the long history of patient safety — a decades-old mission of Dr. Ross Baker, a University of Toronto health policy scientist — and how that 8-year-old grew up to lead a special translation system in Alberta hospitals.

This episode is available in English only.

Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page.

Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Say hello on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, or subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and upcoming releases with our monthly newsletter.

Vous préférez les balados français? Voyez le Balado d’information sur la santé au Canada.

He’s a doctor and scientist who’s helped steer Canada’s public health systems through new diseases like COVID-19 and through a revolution of data-based health care. Dr. Vivek Goel, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo and CIHI’s former Board chair, joins host Avis Favaro to discuss his long career as an academic and the insights he gained as chair of a federal expert advisory panel that called for an end to barriers that prevent health data from being shared more widely in this country — roadblocks that he says are stopping Canada from becoming a health information powerhouse.

This episode is available in English only.

Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page.

Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Say hello on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, or subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and upcoming releases with our monthly newsletter.

Vous préférez les balados français? Voyez le Balado d’information sur la santé au Canada.

What are the challenges of leading a national health data organization like CIHI?

CIHI’s new CEO, Dr. Anderson Chuck, talks about transformation in a changing world — from giving patients, health practitioners and researchers faster access to data, to improving analysis and context around the numbers.

Find out his vision for how data can power the future of health care and what part of his new job keeps him up at night.

Click here to learn more about the way we’re transforming to help ensure a healthier Canada.

This episode is available in English only.

Episode transcripts can be found on our podcast web page.

Learn more about the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Say hello on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, or subscribe to our YouTube channel. You can also stay up to date on the latest news and upcoming releases with our monthly newsletter.

Vous préférez les balados français? Voyez le Balado d’information sur la santé au Canada.