Why it’s so hard to reform Canadian health care: U of T’s Danielle Martin in the New York Times

noreen.rasbach — Mon, 26 Mar 2018 19:27:35 +0000

noreen.rasbach Mon, 03/26/2018 - 15:27

Cutline

Dr. Danielle Martin speaks with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who spoke at the University of Toronto in October (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Topic

Global Lens

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Danielle Martin

Faculty of Medicine

Global

Health

Canadians and Americans are often fixated on each other’s health systems – so much so that it makes it hard for Canadians to admit and discuss our own system’s failings, writes Dr. Danielle Martin in a New York Times oped.

“More robust dialogue is needed to really tackle these important problems – but the long American shadow chills our discussions," writes Martin, an associate professor of family and community medicine at the University of Toronto and the vice-president for medical affairs and health systems solutions at Women’s College Hospital. "Fear of an American-style market-based system inhibits a national conversation about how to expand the breadth of coverage and increase the timeliness of services.”

Martin was a lead author of two commissioned papers in a recent issue of The Lancet, which examined the Canadian sytem of universal health care and role in global health. She also made headlines in 2014 for defending the Canadian health-care system before a U.S. congressional committee. A YouTube video of her testifying before Congress has been viewed more than 1.5 million times.

In the New York Times article, she cites many examples of the Canadian system’s problems: the lack of pharmacare in most provinces, the poor access to health care for Indigenous Peoples and for many Canadians who live in remote areas, and long wait times in many parts of the country for elective surgery, hip replacements and MRIs.

“In truth, neither country performs as well as it should aspire to do,” Martin writes. “For our part, Canadians must tackle a culture of incrementalism that stops us from expanding services and improving how they’re delivered.”

Read the full op-ed in the New York Times

U of T faculty and alumni named among Toronto Life’s 50 most influential

geoff.vendeville — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 19:34:18 +0000

U of T faculty and alumni named among Toronto Life’s 50 most influential

geoff.vendeville Tue, 11/21/2017 - 14:34

Cutline

Margaret Atwood arrives at the primetime Emmy awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 17. She was one of many people with ties to U of T named in Toronto Life's list of influencers in 2017 (photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Topic

Artificial Intelligence

Dalla School of Public Health

Danielle Martin

Geoffrey Hinton

Subheadline

Geoffrey Hinton, Dr. Danielle Martin and many more make the list

Some of the biggest movers and shakers in the city can be found among University of Toronto faculty and alumni, according to Toronto Life magazine.

Its list of 2017’s most important influencers includes University Professor Emeritus Geoffrey Hinton, the “godfather” of artificial intelligence, and Associate Professor Dr. Danielle Martin, an author and activist who led U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on a tour of Canadian hospitals.

U of T graduates, like Margaret Atwood, Mayor John Tory and Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, also figure prominently in the new ranking.

See the full list in Toronto Life

Hinton, who placed 10^thon the list, is famous for pioneering a field of artificial intelligence called neural nets, which let computers recognize patterns and learn like humans do.

“His breakthrough enables machines to think like humans, bringing to life the stuff of Star Trek-plotlines: self-driving vehicles and smartphones that can diagnose cancer,” the magazine says.

Hinton splits his time between the university, where he heads the Vector Institute for AI research, and a fellowship with Google’s AI research arm.

Want to see handwritten first drafts of The Handmaid's Tale? Visit U of T Libraries

Any list of influencers would be incomplete without some of the top government leaders and U of T alumni, from Mayor Tory (3^rd) to Premier Wynne (7^th) and her conservative rival Patrick Brown (21^st).

U of T alumna Olivia Nuamah was named among the most influential (17^th) after becoming executive director of Pride Toronto. The experienced social justice advocate, who has a bachelor's degree in international development and social anthropology, once worked on British prime minister Tony Blair’s campaign to end poverty.

Danielle Martin

Why it’s so hard to reform Canadian health care: U of T’s Danielle Martin in the New York Times

Read the full op-ed in the New York Times

U of T faculty and alumni named among Toronto Life’s 50 most influential

See the full list in Toronto Life

Read more about Hinton in U of T News

Want to see handwritten first drafts of The Handmaid's Tale? Visit U of T Libraries

Read more about Nuamah in The Toronto Star