Ep105: Not-So-Universal Healthcare: Caring for the Uncared-For, with Doret Cheng

Changing Lenses: Diversify Your Perspectives

In this two-part series on healthcare in Canada, we explore (and dismantle) some myths about our “free, universal” system which is so lauded by Americans.

Join us for part one, as pharmacist Doret Cheng takes us behind the scenes of a Toronto Family Medicine Clinic, putting a human face to stigmatized patients. If you think that the problems of homeless people and drug addicts are just housing and mental health – it’s time to change your lens.

In this episode:

• [00:02:50] Pharmacists: what you didn’t know
• [00:05:54] Integrated, collaborative, holistic healthcare: St. Michael’s Family Medicine Clinic
• [00:08:56] What does “vulnerable” mean? Who are St. Mike’s patients?
• [00:14:28] Understanding patient hiSTORIES – opioids and homelessness
• [00:26:43] Healthcare equality is NOT equity

Full transcript available here.

Guest Bio

Doret Cheng is a pharmacist with 20 years of patient care experience in community pharmacies, hospitals, and global healthcare as far away as Uganda.

Doret is of Chinese ethnicity, born in Ghana, immigrated to Edmonton, Canada as a child, and now lives in Toronto, where she currently practices at St. Mike's Hospital, Academic Family Health Team. She is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Toronto, teaching on global health.

References:

Contact Doret: LinkedIn

https://www.stmichaelshospital.com/programs/familypractice/st-james-town.php

Music Credits

Intro Music:

What Words Can't Describe, by Vlad Gluschenko

License: CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

Outro Music:

Beautiful Modern Rock Pop Guitar All Goodness Background Music, by Royalty Free Music

License: CC BY-NC-ND 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en