Canada’s emergency departments are in crisis: hospital occupancy rates exceed 90% for many days in a row, and many Canadian hospitals have been exceeding 100% occupancy for months on end. As a result, quality of care has decreased, staff retention has become problematic and overcrowding of emergency departments, a symptom of the problem, is assured.

On this episode, Drs. Omole and Bigham speak with Dr. Catherine Varner, an emergency physician in Toronto, deputy editor of CMAJ, and author of two editorials in the journal detailing the state of Canada’s emergency departments, the causes of the crisis and possible solutions. Joining the conversation is Dr. David Petrie, an emergency physician in Halifax and co-chair of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians’ EM:POWER Task Force on the Future of Emergency Care who explores what a whole system approach to resolving this pressing issue might look like.

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The CMAJ Podcast is produced by PodCraft Productions