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Quality measures
AI-powered transcription tool used in hospitals invents things no one ever said
Public
On October 26, 2024, Associated Press published a story detailing findings of researchers that the OpenAI transcription tool Whisper, used by clinics and hospitals, is prone to making up chunks of text or even entire sentences according to interviews with more than a dozen software engineers, developers and academic researchers.
Experts said that such fabrications are problematic because Whisper is being used in a slew of industries worldwide to translate and transcribe interviews, generate text in popular consumer technologies and create subtitles for videos.
What loud bells will wake BC doctors and the public to the dangers of Bill 36, the HPOA?
Public
Dr. Zafar Essak, MD - Vancouver, BC - November 6, 2023.
There is a sleeping sickness throughout our land. It has found its way into health care and affected all the doctors. It is not some esoteric thing happening in some small political arena or lawyers club. This impacts all of BC and all of us: the ability of doctors to practice medicine the way they were taught and trained, according to their conscience and oath for the benefit of patients.
The significance of Bill 36, the Health Professions and Occupations Act, is profound and the association, Doctors of BC, should be ringing alarm bells. Instead, they are subduing the importance of it, convincing all doctors to move on to the regulations, like lemmings over the cliff. Not only is this unhelpful to doctors, it is actually dangerous for doctors with their purpose and professional obligations to deliver health care to patients. Bells need to ring everywhere, and the association should be dissolved.
Provincial Health Ministries disregard for the five principles of the Canada Health Act
Public
In a farewell editorial published in the March 2023 issue of the BC Medical Journal, Dr Brian Day chronicles how the five principles of the Canada Health Act have been disregarded by provincial governments and health ministries across the country. Does this help us understand the sorry state of our medicare system as we see all the media attention related to the nationwide suffering of patients?
Is this still the right way to give injections?
Public
Is this still the right way to give injections, or are some of us just old fashioned, insisting on pulling back first to avoid injecting into a blood vessel? After seeing so many video clips on the news of vaccine injections being given without pulling back it may come as a relief to see this one from Global TV National news on November 26, 2021.
Attached is a video clip and an animated gif.
Is virtual medicine essentially unprofessional?
Public
How the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia
Fails the Citizens of the Province
Below the banner of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (CPSBC) web site, College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (cpsbc.ca), they proclaim that their mission is “Serving the public by regulating physicians and surgeons”.
Courageous thinking
Public
There is no definitive history of medicine in BC, there are only perspectives.
For some of us, living and practicing through portions of that history, certain elements may stand out for their significance.
One, that stands out to me, is the loss of courageous thinking. Not simply repeating what has been concluded by others or committee but truly independent thinking. Fresh eyes and a fresh mind.
After all isn't that what doctors learned as students?
Are medical errors the third leading cause of death or disability and what can we do to protect ourselves?
Public
Dr Z. Essak, MD - Vancouver BC - March 4, 2018
The TEDx Stanley Park event at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver on Saturday March 3, 2018 was incredible with 13 (a bakers dozen) memorable and inspiring speakers and 4 brief, fun energerizer programs to keep the audience engaged. Two of the presentations addressed medical errors.
With cancer as the leading cause of death and heart disease as the second leading cause, medical errors are referred to by some as the third leading cause of death and disability.
Whether errors are third or not, it makes sense that anything that helps to reduce or prevent medical errors is worth pursuing. Every error that can be prevented has direct benefit to individuals and their families.
What are the fiduciary duties of directors of the BC Medical Association?
Public
Vancouver, BC - Z. Essak, April 22, 2014
The BC Medical Association (BCMA), now rebranding itself as the DoctorsOfBC, is a non-profit Society in BC. It is a voluntary professional association of physicians that purports to represent all BC physicians in negotiations regardless of whether or not physicians choose to be a member.
The 2014 BCMA elections are now underway. Which way are the winds blowing? Are they winds of change? Are they strong enough? Will we see openness, transparency and accountability emerge or continued substitution with opaque communications and marketing?
Lessons from Enron, for our system (and our profession)?
Public
Last week, Jim Turley, Chief Executive Officer of Ernst & Young, was asked by Charlie Rose:
What are the lessons of Enron, and how did it happen?
His reply:
Well, look, I think that, at the end of the day, you know, the profession wasn't as focused on the delivery of quality as we needed to be, back in the 90s and leading up the the Enron era, and so what happened after was really important.
- jbusser's blog
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