Simplified guideline for prescribing medical cannabinoids in primary care.

Objective: To develop a clinical practice guideline for a simplified approach to medical cannabinoid use in primary care; the focus was on primary care application, with a strong emphasis on best available evidence and a promotion of shared, informed decision making.

Methods: The Evidence Review Group performed a detailed systematic review of 4 clinical areas with the best evidence around cannabinoids: pain, nausea and vomiting, spasticity, and adverse events. Nine health professionals (2 generalist family physicians, 2 pain management-focused family physicians, 1 inner-city family physician, 1 neurologist, 1 oncologist, 1 nurse practitioner, and 1 pharmacist) and a patient representative comprised the Prescribing Guideline Committee (PGC), along with 2 nonvoting members (pharmacist project managers).

Clinician self-efficacy in initiating discussions about gestational weight gain.

Objective: To compare prenatal care providers' perceived self-efficacy in starting discussions about gestational weight gain with pregnant women under a variety of conditions of gradated difficulty, when weight gain has been in excess of current guidelines.

Design: A 42-item online questionnaire related to the known barriers to and facilitators of having discussions about gestational weight gain.

Setting: Canada.

Computer use in primary care practices in Canada.

Objective: To examine the use of computers in primary care practices.

Design: The international Quality and Cost of Primary Care study was conducted in Canada in 2013 and 2014 using a descriptive cross-sectional survey method to collect data from practices across Canada. Participating practices filled out several surveys, one of them being the Family Physician Survey, from which this study collected its data.

Shared Canadian Curriculum in Family Medicine (SHARC-FM): Creating a national consensus on relevant and practical training for medical students.

Problem Addressed: In 2006, leaders of undergraduate family medicine education programs faced a series of increasing curriculum mandates in the context of limited time and financial resources. Additionally, it became apparent that a hidden curriculum against family medicine as a career choice was active in medical schools.

Objective Of Program: The Shared Canadian Curriculum in Family Medicine was developed by the Canadian Undergraduate Family Medicine Education Directors and supported by the College of Family Physicians of Canada as a national collaborative project to support medical student training in family medicine clerkship.

Primary care providers' experiences with and perceptions of personalized genomic medicine.

Objective: To assess primary care providers' (PCPs') experiences with, perceptions of, and desired role in personalized medicine, with a focus on cancer.

Design: Qualitative study involving focus groups.

Setting: Urban and rural interprofessional primary care team practices in Alberta and Ontario.

Documenting coordination of cancer care between primary care providers and oncology specialists in Canada.

Objective: To report on the findings of the CanIMPACT (Canadian Team to Improve Community-Based Cancer Care along the Continuum) Casebook project, which systematically documented Canadian initiatives (ie, programs and projects) designed to improve or support coordination and continuity of cancer care between primary care providers (PCPs) and oncology specialists.

Design: Pan-Canadian environmental scan.

Setting: Canada.

Primary care physician use across the breast cancer care continuum: CanIMPACT study using Canadian administrative data.

Objective: To describe primary care physician (PCP) use and continuity of PCP care across the breast cancer care continuum.

Design: Population-based, retrospective cohort study using provincial cancer registries linked to health administrative databases.

Setting: British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario.

Self-Management Support in Chronic Care: Practice Implementation Lessons for Healthcare Providers from an Atlantic Collaborative.

In Atlantic Canada, people live with greater risk factors and higher rates of chronic disease than the average Canadian; and health system costs have historically risen faster than other parts of the country. Many clinicians endorse self-management support (SMS) as a means to help patients manage their chronic conditions but often lack the confidence and proper expertise to do so due to limited literature on SMS implementation. This paper draws on two case examples from Atlantic Canada to address gaps between effective SMS interventions and the implementation and evaluation of such interventions that can support provider adoption.

Serologic testing in celiac disease: Practical guide for clinicians.

Objective: To address the questions and challenges commonly faced by primary care physicians when ordering serologic tests for celiac disease (CD) and provide practical clinical tips to help in the interpretation of test results.

Sources Of Information: MEDLINE was searched from 2000 to 2015 for English-language guidelines on the diagnosis and management of CD published by professional gastroenterological organizations.

Main Message: To screen patients for CD, measurement of the immunoglobulin A (IgA) tissue transglutaminase antibody is the preferred test.

Olly Olly Oxen Free (or Ally Ally in Free): Playing Hide and Seek in Allocating Resources for Child and Youth Health.

There are powerful arguments for increased investment in child and youth health. But the extent to which these benefits can be realized is shaped by health institutions' priority setting processes. We asked, "What are the unique features of a pediatric care setting that should influence choice and implementation of a formal priority setting and resource allocation process?" Based on multiple sources of data, we created a "made-for-child-health" lens containing three foci reflective of the distinct features of pediatric care settings: the diversity of child and youth populations, the challenges in measuring outcomes and the complexity of patient and public engagement.

The physical activity preferences of gynecologic cancer survivors.

Purpose/objectives: To identify physical activity (PA) preferences of gynecologic cancer survivors (GCSs) and to understand the reasons for them.

Design: Population-based, cross-sectional mailed survey and semistructured interviews with a subsample.

Setting: Nova Scotia, Canada.

Ethically informed pragmatic conditions for organ donation after cardiocirculatory death: could they assist in policy development?

The modern practice of organ donation after cardiocirculatory death (DCD) emerged in the 1990s as a response to the alarmingly wide gap between the number of transplantable organs available through organ donation after neurological death and the urgent organ transplantation needs of persons in end-organ failure. Various important ethical dimensions of DCD have been considered and debated by prominent organ donation/transplantation theorists and clinicians. In this article, consideration of some of these ethical elements provides a foundation for a proposed set of ethically informed, pragmatic conditions that could assist in the development of health policies to guide the practice of organ donation after cardiocirculatory death.

Effect of field notes on confidence and perceived competence: survey of faculty and residents.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of field notes in assessing teachers' confidence and perceived competence, and the effect of field notes on residents' perceptions of their development of competence.

Design: A faculty and resident survey completed 5 years after field notes were introduced into the program.

Setting: Five Dalhousie University family medicine sites--Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John in New Brunswick, and Halifax and Sydney in Nova Scotia.