Even if a family doctor makes the correct diagnosis and prescribes the most appropriate treatment to address an illness, if a patient is unable to access the treatment due to social or financial circumstances the patient will not improve.

Administrative burden, including completing complex forms and reviewing EMRs are all contributing to burnout in family medicine. During this session, our panelists will discuss tricks to efficiently review EMRs, setting boundaries with patients, taking vacations and training your office staff to take on some of the burdensome tasks.

Since 2018, patients have been able to access medical cannabis that has been authorized by a physician who signs a medical document. New research supporting the therapeutic use, safety and efficacy on cannabis is only now emerging, which puts family physicians in a difficult position as they may be asked to authorize cannabis when they are not familiar with the process.

Collectively, physicians faced and/or continue to face a trauma related to caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few family physicians have had the opportunity to collectively discuss this.

There is growing interest in the use of psychedelics for the treatment of PTSD, depression and substance use disorders. Patients may ask their provider about these options, but family physicians are unaware of the latest data on safety and efficacy or understand what services are available in Ontario.