Iris Gorfinkel, M.D.
drgorfinkel.bsky.social
Iris Gorfinkel, M.D.
@drgorfinkel.bsky.social
Family doctor, clinical researcher, founder of PrimeHealth Clinical Research, contributor to @CBCRadio @GlobalNewsCa @TorontoStar @ZoomerMedia
More bad news for public health

More than ever
…we need to up our game

Doctor Critical of Vaccines Quietly Appointed as C.D.C.’s Second in Command www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/h...
Doctor Critical of Vaccines Quietly Appointed as C.D.C.’s Second in Command
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Will PRIVATIZING Canadian MEDICARE WORK?

Researchers compared 25 wealthy countries.

The more each relies on FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES to deliver healthcare

...the WORSE LIFE EXPECTANCY gets.

www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...
November 22, 2025 at 8:56 PM
It's official: The CDC is no longer trustworthy.

Its website contradicts 40+ high-quality studies involving 5.6 MILLION people.

The reason? RFK Jr. is Health Secretary.

This is what happens when politics replaces science.
November 21, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Coffee: $3.95
Shirt: $25.95

Prescription cost: ❓🤷‍♀️❓

👉🏻 You’ll find out at the pharmacy counter.

When doctors can’t see drug prices, Rxs often wind up costing more
… for the same health outcomes
When doctors can't see drug prices we all pay a steep price www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... @drgorfinkel.bsky.social @thestar.com

𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀 ⇢ CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁
November 20, 2025 at 10:00 PM
An UNAFFORDABLE 'LUXURY'

It's IMPOSSIBE to deliver cost-effective care when clinicians lack access to the Rx price patients pay at the pharmacy

...when 1 in 5 have NO coverage

...& drugs are the 2nd highest item in the health budget

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont....
Iris Gorfinkel: When doctors can’t see drug prices, patients — and Ontario — pay a steep price
Cost-effective care is impossible if doctors are kept in the dark about drug prices — the health system’s second-highest expense. Ultimately, patients pay twice — once at the pharmacy counter
www.thestar.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:04 PM
DISINFORMATION

A "deliberate instrument" to attack & discredit scientists & health professionals for
-Political gain
-Building online brands
-Influencers to get clicks

☠️ Note to Public Health: Silence like a cancer grows

@CaulfieldTim @TorontoStar

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
On measles and vaccines, Canada can’t keep ignoring the elephant in the room
Study after study has shown that political affiliation is one of the single strongest predictors of vaccination status.
www.thestar.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:50 PM
SHAMEFUL

Removed from encampments
Belongings trashed
Fines up to $10,000
Jail terms up to 6 months

...while Ontario provides LESS THAN HALF the supportive housing needed

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Iris Gorfinkel: Homeless encampments always trigger despair, but Ford’s government is adding deep shame to the mix
People living in encampments have no other place to go. Ontario offers less than half of the supportive housing units needed.
www.thestar.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:41 PM
🚨BUYER BEWARE
FOR-PROFIT DIAGNOSTIC CENTRES DON'T SAVE MONEY

They INCREASE
🧪 Tests not indicated
✖️ Anxiety
🧐 Waste of public resources
🗓️ Public wait times

...while Conflicts of interest, Upcharges & Oversold services
are NOT DISCLOSED

@alonghurst.bsky.social

calgaryherald.com/news/local-n...
U of C doctor says study shows for-profit diagnostic screening will lead to unintended problems
"We're going to prey on people's anxieties," says doctor who studied increased cardiac imaging in Alberta in the late 1990s.
calgaryherald.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:51 PM
🏆 KUDOS

...to Toronto's University Health Network for bringing back masking in their facilities as of Nov 18, 2025

😷TGH
😷Toronto Western
😷Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
😷Toronto Rehab
😷Michener Institute
😷West Park

🏥 Hope others will follow...

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Iris Gorfinkel: How politics, not science, is putting vulnerable patients and health care workers at risk
As a family doctor, I have seen first-hand the difference masking makes. Since my clinic adopted consistent masking, staff absences from colds, flus, and COVID‑19 have plummeted. Scaled across the
www.thestar.com
November 13, 2025 at 10:53 PM
285 doctors (& counting) have now applied to ONTARIO
from QUEBEC

...over HALF are FAMILY DOCTORS

Why the exodus?

BILL 2 forces
😬75% of ER patients to be seen w/in 90 min.
😲97% of surgeries completed w/in 1 year
😟Clawbacks if targets aren't met

www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/arti...
Nearly 300 Quebec doctors apply to get licence in Ontario in less than 1 month: CPSO
Nearly 300 doctors from Quebec have applied to get a licence to work in Ontario in less than one month’s time amid a law passed by François Legault’s government that will overhaul how physicians are c...
www.ctvnews.ca
November 13, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Not depressed enough?

RFK Jr's latest "commonsense" guidelines
stress eating "saturated fats of dairy, of good meat” as a part of the whole-food diet he wants Americans to follow

...breaking from scientific consensus - yet again.

Sigh.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/i...
What Kennedy's saturated fat guidelines would mean for American health
RFK Jr.'s new dietary guidelines are set to encourage consumption of more saturated fat, but some nutrition experts say that could cause long-term, widespread harm.
www.statnews.com
November 13, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Reposted by Iris Gorfinkel, M.D.
Based on my back of the envelope calculations and 2024 populations, these are the cases per 100,000:
ON, 14.9
BC, 5.74
AB, 40.1
MB, 17.0
SK, 8.69

We're not as bad in ON as I thought, but nothing to be proud of either.
November 11, 2025 at 1:23 AM
WHY Canada lost measles elimination status

👉 5,138 cases as of Oct 2025

ON 2,392 cases
AL 1,944
BC 324
MN 253
SK 107

👉 Over 300 hospitalizations
👉2 deaths

It'll take 12 months of ZERO cases to regain status
November 11, 2025 at 12:08 AM
FLU SHOTS & HOSPITALIZATION

ALL AGES: 💉lowers risk by 40-50%
KIDS: 💉lowers risk by 50-70%

How effective the flu vaccine is in any given year is known only AFTER the flu season ends.

Bottom line: Get vaxed

www.cbc.ca/news/health/...
Canada could face ‘worst kind’ of flu season as experts warn evolving strain may be mismatch for vaccine | CBC News
With flu cases now rising in Canada, medical experts are bracing for a difficult influenza season linked to the global spread of an evolving H3N2 strain that could be a mismatch for this year’s vaccin...
www.cbc.ca
November 10, 2025 at 8:37 PM
Tragic.
Preventable.

It finally happened.

Canada loses measles elimination status after three decades, health agency says -
From reuters.com
reuters.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:11 PM
This isn't simply a matter of inconvenience.

1 in 5 patients find ERRORS in their medical records
...over HALF of which are SERIOUS.

Patients need access to their primary care records NOW

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Iris Gorfinkel: The price Ontarians’ pay for the lack of access to their medical records
Ontario must stop treating access to primary care records as a privilege and recognize it as a right — because patients’ safety, trust and lives depend on it.
www.thestar.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:58 PM
As a GP, I want to KNOW mistakes in patients' records.

Knowing what family doctors write IMPROVES
🧐 Engagement in care
💪 Confidence in managing health
🙌 Trust in the team

...so WHY can't most patients access their primary care records in Ontario?

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Iris Gorfinkel: The price Ontarians’ pay for the lack of access to their medical records
Ontario must stop treating access to primary care records as a privilege and recognize it as a right — because patients’ safety, trust and lives depend on it.
www.thestar.com
November 8, 2025 at 4:51 PM
1 in 5 patients found ERRORS when given access to their medical charts

Many were serious.

Yet most Ontarians lack access

It’s time to up our game.
The price Ontarians’ pay for the lack of access to their medical records www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... @drgorfinkel.bsky.social @thestar.com

More news → CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁
November 6, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Ontario has enough family doctors but NOT enough choosing comprehensive care

Alternatives like walk in clinics offer better pay & fewer hours.

BC evened that score
…& family doctors followed
B.C. showed how to fix the family doctor crisis — but Ontario’s not listening www.thestar.com/opinion/cont... @drgorfinkel.bsky.social @thestar.com

More news → CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁
October 30, 2025 at 7:05 PM
TESTOSTERONE in the MENOPAUSE
-Under-researched
-Modestly helpful at⤴️ sexual desire
-1 in 3 reported ONE addtnl sexual event per month

# of APPROVED PRODUCTS by Health Canada
💪MEN 7 -gels, patches, injections, pellets, buccal
😰 WOMEN ZERO

🎧 8 min listen

www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
October 29, 2025 at 9:10 PM
This is what public health is up against.

We need to up our game.
October 24, 2025 at 1:52 PM
🧐 Ontario has enough FAMILY DOCTORS

... but too few providing cradle-to-grave, comprehensive care

That's because it
-Pays less than alternatives
-Has longer hours
-Offers no sick leave, disability or paid vacation

www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...
Iris Gorfinkel: B.C. showed how to fix the family doctor crisis — but Ontario’s not listening
The real issue is that a growing number of family physicians — now 1-in-5 — opt out of comprehensive general practice and pursue focused roles, like ER shifts or walk-in
www.thestar.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:36 AM
CAFFEINE - Surprising factoid

Our bodies quickly get used to its benefits
...but NOT to its impact on SLEEP

Regular use just treats the lethargy & headache from WITHDRAWAL

🎧8 min listen
www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...
October 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM
THIS
…is what democracy looks like.
A 60 second summary of some of the biggest and best sights from #NoKings Day.

Congratulations to every single organizer, volunteer and attendee👏

History.
October 19, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Solidly researched.
Evidence based.
Incontrovertible.

"An astounding 90% of autistic children consumed either breast milk or formula...ignoring potential confounders, control groups and statistical significance."

Hats off to @integralanswers.bsky.social for the fine work.
October 19, 2025 at 1:53 AM