Dr. Kiran flips the mic to Globe and Mail health reporter Kelly Grant, who puts her in the hot seat to unpack the newly released 2025 OurCare Survey — revealing that where you live in Canada plays a major role in whether you have access to a regular family doctor or nurse practitioner. Together they dig into the regional disparities behind the data, from Manitoba and Ontario's relative strengths to Quebec's out-of-pocket fee burden and the surprising satisfaction rates reported by patients in the Territories.

May 22, 2026

Dr. Kiran visits Durham, Ontario, where a repurposed public school has been transformed into a hub offering everything from mental health and diabetes care to food programs and community gardens — all designed to address the social roots of health. She speaks with CEO Francis Garwe and physicians Dr. Akeem Stewart and Dr. Kirk Stewart about how Durham CHC is advancing Black health through community-led initiatives and what their equity-driven model could teach the rest of Canada.

Mar 5, 2026

Dr. Kiran visits Vancouver's Umbrella Multicultural Health Co-op, a clinic built by and for newcomer communities that pairs medical professionals with cross-cultural health brokers to bridge gaps in both language and healthcare navigation. Through conversations with Director Naomi Armstrong and Dr. Mei-Ling Weidmeyer, she explores how Umbrella's roots as a mobile clinic for migrant farm workers evolved into a cooperative model that puts culturally safe, community-accountable care at its core.

Feb 17, 2026

Dr. Kiran sits down with Dr. Nicole Boutilier, a family doctor leading primary care reform at the Nova Scotia Health Authority, who walks her through the province's ambitious plan to tackle the access crisis. From turning a centralized waitlist into an active patient management tool to building team-based Health Homes and launching the YourHealthNS app, Nova Scotia is taking a comprehensive, data-driven approach to getting more people connected to care.

Jan 29, 2026

Dr. Kiran visits an EBAIS clinic on the Nicoya Peninsula to see Costa Rica's geography-based primary care model in action, where each clinic is accountable for a defined population and community health workers visit households, deliver vaccines, and bridge clinical and public health care to ensure no one is missed. While far from perfect, the model offers a striking contrast to Canada's fragmented approach — a reminder that universal primary care is ultimately a question of design, not just funding.

Dec 19, 2025

Dr. Kiran sits down with Dr. Madeline Pesec to explore how Costa Rica's deep commitment to health as a human right — built on community-oriented primary care and a "Hospital Without Walls" approach — has driven remarkable improvements in health outcomes. From the role of community health workers to the country's ambitious primary care infrastructure, this first of a two-part series sets the stage for an up-close look at a system with powerful lessons for Canada.

Dec 4, 2025

Dr. Kiran travels to Quebec to explore how researcher Dr. Isabelle Gaboury and colleague Mylaine Breton have modernized the "advanced access" model, coaching more than 40 practices to redesign workflows and use data to continuously improve — with one clinic slashing wait times from up to 16 days down to just 3. It's a story about working differently rather than harder, showing that even in a province where access remains a stubborn challenge, the right combination of smart triage, clearer roles, and team-based care can deliver real results.

Nov 21, 2025

Dr. Kiran visits Renfrew County, Ontario, where the Petawawa Centennial Family Health Centre has developed a hybrid care model that pairs virtual family physicians with on-site nurses, pharmacists, and other health professionals to deliver full-service, ongoing care. The innovative approach has already connected more than 6,000 previously unattached patients with comprehensive team-based care, offering a compelling blueprint for how rural communities can rethink primary care delivery.

Oct 30, 2025

Dr. Kiran visits Calgary's Crowfoot Family Practice, where a fully capitated model and a team where non-physicians deliver over a third of all care allows physicians to manage patient panels 30 percent larger than average — serving more than 25,000 patients without sacrificing quality. Executive Director Shauna Thome and medical director Dr. Janet Reynolds share how the clinic is piloting new ways to connect unattached patients with care, all while embedding continuous quality improvement and patient partnership into its everyday culture.

Oct 16, 2025

Dr. Kiran calls on researcher Dr. Ruth Lavergne to untangle why Canada faces a shortage of roughly 23,000 family doctors even as more are being trained — exploring how increasingly complex work, shifting practice preferences, and payment models are all contributing to the crisis. The episode goes beyond the numbers to examine the moral and emotional toll of family medicine, and what it would truly take to make it a sustainable and fulfilling career.

Oct 2, 2025

Dr. Kiran and OurCare co-lead Peter MacLeod go behind the scenes of the national public dialogue that helped shape Ontario's groundbreaking Primary Care Act — the first legislation of its kind in Canada. With nearly 10,000 Canadians having participated in the OurCare process, this episode celebrates how civic engagement translated directly into law, marking a hopeful milestone for a primary care system that works for everyone.

Jul 4, 2025

Dr. Kiran wraps up her Netherlands journey by visiting a health insurance company and reflecting with travel companion Rosemary Hannam on what makes the Dutch primary care system so effective. From standardized GP contracts to clear access guarantees and strong physician leadership, they examine the key design features Canada could adopt to make timely, organized primary care the rule rather than the exception.

Jun 19, 2025

Dr. Tara Kiran visits two Dutch after-hours clinics to discover how GPs solved the emergency room overcrowding crisis by forming large regional cooperatives that provide around-the-clock care. A single phone number, specially trained staff, and smart triage mean patients get directed to exactly the right level of care — leaving Dutch emergency rooms remarkably calm and often nearly empty.

Jun 5, 2025

Canada is facing a primary care crisis, with 6.5 million people lacking access to a family doctor — and Dr. Tara Kiran wants to change that. Drawing on the OurCare Standard and lessons from high-performing countries like the Netherlands and Denmark, she explores bold solutions and innovative clinics working to build a better, more equitable primary care system for all Canadians.

Feb 14, 2025