Doctor ‘desperate for a solution’

Patients trying to balance financial pressures and their health is nothing new, says a Nova Scotia doctor.

But Dr. Tim Holland says the issue has worsened over the past few years, leaving him feeling “frustrated, burnt out and just desperate for a solution.”

Holland, a family doctor at the Sipekne’katik Health Centre in Shubenacadie and the Newcomer Health Clinic in Halifax, said the rising costs of food, combined with the housing crisis, have resulted in many of his patients unable to afford their medication.

“There’s definitely a set of patients that will be very upfront and tell you straight off, ‘Listen doc. I haven’t been taking my medications because I can’t afford them. My decisions are food for my children or medications for myself,’” Holland said in an interview.

Holland said the health impacts of patients not taking their prescribed medications are pretty straightforward. For example, if a person with diabetes can’t afford their medication, their blood sugars will rise and they will be at risk of complications with heart disease, amputation of their feet and other issues.

On top of not being able to afford medication, Holland said recently, his patients are coming forward with dietary concerns.

“Given the financial pressures so many of my patients face, their decisions are really to go towards high-carb options like pastas, rices, which have been shown to lead to increased blood sugar levels in diabetics, to lead to increased weight in patients who might be trying to lose weight and then the potential consequences that come from that,” he said.

Holland explained that those patients are forced to buy high-carb foods that don’t have the same vitamin and nutrient proportions as others foods due to the price increase of fruits and vegetables.

“So 10 years ago, it might’ve been well, a person couldn’t afford meat, high protein foods, but they could still kind of look around the grocery store and get a green pepper or a tomato. But now, those prices have skyrocketed relative to the high-carb, low-nutrient food and that’s a challenge,” he said.

“Before I might have been able to advise a patient to get a can of beans for their protein, a tomato and a pepper to help balance their diet. Now, I don’t even know what to advise in terms of trying to develop a diet on a budget with the current prices.”

Holland said some of his patients have also expressed that they can’t afford their medication or food.

And that has left him feeling desperate.

“These are patients who are working hard and trying to make a better life for themselves and their families and still just are struggling because of these costs, Holland said.

He said his patients are suffering not only physically as a result of the costs of living, but also mentally “and those two are so closely intertwined.” Holland said he hopes to see more government funding and resources for programs and non-profit organizations that help Nova Scotians when it comes to food insecurity. He said the housing crisis, which he sees as the root of the problem, also needs to be addressed.

“People might have been able to deal with the increases in food prices if rent and the cost of housing hadn’t risen so exponentially to eat up the rest of their budget.”