1: The Great Hernia Divide

A cohort study of more than 31,000 patients found that women tend to present with more complex ventral hernias and experience higher rates of postoperative morbidity, readmission, and recurrence than men. Notably, although women reported worse baseline quality of life and higher pain scores, they demonstrated greater postoperative improvement. These findings highlight sex-based differences in hernia care and the need for sex-specific risk stratification and follow-up after ventral hernia repair.

2: Watt’s the Verdict on Transcranial Electrical Stimulation for Post-Op Delirium?

An RCT examined whether transcranial electrical stimulation (tES) could reduce the incidence of postoperative delirium. Among 225 patients aged 65 and older, tES administered immediately after surgery did not significantly reduce postoperative delirium compared with placebo. Although some findings suggested a potential benefit from stimulation targeting the posterior parietal cortex, preventing postoperative delirium may require more brain-storming.

3: Plaque to the Future 

A prospective cohort study assessed silent atherosclerosis in 16,808 adults aged 18 to 70 without known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease using ultrasound and CT angiography. Silent atherosclerosis was present in 57.1% of participants, approximately half of whom were women. Even among adults aged 18 to 29, plaque was detected in 8.7% of men and 6.7% of women. The prevalence and extent of asymptomatic atherosclerosis increased with age, progressing from a single vascular territory to widespread, multiarterial involvement. Atherosclerosis has no age limit!

You’ve made the recommendation for more dedicated mental health care. Your patient nods, takes the information, and heads out the door. What happens next?

For many patients, it looks like long waitlists, no clear place to start, and an overwhelming number of options that often stall the search before it begins. That gap between referral and care is where treatment gets delayed, and where symptoms can continue to worsen.

Layla is closing that gap for patients in Canada (AB, BC, ON, and NS). Instead of being left to navigate the search alone, we guide patients from referral to care and help them find a therapist who aligns with what they’re looking for.

What your patient can expect

What we see when family doctors refer

Patients referred by primary care are more likely to have only recently developed symptoms, which means earlier intervention. They also tend to be more diverse across age, gender, and other dimensions. 

If you think a patient would benefit from therapy, Layla gives them a clear, supported path forward.

→ Register for our upcoming CME: Understanding the diagnostic difference between BPD and bipolar in teens, led by an academic hospital psychiatrist. 

1: 💉 Canada has become the first country to approve two new Moderna vaccines: mFLUSIVA, an mRNA flu shot, and mCOFLU, a combined flu and COVID-19 shot. Both are approved for adults aged 50 and older. Unfortunately, neither vaccine is expected to reach pharmacies in time for the 2026–27 respiratory virus season.

2: 💰 Ottawa recently unveiled its 2026 federal budget, and healthcare is among the priorities. The budget includes $57.4 billion through the Canada Health Transfer for 2026–27, a 5% increase from the previous year, along with a $1.2-billion extension of funding for mental health, addictions, and home and community care. Meanwhile, the government is proposing $11.2 billion over 4 years and another $17.8 billion in future years to tackle homelessness, including $2 billion for community mental health and addictions facilities. With approximately 65,000 Canadians experiencing homelessness, Ottawa hopes these investments will help address the crisis over the next decade.

3: 🫁 What if the next upgrade in asthma management wasn't inside an inhaler, but in the kitchen? In a small US study, 85 people with poorly controlled asthma reported substantial improvements in symptoms after swapping their gas stoves for electric ones, with improvements reportedly 2-3 times greater than those typically seen with asthma medications. Participants also reported fewer ER visits and fewer missed days of work or school. Gas stoves release nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant that can aggravate asthma symptoms. However, the study lacked a control group, making it difficult to determine how much of the improvement was directly attributable to the switch.

4: 🚙 Tesla’s Cybertruck, a vehicle that looks more at home in Season 3 of Westworld than at a kids’ soccer practice, is set to wind down production around mid-2027 following years of weak sales. It's another setback for billionaire Elon Musk, who also recently spent nearly half a billion dollars backing Republican candidates in the US midterm elections, with most of his preferred candidates losing their races. Musk is now shifting his attention to the Cybercab, a self-driving robotaxi whose commercial viability remains unproven and whose unconventional design has attracted criticism.

347%: the increase in vitamin K deficiency bleeding rates among US infants between 2017 and 2025, according to a new JAMA Pediatrics study involving more than 11 million babies. Over the same period, the proportion of newborns who did not receive their routine vitamin K injection more than doubled, from 2.3% to 5%, leaving more infants without protection against potentially life-threatening bleeding.

21 rooms: the number of rooms a Vancouver landlord squeezed into a single-family home, which housed at least 17 tenants when inspectors visited in 2025. The landlords were fined $90,000 for violating health, safety, and housing requirements, including making unpermitted plumbing alterations.

🍳 Make: French onion soup meets the humble baked potato. Think caramelized onions, rich broth, and melted Gruyère piled onto a fluffy potato. It's the ultimate cozy comfort-food mashup for a chilly November evening.

🎧 Listen: Four patients, routine joint replacements, and a series of pharmacy errors with devastating consequences. The Medical Safety Podcast takes a closer look at the Tennessee Spinal Medication Incident, exploring what went wrong and the lessons for preventing similar errors in healthcare.

✈️ Travel: Some trips are worth planning well ahead. From gorilla trekking in Rwanda to Antarctic cruises and luxury train journeys through Europe, Condé Nast Traveler rounds up 17 bucket-list adventures you should consider booking a year in advance. 

💰 Save: Getting a head start on holiday shopping? Best Buy Canada's early Black Friday roundup includes discounts on everything from Philips espresso machines and Garmin smartwatches to LG OLED TVs and robot vacuums. Worth a look if you've had your eye on a new gadget.

📖 Read: Did you know a Canadian doctor helped revolutionize blood transfusions during WWI? This Remembrance Day, discover the remarkable story of Dr. Lawrence Bruce Robertson and how his pioneering work helped change modern medicine. Read the full story.

😂 Laugh: The age-old debate over which medical specialties belong to medicine and which belong to surgery.

First clue: ___ chole, slang for a common surgery

Need a rematch? We’ve got you covered. Check out our Crossword Archive to find every puzzle we’ve ever made, all in one place.

Want to reach thousands of Canadian physicians every week? Email [email protected] to learn more.