Lisa Priest is a reporter, columnist and editorial writer for The Globe and Mail.
For more than two decades, Lisa has been a strong voice for improving access and quality in health care through her reporting. In her column, The Patient Navigator, she helps guide patients through Canada's complex and often confusing health care system.
She is the author of three books, including Operating in the Dark: The Accountability Crisis in Canada’s Health Care System, which called for better information for patients from health care providers.
Her work exposing the shortcomings in breast cancer detection and treatment twice won her the Michener Award, Canada's top honor for public-service journalism. Her articles on how the health system can better serve the public have won numerous other awards.
A licensed private pilot, Lisa lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter.
If my heart isn’t causing my chest pain, then what is?
There are a dozen other ailments that could be the culprit. Work with your family doctor to get to the bottom of it
My therapist sleeps through our sessions
I’m too embarrassed to confront him about his napping habit, but it’s eating up time and money
What can I do to have my tumour taken seriously?
I’ve waited almost a year for doctors to follow up on my tumour that was originally misdiagnosed
What happens to my files now that my doctor is closing his practice?
I’ve had a lot of tests done over the years, and I want to make sure my records are preserved so I don’t have to repeat them
Can I switch to another doctor in the same clinic?
I’ve never felt comfortable with my GP, but really like another doctor in the same group practice. What’s the etiquette for changing in this situation?
I’m having trouble renewing my pain-control prescription
With no family doctor of her own, patient who needs a nightly Tylenol 3 tablet for chronic pain finds that few physicians will issue a prescription
My psychiatrist sees 50 patients a day. How is this possible?
That sounds high, but if it’s a day that the doctor devotes to medication checks, it may not be unusual
The doctor wants dad off the road, so he won’t fix his cataracts
He’s 74 years old, plagued with injury and alcohol. How can I get his cataracts fixed if the doctor refuses to refer him without a six-month wait?
Our doctor dropped us and now my kid is low on meds
Unemployment and illness left us with a growing bill, spoiling a good doctor-patient relationship
Why was I shamed over contraception?
A physician wouldn’t give me the morning-after pill and a pharmacist made me answer embarrassing questions
