When it comes to reducing red tape in medicine, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says first place doesn't matter if you're not moving fast enough. Last week, a report showed that Nova Scotia leads the country in its effort to reduce unnecessary paperwork that takes away from doctors' time to see patients. Nova Scotia has a goal of reducing administrative burden on doctors by 10 per cent by 2024.

Premier Tim Houston will be seeking an infusion of funding and hope for Nova Scotia’s ailing health-care system during a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and fellow premiers this week in Ottawa. “As the prime minister has indicated, I don’t expect that there will be any kind of health-care accord signed tomorrow,” Kody Blois, the Liberal MP for Kings-Hants, said Monday in an interview that preceded the two-day first ministers meeting on health-care funding that wraps up early Tuesday afternoon.

The new federal ban on foreign home ownership is causing worry that it’s hampering the recruitment of international health-care professionals. “We’re trying to lift as many barriers as possible to bring doctors and other medical professionals to the community,” said Sydney-Membertou MLA Derek Mombourquette, who has been talking to his caucus and federal counterparts about wanting the new law amended.

A newly settled permanent resident in Nova Scotia says a recent experience he had in a Halifax ER is proof the overburdened healthcare system is straining its workers to the breaking point. Originally from the United States, Doug Silverman is a registered clinical psychologist with a doctorate under his belt, granting him the privilege of using the title.