Primary Focus with Dr. Tara Kiran

About Primary Focus with Dr. Tara Kiran

Patients, politicians and clinicians agree: it’s high time to fix primary care in Canada. But, what could a stronger, more inclusive, more efficient public system look like? In this smart, engaging podcast, family doc and researcher Dr. Tara Kiran brings together the voices of frontline healthcare workers, patients, researchers and policymakers from around the world to unpack the issues and innovations that could—and should—transform primary care in Canada. With a focus on actionable insights and real-world solutions, episodes will take you behind the scenes to understand how different health systems and clinics are solving access problems, stretching healthcare dollars and ensuring quality care for all. At the heart of each conversation is a shared commitment to a better public healthcare system—one that not only serves every person in Canada, but leads the world. primaryfocus.substack.com (https://primaryfocus.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Dr. Tara Kiran

Category

health & fitness · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Feb 2025

Latest episode

22 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

27 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   22 Oct 2026

   In Victoria: Building a team to meet an access crisis

   When Dr. Paul Sawchuk and Dr. Thuy-Nga “Tia” Pham arrived in Victoria in the early 2020s, many patients told them they had gone eight or nine years without a family doctor. Both had practised family medicine for decades elsewhere, and both were taken aback by what they saw, including patients with cancers that had gone undiagnosed until very late. Today they lead the six Urgent and Primary Care Centres (UPCCs) run by Island Health in South Vancouver Island and work to improve access in the region. In the Season 3 premiere of Primary Focus, host Dr. Tara Kiran tours the Gorge UPCC. There, nurses triage the waitlist so the most urgent patients are seen first. Nurses with added certifications assess and treat common conditions, and the whole team shares the work of completing forms for people without a doctor. We hear from team members about what makes their collaboration work. Tara then sits down with Paul and Tia to talk about how the UPCCs have become an access point for the region, how they need to be selective with who they see on an ongoing basis, how they built a team culture that keeps people engaged, and a tension at the heart of primary care in Canada: do we have the resources for everyone to have an ongoing relationship with a family doctor or do we need to focus first on just providing some access to everyone? Explore the Resources Explore the Island Health (https://www.islandhealth.ca/services/same-day-primary-care) Urgent Primary Care Centre model Get more information on the UBC Okanagan Primary Care Nursing Micro-Credentials (https://cpe.ok.ubc.ca/courses-programs/primary-care-nursing-micro-credentials/) program Nurse Kia mentioned See photos from my tours of the Gorge and Downtown UPCC campuses Mainpro+ Credits Family doctors in Canada can now earn Mainpro+ credits by listening to Primary Focus Podcast episodes published after May 1, 2026. This self-learning Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Chapter for up to 30 Mainpro+ credits, with 1 credit available per eligible episode. To claim your credit, listen to the episode, review the show notes and complete the self-learning survey (https://ourcare.ca/podcast/mainpro). Your certificate will be emailed to you. Find more information at OurCare.ca/podcast (http://ourcare.ca/podcast) More about Primary Focus: Subscribe to our Substack newsletter (https://primaryfocus.substack.com/) Have an idea for an episode? Email primary.focus@unityhealth.to (mailto:primary.focus@unityhealth.to) Tara Kiran is a family physician and researcher who is passionate about building a stronger, more equitable primary care system in Canada. She practices at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto where she is also a scientist at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions. In 2022, Dr. Kiran launched OurCare, a national initiative to engage the public in shaping the future of primary care in Canada. You can learn more about Dr. Kiran’s research here: https://maphealth.ca/kiran/ (https://maphealth.ca/kiran/) Primary Focus receives financial support from the MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael’s Foundation, and the Max Bell Foundation. Dr. Tara Kiran is supported as the Fidani Chair in Improvement and Innovation at the University of Toronto and a Scientist in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit primaryfocus.substack.com (https://primaryfocus.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

2. 

   17 Sept 2026

   [From the Vault] In the Netherlands: who’s accountable for access?

   How do you design a system that delivers timely primary care — not by chance, but by design? In this final episode in the Netherlands, Tara visits a health insurance company and reflects with her travel companion, Rosemary Hannam (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosemary-hannam-9ab08b13/?originalSubdomain=ca)on what stood out from their trip to the Netherlands. They discuss how features like standardized GP contracts, clear access guarantees, strong physician leadership and a customer-orientation help keep primary care timely and organized — and consider what Canada can learn from the Dutch approach. If you missed Part 1 (https://primaryfocus.substack.com/p/from-the-vault-in-the-netherlands),  Part 2 (https://primaryfocus.substack.com/p/from-the-vault-in-the-netherlands-3d2) or Part 3 (https://primaryfocus.substack.com/p/from-the-vault-in-the-netherlands-cc7?r=664hg&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true), click to catch up. See a gallery (https://primaryfocus.substack.com/p/through-the-lens-primary-care-in) of Dr. Kiran’s photos from her trip to the Netherlands. Hear Dr. Kiran speaking about her trip on CBC’s White Coat, Black Art (https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/most-people-in-denmark-and-the-netherlands-have-a-doctor-here-s-what-canada-can-learn-1.7463900) Read Dr. Kiran’s 4-part series (https://canadianhealthcarenetwork.ca/how-dutch-ensure-95-citizens-have-family-doctor) for the Medical Post on her trip Subscribe to our Substack newsletter (https://primaryfocus.substack.com/) to get bonus content. Take the OurCare national survey (https://www.ourcare.ca/) to share your experiences with primary care. Mainpro+ Credits Family doctors in Canada can now earn Mainpro+ credits by listening to Primary Focus Podcast episodes published after May 1, 2026. This self-learning Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Chapter for up to 30 Mainpro+ credits, with 1 credit available per eligible episode. To claim your credit, listen to the episode, review the show notes and complete the self-learning survey (https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAMAAAfSp5RUNk5VNE1MTVFHRkswR0tJWEg1S1dHS09NOS4u&route=shorturl). Your certificate will be emailed to you. Find more information at OurCare.ca/podcast  (https://www.ourcare.ca/podcast) Do you have an idea for an episode? Email primary.focus@unityhealth.to (mailto:primary.focus@unityhealth.to) Dr. Tara Kiran is a family physician and researcher who is passionate about building a stronger, more equitable primary care system in Canada. She practices at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto where she is also a scientist at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions. In 2022, Dr. Kiran launched OurCare, a national initiative to engage the public in shaping the future of primary care in Canada. You can learn more about Dr. Kiran’s research here: https://maphealth.ca/kiran/ (https://maphealth.ca/kiran/) Primary Focus is supported by a grant from the St. Michael’s Foundation. Dr. Tara Kiran is supported as the Fidani Chair in Improvement and Innovation at the University of Toronto and a Scientist in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit primaryfocus.substack.com (https://primaryfocus.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

3. 

   17 Sept 2026

   [From the Vault] In the Netherlands: after-hours care that works

   Emergency departments in Canada are overcrowded — but what if they didn’t have to be? In Part Three of her audio documentary series from the Netherlands, Dr. Tara Kiran takes listeners behind the scenes at two Dutch after-hours clinics: one in the university town of Nijmegen, and another in bustling Amsterdam. She follows Dr. Tim Olde Hartman into a modern after-hours centre that serves over 400,000 people — and learns how Dutch GPs came together to fix a broken model. Rather than being on call alone, GPs in the Netherlands now work together in large regional cooperatives to provide care 24/7. Patients call one number, speak with a specially trained practice assistant, and are guided to the right level of care — whether that’s phone advice, an in-person visit, or a doctor dispatched directly to their home. It’s a system built on trust, triage, and teamwork — and it results in emergency rooms that are calm, efficient, and often… empty. Mainpro+ Credits Family doctors in Canada can now earn Mainpro+ credits by listening to Primary Focus Podcast episodes published after May 1, 2026. This self-learning Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Chapter for up to 30 Mainpro+ credits, with 1 credit available per eligible episode. To claim your credit, listen to the episode, review the show notes and complete the self-learning survey (https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=DQSIkWdsW0yxEjajBLZtrQAAAAAAAAAAAAMAAAfSp5RUNk5VNE1MTVFHRkswR0tJWEg1S1dHS09NOS4u&route=shorturl). Your certificate will be emailed to you. Find more information at OurCare.ca/podcast  (http://OurCare.ca/podcast) Resources If you missed Part 1 (https://primaryfocus.substack.com/p/in-the-netherlands-a-day-in-a-gp) and Part 2 (https://primaryfocus.substack.com/p/in-the-netherlands-a-day-in-a-gp-8a4), click to catch up. See a gallery (https://primaryfocus.substack.com/p/through-the-lens-primary-care-in) of Dr. Kiran’s photos from her trip to the Netherlands. Hear Dr. Kiran speaking about her trip on CBC’s White Coat, Black Art (https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/most-people-in-denmark-and-the-netherlands-have-a-doctor-here-s-what-canada-can-learn-1.7463900) Read Dr. Kiran’s 4-part series (https://canadianhealthcarenetwork.ca/how-dutch-ensure-95-citizens-have-family-doctor) for the Canadian Health Network on her trip Read an article about Tara’s host, Dr. Tim Olde Hartman: A Giant Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (https://medicsvoices.com/tim-olde-hartman-face-of-the-future-of-family-medicine/) Subscribe to our Substack newsletter (https://primaryfocus.substack.com/) to get bonus content. Do you have an idea for an episode? Email primary.focus@unityhealth.to (mailto:primary.focus@unityhealth.to) Dr. Tara Kiran is a family physician and researcher who is passionate about building a stronger, more equitable primary care system in Canada. She practices at St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto where she is also a scientist at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions. In 2022, Dr. Kiran launched OurCare, a national initiative to engage the public in shaping the future of primary care in Canada. You can learn more about Dr. Kiran’s research here: https://maphealth.ca/kiran/ (https://maphealth.ca/kiran/) Primary Focus is supported by a grant from the St. Michael’s Foundation. Dr. Tara Kiran is supported as the Fidani Chair in Improvement and Innovation at the University of Toronto and a Scientist in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit primaryfocus.substack.com (https://primaryfocus.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

578

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 34 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

42

Social presence

0

YouTube

66

Engagement

0

Contact Primary Focus with Dr. Tara Kiran

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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