Breast Cancer Awareness Month brings online booking for mammogram appointments at Niagara Health hospitals - St. Catharines Standard

As Breast Cancer Awareness Month is recognized this October, Niagara Health is making breast screening more convenient than ever. Niagara Health's (NH) Ontario Breast Screening Program (OBSP) is making it easier for eligible patients to access screening services with the launch of Verto, a new online self-booking platform.   Patients can view available appointment options and select a date and time that best fits their schedule, in addition to being able to reschedule or cancel appointments. Automated reminders and confirmations may help reduce missed appointments.  "Implementing Verto is an important step in improving access and enhancing patient experience,” says Daisy Trojanowski, Manager of Diagnostic Imaging, NH. "By giving patients more flexibility and control over how they schedule their appointments, we are making it easier to connect them with the care they need.”  The move to Verto is part of Niagara Health's commitment to improve patient care, enhance patient experience and modernize scheduling.  The platform is particularly beneficial for eligible patients aged 40 to 74 who can self-refer to the OBSP to book a screening mammogram.

‘Tis the season for Quebec’s covid and flu vaccination Quebec health officials are hoping to dramatically increase vaccinations against the flu and covid. They're targeting at-risk people and the number of appointments being booked has started to skyrocket. Tim Sargeant reports.

Bioengineer.org news storyFor people living with HIV, modern antiretroviral therapy can suppress the virus to levels below what standard laboratory tests can detect. Yet some patients on long-term treatment experience a curious phenomenon: a single test result showing a small, transient amount of virus in the blood, followed by an immediate return to undetectable levels. These events, known as viral blips, have puzzled clinicians and researchers for years, raising questions about whether they represent harmless statistical noise, brief bursts of viral production from hidden reservoirs, or early warnings of impending treatment failure. A new nationwide Swedish study, published in BMC Infectious Diseases, offers one of the most comprehensive answers to date. Drawing on the Swedish national InfCareHIV cohort, researchers analyzed data from 4,210 treatment-naïve adults who began antiretroviral therapy from 1 January 2007 onward, with follow-up data extracted through 30 September 2020. The median observation time was 5.5 years, with some individuals followed for as long as 13.7 years.