The competition will pressure governments to improve the public system Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s proposal to use private health centres to alleviate long wait lists has faced opposition from many quarters. It may seem counterintuitive, but Ford’s plan will actually ease the shortages of doctors and nurses. It was B.C.’s NDP government of the early…
New Health Accord should reject per capita funding model – and consider the precise and evidence-based concept of frailty instead
By John Muscedere Canadian Frailty Network and Samir Sinha National Institute on Aging Canada's per capita health funding formula fails to address the clear and growing need created by our frail population. When the previous Health Accord expired in 2014, the Conservative government unilaterally established a new funding model for federal health transfer payments to…
Health minister Jane Philpott has an opportunity to improve the health care system. But will she take it?
This week Canada's Minister of Health, Dr. Jane Philpott, will meet with her provincial and territorial counterparts in Vancouver. This is no ordinary get-together. In his mandate letter to the Minister, Prime Minister Trudeau tasked Philpott with "engaging provinces and territories in the development of a new, multi-year Health Accord with long-term funding agreement." This…
Any new accord needs to address particular regional concerns with a distinct contract between Ottawa and each province
In the Speech from the Throne and since, the Trudeau government has clearly said it is ready to re-engage with the provinces and territories on health care. This is a welcome development, especially after the Harper government’s unwillingness to provide any leadership or even play a secondary role in health care reform. But even though…
A new health accord must include the establishment of a dedicated health workforce agency
The growing talk of a new health care accord between the federal government and the provinces and territories is great news, but any accord won't be a success unless it includes the establishment of a dedicated health workforce agency in Canada. Such a workforce agency is a reality in pretty much every other country except…
The current system forces Canadian patients to wait too long for medically necessary care
A few days ago the Fraser Institute released its annual report measuring wait times across Canada. Much has already been said about the national results – that we’ve seen no improvement over the past three years, that this year’s wait is almost twice as long as it was in 1993, and that physicians are consistently…
Individuals with both psychiatric and medical illnesses can't get the care they need it because of the way health services are delivered
By Sanjeev Sockalingam and Paul Kurdyak University of Toronto Our health system often puts mental and physical health into distinct silos of care, yet no such mind-body separation exists in actual patients. Many individuals with chronic physical conditions simultaneously experience mental health issues. According to the World Health Organization, four of the six leading causes…
Achieving these four goals can lead to the next, necessary evolution in health care
Health care is under the purview of provinces in Canada, but health leadership – setting big picture goals, helping achieve best practices across the country, and providing long-term, sustainable funding models – is the role of the federal government. As the federal election campaign wages, Canadians should be pressing federal political parties to take a…
Doctors of BC election for president a battle between which values – profit or public good – will guide the profession
By Vanessa Brcic and Ryan Meili Family physicians Normally provincial medical association elections are not national news. The one vote difference between first and second place in the race for president of the Doctors of BC – later declared a tie after a recount – might be enough to grab people’s attention. The real story…