Client interfaces in law and medicine are as moribund as they were a century ago. It’s time to use technology to better advantage
In the time of the 1918-19 Spanish flu, the world was very different. Of course, there was no Internet, TV or social media. In fact, there wasn’t even any radio until a few years later. All the news was provided by the newspaper and almost all long-distance transportation was by rail or ship. We’ve come…
For too long, Canada has failed to embrace many foreign-trained physicians. COVID-19 has exposed serious flaws in the system
A corner has been turned in the COVID-19 pandemic, even if serious questions linger. Although we still don’t know how long the pandemic will last, we’re beginning to see more ideas on what the world will look like once we’ve put this behind us. When that will be or how we will get there is…
Canada’s hopelessly dysfunctional and dangerous government-monopoly health-care system one of the least prepared in the world to deal with the crisis
The Liberal government’s plan to use Canada’s “fiscal firepower” to help Canadian families and businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic has been appropriately termed “a measured well-targeted response” by the Fraser Institute. But no amount of cash can change the terrible reality that Canada’s health-care system is one of the least prepared to deal with the…
Thousands of patients are on wait lists. Meanwhile, the human and economic costs of mental illness keep rising
For the past decade, Bell Canada has used the month of January to support awareness of mental health issues. Its extensive media campaigns have encouraged Canadians to talk openly about mental health and break the uncomfortable stigma that still tends to hover over such conversations. There’s plenty of data to document the prevalence of Canada’s…
Want to strike fear into the heart of any Canadian? Just mention wait times. We’re all really proud of our universal, single-payer medicare system, especially when we compare it to the situation in the United States. However, it’s not quite perfect. A major imperfection is the length of time between becoming aware of a need…
Idyllic descriptions of medicare do not fairly represent the challenging realities that are the day-to-day experiences of many Canadians
As the title suggests, The American Prospect article What Medicare for All Really Looks Like claims to describe the realities of Canadian medicare to our southern neighbours. So, it is both ironic – and disappointing – that a careful reading reveals it to be remarkable only in its unwillingness to examine these realities in any meaningful…
In its sole reliance on government providing first-dollar coverage of medically necessary services, Canada’s health-care system is unique among high-income countries with universal health care. It also offers inferior service as a result. Virtually all high-income countries – including Australia, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands – allow residents to use private insurance to pay for…
It’s no easy feat in the often-intractable and rigid Canadian health system, but the payoff can be immense for patients and care providers
By Clare Liddy and Erin Keely University of Ottawa It all started when the two of us sat down over a cup of coffee. As a family physician and endocrinologist, we stand on opposite sides of a large chasm called patient wait times, and we both started seeing more and more of our patients swallowed…
Postpartum OCD is frequently misdiagnosed and misunderstood – but it is treatable, help is available
By Gina Wong Athabasca University and Nicole Letourneau University of Calgary In January of 2018, a new mother in California became part of a viral Facebook post that described her baby’s four-month postpartum checkup. As a result of the thoughts she shared with her health-care providers, the police were called and she was escorted to…
Increased spending has entrenched an inefficient system that has inflated the cost of getting the same outcomes. It’s time for change
Canada has doubled health care spending since 2005 – and what did we get? We certainly haven't improved access to care, nor improved health outcomes. Increased spending has, instead, entrenched an inefficiently organized system that has inflated the cost of getting, at best, the same access and outcomes. The alternative to spending to meet rising…