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…
The B.C. government’s claim in the court challenge to medicare that waiting lists don’t harm patients is nothing short of ridiculous
After years of political debate and public frustration, it seems the future of Canadian health care may now depend on the outcome of a decade-long legal battle that’s now in the hands of a B.C. Supreme Court justice. The plaintiffs are Dr. Brian Day, the private Cambie Surgery Centre and four British Columbians who have…
By thinking twice before prescribing and talking with patients about the risks of medications, clinicians are tackling overuse
By Karen Born and Wendy Levinson University of Toronto Canadians are living longer than ever and we are also taking more medications than ever. And this can make us sicker, not healthier. A report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information found that one in four seniors in Canada take 10 or more medications. That’s…
The Elizabeth Wettlaufer case should serve as a warning to all of us about the issue of patient safety
By Fiona MacDonald University of the Fraser Valley and Karine Levasseur University of Manitoba We’ve all been there: it’s 3 a.m. and your partner, child, sibling or parent becomes ill suddenly and needs medical care. Will they be safe? The public inquiry into the safety and security of residents in the long-term care homes system…
The amount we pay for health care through the tax system depends on family income and size
By Milagros Palacios and Bacchus Barua The Fraser Institute The fall federal election showed that politicians across the spectrum are happy to promise to spend more on our government-run health-care system. Whether the spending is for long-term care or pharmacare, the political solution to any health-care problem seems to be to pump more money into…
Instead of asking for more money and all the strings that come attached, the provinces should ask for more freedom to try new delivery models
By Bacchus Barua and Ben Eisen The Fraser Institute Despite their differences, it seems Canada’s premiers are united in one thing: demanding more federal health-care dollars. But nobody talked about the price the premiers must pay for the money from Ottawa: the freedom to design and implement policies that could actually improve care. At the…
The majority of deaths and injuries resulting from natural disasters involve seniors
By John Hirdes and Sandy van Solm University of Waterloo The combination of an aging population with increases in natural disasters has had deadly consequences for seniors. Quebec health authorities estimated that as many 70 people died as a result of the 2018 heat wave with a humidex of over 40C. Most heat-related deaths in Montreal involved…