Research Topic- 2nd Draft
Medical
quality varies from what we get in the United States versus our neighbors such
as Canada. If the United States and Canada can agree one thing, it’s that
neither countries want the others system. Canada who practices a single payer
system while the US follows who ever can afford the care. The United States has
the capabilities of providing the world’s best care with the technology we have
and the innovation that is around us, Canada has the same capacities but the
difference comes in the cost and how that treatment is given. Quality between
the two nations is significant.
It
is a misconception that in Canada has waitlists for all sorts of medical
attention. In some capacity that is true, just like in the United States. Many
US citizens are having to cross the border to Canada to receive a treatment at
a much less cost and a much better quality. Canada in the recent years has
become one of the countries that is at the bottom of the list for quick access
to a healthcare provider. CBC News surveyed 11 countries and found that Canada
is the 11th country in terms of long wait times to see a patient. Many
patients are unable to see a physician for months, this leads to the patients
going to the emergency rooms where wait times can be as long as 6 hours. In the
United States, we are able to see a doctor many times the next day. CBC News
reported that People in the U.S. have quicker access to their family doctors,
with 48 per cent of those polled saying they could get a same-day or
next-day appointment, ranking second last among the 11 countries.
Aside from wait times, the next concern is how
long does each doctor get with each patient and what kind of quality healthcare
we get. It really depends on the physician in many cases. Doctors who are
concerned with quick turnovers and more insurance claims will try to limit
their visits to 15 minutes or less per patient. Erin Brodwin and Dragan
Radovanovic found that most patients have reported their office visits with
their physician has been between 13 minutes and 16 minutes which also depends
on the gender of the doctor, see figure 1 for more information. Although this
seems like a short period, this time is consistent from previous surveys that
were taken back in 2011.
Many
doctors in Ontario have taken a similar approach. Doctors have announced that
they will be cutting back on how much time they spend with each patient. Each
patient has been allotted a maximum of 15 minutes per visit with a sign posted
in offices asking the patients to limit their questions to 2 questions or less
per visit. This change was not to deter patients from coming to the office but
due to the government healthcare cuts. Dr Douglas Mark said “The government is
rationing healthcare. We have half the hospital beds we need. We need 50 per
cent more doctors right now.”
“There
are people waiting everywhere for access to emergency departments and
specialists — so doctors are doing this as a form of survival.”
Although
a single payer system is great it does have its disadvantages, just like any
other system in the world. Comparing the two countries shows that most of the
system is the same, and not much has changed but much has been more
complicated. Our goal is to enhance the medical attention provided, comparing
the quality is a difficult thing to do. This is much harder when many patients
are still waiting for their appointments for months in advance and are limited
to how many questions are asked per visit. At least in the United States,
that’s not the case. Many doctors are changing how the office is run but not
much can change when the government keeps changing the healthcare system and
regulations. We need to be more proactive rather than reactive, this would help
reduce a lot of the chronic problems we encounter.
https://globalnews.ca/news/2790203/ontario-physicians-limit-patient-visits-to-highlight-government-cuts/
Your blog had me a bit confused, as it included many health topics. I assume this second draft about Canada's healthcare system is you final focus. I have looked into this as well. There are a number of interesting ways to address this problem. Here is a table from Wikipedia comparing health statistics across OECD countries is complex.
ReplyDeleteIf you look at the link on footnote 134, you will find a link to the Frasier Institute's 2017 study. Also, if you read further, you will understand the role that senior migration plays in these costs.
Finally, you may also find that wait times are especially long for non-critical care, which leads to less evasive care. Certainly wait times are daunting, but there is more than just long wait times that matter.