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Letter to Editor
SharePatients shortchanged
Published: October 02, 2008 6:00 PMUpdated: October 06, 2008 1:57 PM
A Prairie-based think tank is rightly promoting the idea that Canadians have to approach the health care system more as consumers and demand excellent service.
The Winnipeg-based Frontier Centre for Public Policy has done studies that should interest patients.
It compared the health care system in Canada to 29 European countries, and found this country ranked 23rd.
This was in a consumer-oriented approach to health care and it found although the Canadian health care system offers excellent clinical outcomes, it is inefficient and slow to provide care.
The Canadian system is particularly high-spending but provides little bang for the buck.
Canada was able to finish ahead only of emerging economies such as Hungary and Latvia while scoring lower than smaller economies such as Estonia and Greece.
The report found Canadian patients can be subjected to four long waits:
• to see a family doctor, or GP;
• to see a specialist;
• for diagnostic procedures;
• for treatment.
The report says it is not unusual for these waits to add up to more than a year.
The good news is when compared to the provinces, B.C. is an average province in terms of wait times and the range of services provided, but ties for first with Ontario for clinical outcomes.
However, the think tank says compared to European nations, the Canadian health care system lacks accountability and transparency, and puts providers and bureaucrats ahead of consumers.
Most would like to be able to say recent health care reforms in B.C. promise to change that, but the health care system is a patient requiring major surgery.
Nanaimo News Bulletin
