Calling All Canadians

[irish_grrl76]

I am taking a class in medical sociology this semester and I have to do a project on the Canadian health care system.
Would any of you care to discuss the pros and cons of the system, or even just a general overview of how things work in Canada?
Thanks for you help in advance,
Alexis

[icicledreamz]

Pros- Anyone can get medical care. For people with lower incomes, it is completly covered and free. Abortion is free here. Therapy and psychiatrist services are completley free as long as your refered by a doctor.

Cons- Very long waits for clinc and hospital(ER) visits.
For the ER its usually atleast a 6 hour wait.
People tend to go to the ER and clinic for every little things seeing as its free. Its crowded alot of the time.
Its also hard to get prescribed certain medications here, we have alot of problems here with drug abuse so doctors tend to be a bit more weary.

thats all i can think of right now..

[carrhart]

Living in Canada seems like it would be fantastic. I'm slightly jealous. =x

[new.slang]

Cons- Abortion is free?

[img]smileys/smilies_05.gif[/img]

[icicledreamz]

Cons- Abortion is free?

[img]smileys/smilies_05.gif[/img]

True i guess..Unless its a rape victim

[irish_grrl76]

Thank you so much for your reply. Im kinda curious about this...is dental care free, as well? The price we have to pay for dental procedures is outrageous, especially if you don't have dental insurance.
Also,is it true that you guys can get pain killers like Vicodin over the counter? A friend told me that and I was shocked.

[icicledreamz]

Thank you so much for your reply. Im kinda curious about this...is dental care free, as well? The price we have to pay for dental procedures is outrageous, especially if you don't have dental insurance.
Also,is it true that you guys can get pain killers like Vicodin over the counter? A friend told me that and I was shocked.

No dental is not free, it can cost quite a bit as well if you dont have insurance.

And as far as i know you cannot get painkillers like vicoden over the counter, unless you buy it ilegally on the street lolEdited by: icicledreamz

[canucchink]

In Ontario, our public health insurance system is called OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan)

You get a nifty card that you present everytime you see your family or walk-in-clinic doctor. It's free to see your doctor. How much does it cost in the U.S... $10?

We also get free annual eye exams until the age of 20.

They used to cover lots of things, but they've been cut over the years (e.g. chiropractic services)

Wait times in the ER are long though. Waited 6 hours to see a doctor.

http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/.../ohip/services .html

[carrhart]

You get a nifty card that you present everytime you see your family or walk-
in-clinic doctor. It's free to see your doctor. How much does it cost in the
U.S... $10?

HA! I wish. Last time I went to my doctor about a month ago for a simple
check up, it cost me $210 dollars out of pocket. PLUS the $250 it cost me
for my prescriptions. It's horrific. But I think our insurance plan just sucks.

[john f.]

Our health system only seems good when directly compared to
America, and only from the viewpoint of an average low or middle-
income family whom a socialized system would benefit. Most of
Western Europe actually ranks better than us going by the World
Health Organization rankings.

As far as everyone getting coverage goes, yeah it's great, but
it's nothing special. That's the norm amongst developed nations
(other than America obviously, the only "rich" country without).
But other factors, like wait time as others have mentioned, really
bring our system to its knees. This stems from an ongoing and
PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0013191">severe doctor/nurse shortage
which is the result of brain-drain. Many of our best and brightest
simply move to America so they can get rich off people's
desperation.

[john f.]

Aw my link didn't work. How about now: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?
PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0013191

[alwaysafraid]

I think their are a lot of false beliefs about health care in Canada. True, everyone has "free" health care services but good luck treying to get them. I just watched a news story the other day about a woman with a known brain tumor who was waiting 6 months for her surgery here in Canada! She started losing her vision so she re-mortgaged her house and went to the U.S. For the surgery and got it the next day. Hearing stories like that disgust me. You think you'll get the care when you "really need it" so you suffer through the wait times for minor issues. I have doubts about how readily available the treatment is when you do really need it. We don't have enough nurses or doctors and lose many that we train to the U.S. Because our system is so devastated.
My opinion is health insurance will be privatized sooner than later and I for one can't wait. I would gladly pay for better care.
PS. I'm a nurse in Ontario, Canada and I used to live and work in the U.S. I went to the U.S. Because I couldn't get a nurse job here when I graduated (there were none!). I came came to be near family, certainly not because I thought Canada's health care system was supperior! I am more disgusted by our system now than I ever was! Can you tell....hahaha....and now Ikm done my rant

[irish_grrl76]

Thanks so much for the responses....thanks for the links, too. [img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[hippychick]

I am from the UK staying in Canada, I think Canada shares a lot of the same problems as the UK when it comes to healthcare in that it is wildly under funded and it depends on where you live and which doctor you see, wait lists etc. My gf for example has a fantastic doctor at a good hospital, she keeps getting polyps in her colon, which if left undetected could turn into cancer.

Now her doctor has her coming in every year for a colonoscopy, he has also sent her for tests on her bladder,kidneys,stomach and uterus as polyps can grow outwards. He is very thorough and she has had to wait almost no time at all for this. If she were in America and without insurance she would be in trouble!

I had to visit a walk in clinic when I was ill. It was $80 for me to see the doctor (as I don't have an OHIP card) and $20 for the medication. Not bad really.

All healthcare systems have their problems and things happen that really shouldn't. But I do think that people should not be forced to go bankrupt should they be found to have an illness like cancer.Edited by: hippychick

[sage]

I've never had a problem receiving health care in Canada. Yes, you can wait hours in the ER if you have a "simple" illness that you need looked at. But when my husband, age 52, had chest pains he didn't have to wait 5 seconds. Also, when I had breast cancer I got my surgery immediately. Got chemo immediately. Got radiation immediately.

I did have to wait 4 years for elective surgery, however.

The biggest problem now, in British Columbia, is the lack of doctors. There's one doctor for every 865 people in BC. My doctor retired and there are no new family doctors to be had. Which means a wait of several hours at a walk-in clinic to see a doctor. Which sucks.

The other problem is the closing of hospitals in remote areas in favour of larger central facilities.

All in all, I'm glad I live in Canada and glad that every Canadian has equal access to great doctors, specialists and treatments.