Canadas Declining Health Care System and the Brain Drain Essays

Health care expenditure accounted for an estimated 11% (214.9 billion) of Canada’s GDP in 2014 (CIHI, 2014). Canada boasts a universal, cost-effective and fair health care system to its citizens (Picard, 2010). However, despite great claims and large expenses incurred Canada’s health care system has been reported inefficient in it’s delivery to the population (Davis, Schoen, & Stremikis, 2010; Picard, 2010). As inconsistencies exist in health care delivery across the country, choosing priorities for the health of the Canadian people becomes of vital importance. In Ontario, progress toward a better health care system has been stated to be moving forward by putting the needs of the “patient’s first” (Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care [MOHLTC], 2015). This policy brief will give a background of health care issues in Canada related to Ontario. Three evidence-based priorities will be suggested for Ontario’s health policy agenda for the next three to five years. Furthermore, through a critical analysis of these issues a recommendation of the top priority issue for the agenda will be presented.

In order to sustain the health care system, the Canadian government needs to strategically plan for the years ahead and invest more in preventative care rather than curative care. Canada should enforce non-medical health policies which are not only going to promise healthy living for

This paper will discuss the Canadian healthcare system compared to the United States healthcare system. Although they’re close in proximity, these two nations have very different health care systems. Each healthcare system has its own difficulties, and is currently trying to find ways to improve. Canada currently uses the Universal Health Care system; which provides healthcare coverage to all Canadian citizens (Canadian Health Care, 2007). The services are executed on both a territorial and provincial basis, by staying within the guidelines that have been enforced by the federal government (Canadian Health Care, 2007).

When asked to describe what makes Canada unique compared to other countries, many outsiders might yell out “Hockey!” “Cold Weather!” or “Free Health Care!.” Health care is definitely one of Canada’s most noticeable trademarks when compared to the United States, but the reality is that our health care services are not what they are made out to be. Canadians tend to take pride in the fact that they have a Government funded health care system, but the system is failing at a rapid pace. One can gage the quality of health care in our country while at the emergency ward in any hospital, where most Canadians realize its downsides. The Government spends most of its budget towards health care but Canadians are not feeling an improvement. Waiting

Canada’s healthcare cost constitutes a large share of GDP. Although this may be a good thing as it reflects on a country’s increased wealth and ability to pay for valued care, however in the case of Canada, there is a strongly held belief that the growth rate in Canada is not sustainable nor is it necessarily improving our outcomes.

There has been a decreasing number of international medical graduates (IMGs) in the U.S. since 1980.

Most Canadians are very proud of their health care because it provides citizens universal coverage on the basis of need. However, in the recent decade, Canadians have observed obvious deterioration in the quality of the system in regards to waiting times, availability of the best technology, and adequate numbers of doctors and nurses. The apparent decline within the system has made many Canadians more open to a variety of options than they were a decade ago, provided that the core elements of the system are preserved and that these changes lead to tangible improvements in quality without damaging accessibility. In the article Canadians’ Thoughts on Their Health Care System: Preserving the Canadian Model through Innovation by Matthew Mendelsohn, he stated that 1/3 of Canadians support the two-tiered healthcare system, which offers its citizens an option of public or private health care. Canada will benefit from a two-tier health care system because it will shorten waiting times, other countries with two-tier healthcare have proven to be successful, will encourage doctors to return and stay in Canada, introduce competition and give citizens freedom to choose.

Although Canada has always been considered a small country, its achievements in medicine are far from small. They have greatly benefited Canada and improved the country’s way of life. In fact, Canadian physician Dr. Frederick Banting discovered insulin to treat diabetes. Also, Michael smith developed site-directed mutagenesis to alter and identify genes. Lastly, doctors at Toronto Hospital For Sick Children produced Pablum to treat rickets. These notable breakthroughs in Canadian medicine have positively impacted Canadian life.

The vacant positions need to be filled by new “cogs” and the physicians will do this is if they receive lots of money (Phillips, 2014). Money isn’t always what is going to draw people to work in Saskatchewan (Kaul, 2013). It could be the lifestyle, opportunities and many other aspects (Kaul, 2013). They may have come to the country to provide their family with a better life and opportunity but to the government they are just here to work.

The Canadian healthcare system has been lagging behind other westernized countries except the United States in terms of quality, access, efficiency, and equity. According to a study by the CHSRF (Canadian Health Services Research Foundation), findings suggest substantially worse performance in Canada for: wait times for diagnostic tests, discharge reports, and being consulted in emergency departments. These issues are a generic sign of lack of system organization and support in Canada compared with other international jurisdictions (Katz, 2009). When searching for differences between different provinces in Canada in regards to access to a family doctor,

In addition to the mile-long waiting lists, the idealism of universal health care has also left Canada with problems, one problem being, having basic technology and machinery, when it could be advanced. Although Canada is the fifth highest among OECD countries in terms of total spending on health, it is generally among the bottom third of OECD countries in availability of technology.7 The local comparison is equally unfavourable. CT scanners, nuclear medicine facilities, MRIs, lithotriptors, positron emission tomography, specialized intensive-care facilities, and cardiac catheter labs are all less likely to be found at a community hospital in Canada than at a similar hospital in the United States. Angioplasty and transplant facilities

To help improve this situation, the government can implement a two-tiered system where the patients have the option to choose between a private healthcare provider and the public system we currently have nationwide. This will then create a competitive edge in Canada’s medical sector, therefore resulting in an increase in passionate doctors. This “passion” is triggered by one thing - money. At the end of the day, we are all human beings and the most important aspect of our lives is health, it is the most important contribution we, as Canadians, as a nation, can make to not only ourselves, but future generations to

Another issue that fuels opposition to privatization of health care is the fear of an American model system. However, in reality, if the advocates of the two-tier system were to win their case, our healthcare would rather be much closer to the most efficient universal systems in the world, such as German’s multi-payer health care. The Canadian healthcare structure is an oddity among developed countries in that the public sector has almost a complete monopoly on both financing of the system and the delivery of health care, while the role of the private health sector is exclusively limited to the services not covered by the public system. Moreover, Canada is alone in prohibiting health care professionals from practicing in both the private and

The number of physicians in the country has been decreasing at such a great rate that the government and other stakeholders in the health care sector are trying to camouflage this by increasing the number of foreign doctors practicing in the country. The American Medical Association has been trying to promote these re-entry programs designed for physicians since the year 2009 to help curb this problem. There are many people who can see what the problem is, but it is not possible for them to do much about it. Physicians also see this problem, and they are well aware of why the shortage is arising, but they are also unable to do much to prevent the issue. There are many problems that lead to the shortage of physicians, and unless something is done, it will continue escalating ADDIN EN.CITE Lynch19721573(Lynch, 1972)1573157317Lynch, MichaelThe Physician "Shortage": The Economists' MirrorAnnals of the American Academy of Political and Social ScienceAnnals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science82-88399ArticleType: research-article / Issue Title: The Nation's Health: Some Issues / Full publication date: Jan., 1972 / Copyright © 1972 American Academy of Political and Social Science1972Sage Publications, Inc. in association with the American Academy of Political and Social Science00027162http://www.jstor.org/stable/1040122( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_6" o "Lynch, 1972 #1573" Lynch, 1972).

The migration of health workers from developing countries to developed countries has arisen several aspects regarding this global trend. This phenomenon so-called ‘’brain drain’’ is defined as the movement of intellectual and highly qualified professionals in pursuit of improved quality of life, higher wages, access to high-technology and good working conditions (Dodani & LaPorte, 2005; Afzal et al., 2012). This movement has become a global concern in the 1940s, when professionals migrated from Europe to the United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK) (Dodani & LaPorte, 2005; Afzal et al., 2012). The ‘’brain drain’’ has economic, social and health implications including the impact on healthcare systems in source