Originally posted by: LikeLinus
Originally posted by: RichardE
Originally posted by: LikeLinus
I was in Canada a few weeks ago and spoke with a few natives about the healthcare in Canada. The healthcare system up there is hurting for expert doctors in the major fields. There is a cap on the amount that a doctor can make, so in turn most of the good doctors leave Canada and come to the U.S. to make good money. They basically said that the social healthcare system is great for day to day sickness and checkups. But the problem comes that if you have anything major, that you end up going to the US to get experts healthcare specialist. So you end up paying for that out of pocket, or get just OK care in Canada.
They said they raised that cap not too long ago, but that there is a serious shortage and will be for some time.
My mom has MS/Epilepsy, my father has Arthritis and 2 knee replacements and my grandfather has had a knee, hip, triple bypass surgery, finally, my second grandfather has Althziemers (sp)
Anyway, with all that, no ones had to wait more than a week for something if that long and only if it was not serious. The people you talked too are quacks.
Where did I say anything about the length of time? Did you even freaking bother reading what I actually wrote? My post was in regards to the quality of care for medical conditions that require expert doctors, not things like freaking Arthritist. We're talking about Cancers and rare diseases that take specialist in their fields.
Additionally, I spoke with 4 people over dinner. Two were American born who moved there with the company and two were born Canadian. All of them had the same thing to say. I can't say I would consider 4 employees of a Fortune 50 company "quacks". But let's be honest here, I am replying to an ATOT. Most of them are kids and idiots.
This doesn't even get into the fact that they also said it's really hard to get a general family doctor because there are not enough doctors to patients. One of our employees moved up there and had to wait 8 months for a general family doctor and it was #7 on their list. The problem is their just aren't enough doctors to support the amount of patients.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H..._professional_shortage
Canada's shortage of medical practitioners causes problems.[28] With 2.2 doctors per thousand population, Canada is well below the OECD average of 3.0, although its 10 nurses per thousand was slightly above the OECD average of 8.6.[29] Suggested solutions include increasing the number of training spaces for doctors in Canada, as well as streamlining the licensing process for foreign doctors already in the country.[30]
Doctors in Canada make an average of $202,000 a year (2006, before expenses).[31] Alberta has the highest average salary of around $230,000, while Quebec has the lowest average annual salary at $165,000, creating interprovincial competition for doctors and contributing to local shortages.[31]
In 1991, the Ontario Medical Association agreed to become a province-wide closed shop, making the OMA union a monopoly. Critics argue that this measure has restricted the supply of doctors to guarantee its members' incomes.[32]
According to a 2007 article, the Canadian medical profession is suffering from a brain drain. The article states, "One in nine trained-in-Canada doctors is practising medicine in the United States... If Canadian-educated doctors who were born in the U.S. are excluded, the number is one in 12." [4]
In September 2008, the Ontario Medical Association and the Ontarian government agreed to a new four-year contract that will see doctors receive a 12.25% pay raise. The new agreement is expected to cost Ontarians an extra $1 billion. Referring to the agreement, Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty said,"One of the things that we've got to do, of course, is ensure that we're competitive ... to attract and keep doctors here in Ontario..."
So that article basically supports exactly what I was told. 1. There are not enough doctors 2. They were not paid enough and a raise was just instituted. 3. The doctors are moving to the US.
FURTHER MORE
"One of the major complaints about the Canadian health care system is waiting times, whether for a specialist, major elective surgery, such as hip replacement, or specialized treatments, such as radiation for breast cancer. Studies by the Commonwealth Fund found that 57% of Canadians reported waiting 4 weeks or more to see a specialist; 24% of Canadians waited 4 hours or more in the emergency room.[20]"
EDUCATE YOURSELF. Read that whole link and you'll realize that you know nothing.