I need help from Canadian DUers...Yes it's about healthcare.

[armyowalgreens]

I've been doing some reading on the Canadian healthcare system. I have specifically tried to find statistics on wait periods for certain procedures.

I know the US right wing has been talking about how long people wait for different types of medical procedures in Canadian system, but is this really true?


From what I've read, it seems that you can schedule appointments for non-emergency procedures for a few months out. Do a lot of people just schedule them a few months out because they don't mind waiting? How does that system work?

Thanks

[MichaelHarris]

1. Watch Sicko

the "waits" you hear about are just right-wing talking points. My buddy and his wife live in Canada and they just had a baby, there is no wait for routine healthcare and certainly no wait for emergency healthcare.

[armyowalgreens]

3. Sicko was really good.

But I wanted to info from other Canadians as well. I don't like trusting just one source.

Thanks for the info though.

[lapfog_1]

2. God, I'd love to be on some waiting list right now. Any waiting list. - n/t

[Mythsaje]

4. Not Canadian, but you might find this helpful...

http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/february/10_myths_about_canad.php

[Canuckistanian]

5. It depends on a lot of things

First off, each province has their own system - some are better than others for wait times. It depends on how good a particular system is at managing their resources.

Also, it depends on what type of procedure is needed. For specialties like heart or neurosurgery, I think our systems are compatible. But some things like hip or knee replacement can be longer. But not ridiculously longer.

My wife had a hip replacement about 6 years ago and she only had to wait about two months. And it was her choice. She was a teacher and wanted to wait for the end of the school year. So, yes, the patient and doctor make the decision when the surgery gets done, mostly dependent on availability of a surgeon or special equipment.

And there are other factors such as Urban/Rural locations.

Actually, this article found by DUer Postman last night is an excellent guide:
"10 Myths About Canadian Health Care, Busted"
http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/february/10_myths_about_canad.php

If you need any specific statistics, I'm sure I can find them for you, or you can try the Canadian government Health Canada site.

[Joe the Liberal]

6. Lol....

"I know the US right wing has been talking about how long people wait for different types of medical procedures in Canadian system, but is this really true?"

C'mon armyowalgreens you should know by now that nearly EVERYTHING the right wing says these days is not true and is propaganda 90% of the time. As far as your question goes I'm not really sure being that I have never lived in Canada. The wait times here in the US are long, at least from my experience. I wouldn't mind waiting a bit more in exchange for having single payer though.

[quakerboy]

7. My wife, the canadian

Says that she was able to schedule non emergency stuff with virtually no waiting(a few days). The only catch being that if an emergency situation came up, it would bump her non emergency and, so sometimes would end up with a wait.

I haven't experienced their system, but I did get to experience the UK system. That was kick ass. I had a cold while on vacation, and it got bad. Went in, they saw me, they did all the x-rays and tests, everything that I would have had to go back 3 times to convince my HMO at the time that it was serious enough to actually do. The Dr had the BEST bedside manner I have ever encountered.

For a visitor to the country... No charge. Nada. Nothing.

Plus VAT was already added into the shelf price, none of this "heres your price, and add x for tax" screweyness. Why the hell cant the US and Canada do that with sales tax?

[bluedeminredstate]

8. My Mom lives in Canada

on Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province. PEI has a couple problems - lack of enough professionals in specialties and lack of resources. A wait for a routine mammagram can be up to 9 months. An MRI can be 6 months or more. I know recently she was visiting my sister in California and had to return home by May 15th because her appt with the ortho guy had been scheduled for almost a year.
PEI is not indicative of all of Canada, but they have some real major problems that leave many people waiting long periods of time for routine procedures. I don't know how much of the problem can be fixed by federal intervention as far as getting basic equiment - I think the whole Island has 1 MRI machine for a population of 100,000 and how much is provincial responsibility.
Also, PEI is rural, cold and relatively poor, so it doesn't attract that many doctors that are needed. Just getting a family doctor right now is a huge problem, let alone getting a specialist.
Many people go to Halifax for things they get get on the Island but that is expensive and many people can't afford the trip.

[demodonkey]

10. My mom waited over 9 mos to see an ortho specialist in Philadelphia.

In the end after all that, the Doctor said she couldn't do anything for my mother anyway and to just live with the pain.

:shrug:

[HughBeaumont]

9. Kick for later use.

Good subject.