Canadian WaitLists - Need Help with Myth & Facts

[garthranzz]

For a class I'm teaching, students are writing about the health care/insurance reform debate. Several allude to the "Canadian Wait List" issue. Does anyone have a reference to reliable sources that have statistics and/or explanations? Testimonials for or against the Canadian system can help, but what I need are facts and figures. Thanks in advance.

[greennina]

1. Why are you assuming they exist?

You sound like a repuke.

[garthranzz]

2. ??????

I'm asking for references and sources about the Canadian health system. I want to REFUTE the myths. One video I saw on DU quoted a nurse or health administrator (I forget which) that the waits were for elective surgery, and that Canada triaged based on need, not ability to pay. I'm looking for things like that, that are not anecdotal.

?????

[parasim]

8. Why are you assuming they don't?

You sound like an idiot.

Of course, they have a wait-time issue and that's why they are working on solving it.

[gateley]

9. Why are you reading into the OP? I see nothing that indicates the OP

"assumes" anything, instead, trying to get information. That's a much wiser and Democratic approach than just judging and name calling. Now THAT sounds like a Repuke.

[Posteritatis]

15. Not a country on this planet that doesn't have wait issues at times

The difference is that Canada has wait issues at times, while Republicans and libertarians in the US are saying that we need to wait months to see a GP, or have an axe extracted, or what-have-you, which just isn't the case.

[area51]

3. Here's just one link

right here. And google is always your friend.

[parasim]

4. I got a few links here

I was researching it for a rebuttal email to my nutcase cousin... anyway, this is some stuff I found:

http://www.ryananddebi.com/2008/12/19/healthcare-wait-t... /
http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/products/emergency_depart...
http://www.insurance-canada.ca/consinfohealth/infonews/...

[opihimoimoi]

5. If any "wait list" existed....it wouldn't last for long...them pesky Nuks would not stand for it ..

not for long.....

They would insist more doctors are brought in to address any short comings....its evolution at work...solving and implementation for a given problem...

[vanlassie]

6. Triaged based on need? That's being done here too.

I had an MRI 6 weeks ago and still don't have the results. Why? Because they were referred to a neurosurgeon who reviews every file BEFORE the appointment is made to see him, since he is seeing people based on need. I would love to think this means there is nothing wrong with me, but my neck, arm and shoulder are painful and the tingling and numbness in my hand persists.

[paulsby]

i was able to get an MRI

appointment for 30 minutes from the time i called them (to give me travel time). this was at about 3 pm, and by THAT EVENING, the dr . called me with the results and i quote:"the most dramatic MRI he had ever seen"

in 1 1/2 weeks i had already met with a surgeon, set up the appt for the surgery, and had the surgery

experiences obviously vary.

[Posteritatis]

14. I got a CT scan on about eight hours' notice a couple of years ago

They don't kid around up here when they suspect an actual serious problem. (I didn't have an actual problem, as it turned out, but I was presenting symptoms that made them - and me - suspect there might be something going on in my brain that shouldn't be, so they wanted to rule that out Right Now.)

My dad has a chronic stomach problem that the docs are trying to figure out, but as they've managed most of the issues with that on an as-it-happens basis and he's not in any danger, they're more leisurely about specialist appointments and the like. If there's an emergency he can see a doc inside an hour or two, though.

[paulsby]

16. mine was for a shoulder injury

i injured it on saturday during a sports event i competed in

on sunday, i went to the clinic and got an x-ray.

it was negative and the dr. said to see my dr. on monday.

on monday, i called @ 10 am and was able to get an appt for 2pm

i was done by 2:45 and called in to the MRI place and got a 3:15 appt.

i thought that was pretty good.

i got the MRI results that evening.

the next day (tuesday) i called the specialist's office (orthopedic surgeon) and got an appt for thursday.

he scheduled me for surgery the 2nd following monday (11 days)

[ChoppinBroccoli]

7. Try Googling

I just googled "canadian wait list myth" and came up with lots of good stuff. The very first link it gave me was to what looks like a paper written by a medical student doing the exact same exercise you are. I know that's probably not a very powerful resource, but at the beginning of the second page, she gives a bunch of links to sites that might help you. Hope this helps. Here's the link:

http://www.amsa.org/studytours/WaitingTimes_primer.pdf

I also noticed that further down the Google list, there looked to be some good articles on the subject as well. When in doubt, always Google.

[gateley]

10. OT --

I couldn't possibly love your Username any more! One of The Best!

[parasim]

12. You know what's funny?

I just googled "canadian wait list myth" (exactly as you typed it) and it came up with exactly one hit... This thread!

[Lasher]

13. U R doin' it wrong.

I got 251,000 results. You're not including the quotes are you?

[Lasher]

11. Canada makes patients wait weeks or months for nonemergency care, as a way to control costs.

But many nations - Germany, Britain, Austria - outperform the United States on measures such as waiting times for appointments and for elective surgeries. In Japan, waiting times are so short that most patients don't bother to make an appointment.

So longer wait times are not necessarily a byproduct of universal health care. But some reports of Canadian wait times are exaggerated.

Canada has a number of different provincial and territorial programs, not one national program. Wait times can vary widely across jurisdictions, and depending upon the type of procedure involved. In Ontario, wait times currently range from 16 days for angioplasty to 177 days for pediatric surgery. Wait times in British Columbia range from 1 week for cancer radiotherapy to 11 weeks for knee replacement.

Surprisingly few Canadians travel to the United States for health care, despite the persistence of a myth to the contrary. And Canadians like their health care systems. According to a poll published on July 5 this year, Canadians overwhelmingly favor their system over the American one. Overall, 82% said they preferred the Canadian system, fully ten times the number who said the American system is superior (8%).