For a province in the middle of an election campaign, this report is receiving surprisingly little media attention;
The survey measures median waiting times to document the extent to which queues for visits to specialists and for diagnostic and surgical procedures are used to control health-care expenditures.
“It’s becoming clearer that Canada’s current health-care system cannot meet the needs of Canadians in a timely and efficient manner, unless you consider access to a waiting list timely and efficient,” Esmail added.
The 2007 survey found the total median waiting time for patients between referral from a general practitioner and treatment, averaged across all 12 specialties and 10 provinces surveyed, increased to 18.3 weeks from 17.8 weeks observed in 2006. This was primarily due to an increase in the first waiting period, between seeing the general practitioner and attending a consultation with a specialist.
[…]
The waiting time between specialist consultation and treatment — the second stage of waiting — increased to 9.1 weeks from 9.0 weeks in 2006. The shortest specialist-to-treatment waits were found in Ontario (7.3 weeks), Alberta (8.9 weeks) and Quebec (9.4 weeks), while the longest waits were in Saskatchewan (16.5 weeks), Nova Scotia (13.6 weeks) and Manitoba (12.0 weeks).
Of course, we know the drill by now. Despite our own personal experience and that of family, despite the individual cases that come to media attention, despite alarm bells being rung by doctors, despite, despite, despite – each year the Fraser Institute tells us what we already know, and Sask Health responds by telling us not to believe our own lying eyes.
And there’s the dirty little secret behind the NDP’s promise of a universal cradle-to-grave drug program – you need to see a doctor to get a prescription.
(More at the National Post)
” you need to see a doctor to get a prescription.
”
Bingo Kate. Or in this case better luck winning the lottery than getting a doctor!
You really missed it on this one Kate. Our greatest PM ever, Paul Martin, fixed this for a generation, or have you forgotten? Now do yourself a favour and stick your head in the sand and forget about it and vote NDP.
Yes, PMPM fixed health care for a generation and it only cost 40 billion.
I started ringing the alarm bells in 1998, then we had the Chaoulli Supreme Court case in 2005, and now the 17th annual report on Health Care Waiting Times suggests that health care wait times are increasing.
As I suggested in my brief:
“There have long been two standards of inevitablity, death and taxes. There are those however who prefer death, as it doesn’t get worse every time Parliament or the Legislative Assembly meet.”
Looks like the funeral home business stocks should be increasing revenue soon.
Referals to a specialist are fun. You may see that specialist a zillion times, but if you let say 6 months go between visits, you’re back to square one: you have to go back to you GP for the referral to the specialist, and then months thereafter to actually see the specialist again.
Great system.
Getting prescriptions would/could be a lot cheaper and easier if.
You are on a life time drug-insulin, heart medication, seizure med etc. Have the doctor prescribe said med for a years supply, refilled in monthly or two month supplies. Only need to see a doctor ONCE a year, unless of problems.
This saves the dispensing fee for prescriptions, as refills have none (in AB) My husband takes five prescriptions/day, my grandson takes 6. This cut our cost down from 2500/yr to 25.00 every 3 months. But, doctors are reluctant to do this as they lose that monthly visit fee, and druggists lose the 15.00 fee for new prescriptions. Also, go to your druggist and ask for a printout of your prescriptions for the year, and submit that info with your tax return, instead of all those bulky slips. Think what this simple step would save in costs to the system.
However, if you are on AISH or welfare, you have to get refills every month, as you might die and all those pills would be destroyed. Even then, you only need one prescription, filled monthly.
*sarc on*
What? This isn’t possible! Health Care was the key issue in the last election and wait times were the focus. I was sure that our leaders and the elite who grovel at thier feet had solved this issue. How else could Canada’s media declare that the #1 issue was now Environmental instead of Health Care. We always solve our #1 issues before moving on to the next distraction of the moment, don’t we?
*sarc off*
Wait a second, here.
I thought Harper’s 5th priority was a wait times guarantee in 5 different categories.
Specifically, Harper promised to implement: “evidence-based benchmarks for medically acceptable wait times, starting with cancer, heart, diagnostic imaging procedures, joint replacements, and sight restoration are established as soon as possible” and “Patient Wait-time reduction targets for priority procedures… by the end of 2006.” (Source: 2006 Election Platform: http://www.conservative.ca/media/20060113-Platform.pdf.
And then – and granted many may have missed this because, well, the Conservatives kinda did it quietly and it didn’t make them look good so the Conservative-pliant media kinda buried it – Harper announced that he had actually delivered on his promise. Honestly, he did. He didn’t even cross his fingers or crack a smile or give any indication that the only thing he was delivering was a bold-faced lie: http://canadiancerberus.blogspot.com/2007/04/just-call-him-rt-hon-brian-jean-harper.html; also – http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070403/wait_times_070404/20070404?hub=CTVNewsAt11 (or scottdiatribe.gluemeat.com/2007/04/05/when-did-1-out-of-5-qualify-as-a-success/).
And then after that grand promise – frankly, the only one of The Five Priorities (TM) with any real substance and significance – his wait times guarantee was quickly shuffled off of the priority list: canadiancerberus.blogspot.com/2006/07/promise-what-promise-harpers-hide.html.
So what is the big deal hear in Saskatchewan. Don’t you realize that The Right Honourable Brian Jean Harper has solved the wait times problems.
Last week my neighbor, having waited for several months, received a call saying his appointment with the specialist was in 2 weeks. He cancelled it as he had gone another route, used a doctor in a rural hospital, who made a direct call to the surgeon, and withing 48 hrs was on the table. He is recovering very nicely, and his name isn’t even Jean Chretain.
Kate, you respectfully missed this Tasha Kheiriddin reception and touchdown run:
“It’s becoming clearer that the current health care system can not meet the needs of Quebecers in a timely and efficient manner, unless you consider access to a waiting list timely and efficient,” said Tasha Kheiriddin, the Fraser Institute’s Directrice pour le Quebec et la francophonie.
(SOURCE)
Yeah, got that right!!
Health care costs controlled by rationing supply. Oh so soviet. Stalin would be impressed.
I heard part of a news report last night on QR77; not sure who it was (probably “Friends of Medicare”) was saying that the Fraiser Institute is an extreme right-wing think-tank that is dedicated to the destruction of Medicare. Nothing about the contents of the report.
The Fraser Institute IS an extreme right-wing think-tank that is dedicated to the destruction of Medicare. Perhaps they should write a report on Harper’s wait time “guarantee” and how well that’s working…
MaryT
Here in SK that is how it can work. My arthritis meds are written up for a year long perscription and I fill them on a monthly basis. I see the specialist maybe two times a year – less if things are going well and more if not. They can also be renewed by my pharmacy over the phone or via fax.Here the pharmacies charge a Dispensing Fee on each – varies by company.
It can vary by Doctor, some want a visit to renew,but the specialists I have all will write 12 month scripts.
Sort of related: National Citizens Coalition supports expanded public health care in Ontario.
nationalcitizens.ca/cgi-bin/news.cgi?rm=display&articleID=1192114590&search=&category=4&order=&page=1
Colin M. Brown must be rolling in his grave.
Waiting times are actually a work of socialist genius. If you wait a year to provide heart surgery, the patient will most likely die, and you won’t have to perform the free operation. What’s wrong with you rednecks, don’t you understand modern eeko-nomiks!!
jeezus johnny ……………… you got that one right!!
I’m shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that a politician’s ability to fix medicare does not depend on his party affiliation.
Personally, I think medicare is a colossal waste of human life. However, I would be content to let the ideologues and spineless politicians have medicare in its current form–don’t change a single thing about it–if only they would just GET OUT OF THE WAY and let the rest of us take care of ourselves and our families. It is immoral (bordering on murderous) and unconstitutional (Chaoulli) to prevent citizens from seeking and providing medical care outside of ‘medicare’.
Ted at October 16, 2007 12:33 PM
Blame Paul Martin who reduced transfers to provinces by 40%, creating the crisis of health care funding that we have today. Then, when he had massive budget surpluses to play around with, he spent them all on tax cuts, the vast majority of which went to the rich. He also ran on the basis of a series of promises known as the Red Book, which Paul Martin himself authored. Eliminating the GST, “preserving and protecting universal medicare”, renegotiation of NAFTA, and other big promises were a part of this platform. Instead, and with no mandate whatsoever, Martin cut funding for social programs to levels not seen since the 1940s, getting rid of over $7 billion in health care funding.
Johnny J you are ageeenious……….Lol Throne Speech isn’t going to change a thing. To my mortal shame Ontario just returned that liar who walked away from a cancer patient. My union should be ashamed but they aren’t. Too many people entitled to their entitlements.
The wait times in the US are measured in days where as in Canada they are measured in weeks. This is indeed a sad state of affairs when you can see a Cardiologist in Houston in an average of 11 days but in Canada it could be from 8 WEEKS to 14 WEEKS.
Can anyone tell me again why Tommy’s system is the best thing since sliced bread? The place where people are literaly dying to get off the waiting list. And, yeah my son is waiting for surgery or his old age pension (which ever comes first)up there in the land of promise. If he had been under 21 and with me down here the problem would have been handled many months ago.
It has nothing to do with wait times. Dr’s for the most part are against medicare. It’s about more money for the Dr’s w/o medicare.
If you want public services you need to pay taxes. You either pay taxes or pay the bill yourself.