In 2016, patients in Canada could expect to wait 20 weeks between GP referral and treatment.
canadian health care
The federal health minister seems aware that policy innovation—not more money—is necessary to improve Canadian health care.
Our health-care system is expensive, delivers poor-to-modest results, and fails to achieve many of its laudable aspirations.
Canada will increasingly be an outlier among developed countries.
France spends slightly less (as a percentage of GDP) on health care than Canada, and has a higher number of physicians and hospital beds, and lower wait times.
It’s likely no coincidence that countries with cost-sharing programs in place have waiting times that are significantly shorter than those in Canada.
In Canada, the decline in house calls has taken place despite evidence that an increase in house calls would increase quality of care and decrease costs.