HEALTH CARE SYSTEM IN CANADA Introduction
Definition of health care
Features and characteristics of health care in Canada
Types of health care provided
Thesis: this paper focuses on health care in Canada
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"Health Care in Canada".
Topic 1: History of Health Care System in Canada
Canadians accessed essential medical services by 1971(Sullivan & Denis, 2011)
The drafting of the Canadian health act was completed in 1984 (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2010)
Hospital insurance was introduced in 1956 (Morrow, Hankivsky & Varcoe, 2008)
Topic 2: Financing health care
Government insurance. Under the Health Care act of Canada, primary care doctors, hospitals, specialists, and dental surgery are covered through the provincial insurance companies. Ambulatory services are provided for those who are unable to transport themselves. The hospitals with referrals from emergency basis and physicians are also available (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2010)
Private insurance companies. Costs are covered by private insurance policies.
Topic 3: Health care Professionals
There are the nurses (Morrow, Hankivsky & Varcoe, 2008)
Primary care physician
Medical doctors
Topic 4: Access to health care
The system of Canada health Care involves first application of provincial health card.
Apart from inmates, certain members of the RCMP, Canadian Armed Forces, the Canadian Health Act requires all residents of territory or province to be accepted in health coverage (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2010).
Once assigned, the health card is needed when visiting a health care provider or a physician. It contains the identification number used to access a patient’s medical records (Morrow, Hankivsky & Varcoe, 2008).
One can register with a primary health physician after obtaining health care coverage.
Availability of physicians depends on the number of current demand for medical care and the number of doctors available.
Topic 5: Health Care and the Economy
In 2001, health care expenditures topped $100 billion.
One Canadian spends about $3300 per capita on health.
About a third of all the funding is from public sources, and the rest is from private insurances and businesses (Morrow, Hankivsky & Varcoe, 2008).
Approximately, 9.5% of Canada’s GDP is spent on health care.
Topic 6: Health Care Funding.
Health Care in Canada is funded by the provincial and federal levels.
Health care is financed via taxation from both corporate and personal taxes.
Sales tax and lottery proceeds are used by other provinces (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2010).
Funds are allocated to territories and provinces via the Canadian Health and Social Transfer (Paul & Williams, 2009).
Transfer payments are as a combination of cash contributions and tax transfers (Morrow, Hankivsky & Varcoe, 2008).
Topic 7: Health Care and Politics
Federal involvement in the health care (Paul & Williams, 2009). The reason to this is that provinces and territories are both responsible, for the administration and delivery of health care in Canada, and therefore, there is collision whenever policies are set at the federal level.
The shortage of nurses and doctors in Canada (Paul & Williams, 2009). Canadian nurses and doctors have left the country to pursue careers in the U.S due to inadequate compensation of health care providers.
Private health care can provide some services with shorter waiting times than the public system. Therefore, there are those who object to privatization system (Morrow, Hankivsky & Varcoe, 2008)
Topic 8: Health Care Policies
The government provides all, with primary medical care, and every patient gets the same level of medical care (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2010).
Patients with previous medical conditions have right to access to health care.
Hospitals are taken as non-profit organizations
The Medicine Prices Review board regulates drug prices.
The Medicare can be taken off the list if it does not approve payment for medical procedure.
The Saskatchewan Hospitalization Act was passed by the Commonwealth Federation.
The provision and distribution of physicians was investigated by the Royal Commission on Health Services from 1961-1964.
A poll found out that more than 80% of the Canadians consider their local health care system over the America’s private health care system.
In 1984, the Canada Health Care Act was passed. This made it illegal for doctors to impose extra charges on patients (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2010).
Conclusion
Under the Canadian health care system, the citizen’s gets the best preventative care and explicit medical treatments. The system has promising health insurance plans, which provides coverage to all Canadians. Despite the political debates, Canada boasts one of the perfect life expectancies and the lowest infant mortality rates of industrialized countries, which most are attributed to Canada’s system of health care. Therefore, the healthcare system in Canada plays an important role in ensuring patients and other stakeholders are accorded optimum services to sustain their healthy requirements.
- Armstrong, P., & Armstrong, H. (2010). Wasting away: The undermining of Canadian health care, 2nd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press
- Morrow, M., Hankivsky, O., & Varcoe, C. (2008). Women’s health in Canada: Critical perspectives on theory and policy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press
- Paul, P., & Williams, B. (2009). Brunner & Suddarth’s textbook of Canadian medical-surgical nursing. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
- Sullivan, T., & Denis, J. (2011). Building better health care leadership for Canada: Implementing evidence. New York: McGill-Queen’s Press – MQUP
