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Let's get back on track, 'K?

I would like my Canadian friends here to read the following article and give us some insight into their experiences:

Canadian doctor talks about problems with healthcare system.

I'm getting the notion that the largest problem is the way people view the situation digitally. Either/Or, One/Zero, All/None type of thing.

When confronted with such at the design table, experience has taught me that the elegant answer very often lies in between the extremes.


--Mac



I'll give you a hint at what most Canadians think of our health care system - overall:

1. We realize that there are wait times - and often these are problematic.

2. We wish we could do better, but often other expenditures get priority - like 10 billion dollars to General Motors from our federal government - our health care system wouldn't need 10 billion to make it the best in the world - but apparently we need a lot of new cars more badly. This is what happens when we put politicians in charge of our tax money - when emergencies crop up, they panic and do stupid things. GM is not going to survive (we can discuss this elsewhere).

3. Two or three years ago, our national broadcasting system held an open contest - anyone could nominate some well known Canadian for the position of "Most Important Canadian". All Canadians could cast a ballot. Tommy Douglas (the socialist premier of Saskatchewan, the province where I was born and lived for fifty years, and developed the first universal health care system in North America) was the hands down winner. He is truly thought of as THE Canadian hero. Keep in mind that there are socialist canditates in all federal and provincial elections, but only four provinces have elected a socialist government. This is the first reason why universal health care will never happen in the US.

4. If you asked the same question today about who was the most important Canadian, you would get the same result. The odd thing is that although politicians are not well thought of in Canada in general, Tommy Douglas was a politician (maybe this is the most important piece of evidence).

To conclude: Our doctors are not clamouring to abolish universal health care, so be careful not to be mislead by a dissenting opinion, particularly if it agrees with you - there will always be dissenting opinions. The doctors that leave Canada for the US primarily go for the money; the money is definitely better in the US for a doctor - think about this one carefully, but you may not like the results.

Glenn