Queues in Canadian Health Care System: Studying the Peculiarities with Canadian Health&Care Mall
Contents
- General facts about Canadian Health Care System?
- How medical aid is provided
- Queues and reasons why they appear
- Smart tips to get more benefits from Canadian Health care System
Famous pharmaceutical portal Canadian Health&Care Mall decided to dedicate one of its articles to the queues in the health care system of Canada. Today it will tell us why queues appear and what can be done in this case.
General facts about Canadian Health Care System?
The first fact about Canadian Health care System that is the most important to know is that medical care in Canada is covered by means of the state insurance plan. Citizen and residents of Canada obtain so-called Health Card that allows undergo medical procedure for free. Some provinces provide Health Card also for immigrants just as they landed in Canada; in other provinces immigrants should live here for a while to get this card. Somebody considers health care system in Canada to be free; however it is not true. In fact, Health Card does not cover services of dentists, ophthalmologists and some other health care specialists. The Card does not cover the cost of medications needed for the treatment and emergency visits. Some big companies in Canada provide their employees with health insurance that covers even the paid services. As a rule, this insurance is valid for the whole family. If the employer does not provide such insurance there is no problem in buying it. One more interesting fact is that children under 18 years old may use paid services for free or at very low price.
How medical aid is provided
In Canada medical services are distributed between major health care institutions: family doctors, walk-in clinics, emergency and hospitals. Family doctors are the important part of Canadian health care system. The doctor observes the whole family and prescribes referrals to specialized doctors, diagnostics, analyses and so on. He is also responsible for prescriptions. If the family doctor is not suitable the family can change the specialist.
Walk – in clinics are clinics where patients are served on the first-come-first-served basis. The doctors conduct medical examinations, prescribe referrals to medical tests or additional examination, if needed, etc. Walk-in clinic is a good alternative for those who didn’t find their family doctor and need to solve health problem as soon as possible. Some walk-in clinics provide the service of making an appointment with the doctor in advance. Urgent medical aid is provided in the Emergency. There doctors decide where to send the patient according to his health problem. Hospitals accept patients with health disorders that needed serious medical aid, surgery and things of that kind.
Queues and reasons why they appear
Now we have come to the most urgent question of the Canadian health care (history and other information about Canadian Health Care: www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-care-system/reports-publications/health-care-system/canada.html). Nearly every health care institution we described above has the burning problem of large queues. Starting with the family doctor the patient comes across with the necessity to wait. At first the patients is looking for the good family doctor. This process can become very long-term as all the good family doctors have their own client base and are not inclined to serving new ones. So, in some cases the patient may wait the doctor’s consultation within several weeks and even up to several months. Of course, the situation will change for the better when you find your family doctor. In this case your family becomes his client so the waiting period may be reduced up to one week. The same situation occurs with the specialized doctors. If you need to consult, for example, gastroenterologist you may wait within 6-9 months. However, after the first consultation the doctor will define the time of the next one, if needed, which is usually one – two weeks.
As far as the walk-in clinics is concerned they are a good alternative to family doctors as here you will obtain medical consultation and possibility to make analyses and to undergo simple medical procedures within one day. Here you will also need to sit in the queue though waiting for the doctor to talk to you during several hours. Emergency medical assistance may also take up to 5-8 hours. If something wrong happens with the patient’s health he applies to the Emergency. Don’t forget that urgent help in Canada is not covered with Health Card and should be paid if the patient does not have insurance from his job. At the beginning the patient is examined by the nurse who will decide in what queue you should be directed. Only after that you will wait for the doctor’s consultation and further treatment in the hospital, in needed.
The problem of queues becomes really urgent if it comes down to treating in hospitals. If any patient needs surgery up to 2 years may pass until he gets it. In such cases patients sometimes choose to pay for the treatment in order to obtain it in time. The major reason of queues in any medical care institutions lies in the problem of the shortage of health care specialists. Medical education is very expensive in Canada so it is affordable for quite narrow circle of people. That is why it is very difficult to find a really professional doctor (especially specialized ones).
Smart tips to get more benefits from Canadian Health care System
Below we have collected several tips for you to obtain more advantages from medical care in Canada.
- If you still cannot find good family doctor you can try to search for him in walk-in clinics. The fact is that family doctors usually have their own medical practice paid from the state budget, but also work in walk-in clinics. So, you will be able to meet experienced doctor there. Moreover, walk-in clinics are usually the place where young doctors just graduated from the institute start their practice. Sometimes patients are afraid of trusting their health to the beginner. Nevertheless, every beginner has the chance to become highly professional health care expert. In this case the situation reminds of buying the pig in the poke; however it is worth trying.
- Choose job where increased health insurance is provided. In this case you can save substantial amount of money for your family.
- Ask your doctor about the medications he prescribes. You remember that state health insurance does not cover the purchase of the prescribed medications. Thus, don’t hesitate to ask your doctor about possible equivalents of the offered drugs. Pharmaceutical market is abundant with generic medications that have similar content, active substance and therapeutic indication as branded medications do. So, in some cases you can save up to 50% of money you planned to spend on medications.
- Find reliable supplier of generic medications online. Today online pharmaceutical market offers a great number of offers that are even more cost-effective. Sharp competition has urged online pharmaceutical shops offer additional services, various discounts and other programs aimed at attracting the customer. This situation is highly beneficial for the customers as they can buy medical drugs at low prices and support their health and lifestyle they want to conduct. How to find reliable online pharmaceutical shop read in the article “How to Outsmart the System” here.
More related information in this article: The Rise Of Canadian Healthcare System