By Klaus Rohrich
Saturday, June 30, 2007
We have a 10-year old cat that recently became seriously ill. We took him to the local vet, who immediately pronounced him too sick to treat and made arrangements for us to take him to an emergency veterinary facility in downtown Toronto. Within a day our cat had an appointment with a series of veterinary specialists who performed numerous tests and arrived at a diagnosis and plan of care. All this was done in less than 24 hours.
We also have a human friend who was diagnosed with colon cancer a year ago. If only he should have been as lucky as our cat because his access to medical care was much less readily available, despite the fact that he had numerous friends and relatives who were doctors, which actually expedited his treatment.
It's unconscionable that in a country such as Canada, where per capita expenditure on public healthcare is among the highest in the world, a family pet should receive crucial medical care faster than that the pet's owner. But that's the reality of healthcare in the True North, Strong and FREE, the operative word here being FREE, as healthcare doesn't cost anything in Canada, or so the government would have one believe.
In fact there are two major costs of the government healthcare monopoly, one being monetary and, increasingly, the other being in lost lives. Healthcare costs in Canada have been growing at unsustainable rates since the beginning of this millennium. At least five provincial studies and a report issued by the Senate all agree that public health spending in Canada is unsustainable, given the current rate of growth. Between 2003 and 2004, healthcare spending in Canada increased by a whopping 7.7% to over 10% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), yet the healthcare that was delivered improved very little, if at all.
The problem, it appears, is the way the delivery of healthcare is designed. According to a paper published in June 2007 in The Fraser Forum, by Brett Skinner and Mark Rovere of the Fraser Institute, the chief impediment to the delivery of efficient high-quality healthcare in Canada is bureaucratic interference, which according to Skinner and Rovere "actually impedes the efficient allocation of medical resources, including pharmaceuticals". They write that, "Economic evidence suggests that properly designed private health payment systems (insurance and out of pocket spending) are better structured to encourage the rational allocation of health technology, thus optimizing overall efficiency gains.
Another indictment against the government monopoly is their tendency for "restricting access to new medicines in a misguided attempt at cost control", the authors charge.
One of the things their report did not touch on is the declining quality of healthcare in Canada. Given the fact that Canada currently has 2.1 doctors per 1,000 people (vs. the U.S.'s 2.8 doctors per 1,000 people) it's no wonder that pets get better and faster healthcare than people. But then the average doctor earns twice as much in the U.S. than in Canada, which would tend to account for there being fewer doctors.
Hospitals have become breeding grounds for new antibiotic resistant germs, which appear to be impossible to eradicate. In a recent column by the National Post's Colby Cosh, he indicated that in Quebec over 2,000 people have died in hospitals since 2003 from infections they acquired while there as patients. He also wrote about 327 Labrador women who had launched a class-action lawsuit over having been examined with improperly sterilized gynecological instruments.
Cosh believes that many of Canada's healthcare professionals seem to have forgotten about the Germ Theory of Disease, as many failed to wash their hands when finished treating a patient before going to the next.
There is certainly empirical evidence of this, as my friend with colon cancer just had an operation and his doctor (who is also one of his friends) advised him to go home to recover, as his chances of survival there were better.
It's difficult for me to understand why Canadians seem to accept the fact that often pets receive better quality medical care than people do. We appear to have lulled ourselves into the conceit that our healthcare system is the best in the world and maybe to healthy people it is. But God help them if they ever become ill.
Treating our cat wasn't cheap, but he's alive. Under the government healthcare monopoly we regretfully do not have the option of paying for our own healthcare and are thus forced to accept the uncertain consequences.
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement