Module 2: Canadian Health Healthcare Delivery Flashcards
How is Canada leading in comparison to global averages relating to health
- life expectancy: ~11 years higher
- 12/100k women die in childbirth vs 210/100k
- under 5 mortality rate: 5/1k vs 51/1k
- tuberculosis: 6/100k vs 170/100k
- Canadians largely have high access to clean drinking water, childhood immunization, and publicly funded health care
What are some current Canadian health challenges
- ⅗ deaths are due to cancer or cardiovascular disease
- Obesity and type II diabetes
- Hypertension impacts 1 in 4
- 1 in 5 will experience a mental health issue this year
- Burden: chronic conditions > infectious diseases
Medical Care Act (1948)
- healthcare was mandated as a “right not a privilege”
What are the 5 guiding principles of the Canadian Health Act? Describe each briefly.
- public administration: All administration of provincial health insurance must be carried out by a public authority on a non-profit basis
- comprehensiveness: All necessary health services (ex: hospitals, physicians and surgical dentists) must be insured
- universality: All insured residents are entitled to the same level of health care
- portability: A resident that moves to a different province or territory is still entitled to coverage from their home province
- accessibility: All insured persons have reasonable access to health care facilities
Canadian healthcare system challenges
- Some of the longest wait times in the developed world
– Fewer physicians per capita (2.2 per 1000 population)
– Limited services and access in rural areas
– Greater focus on prevention is needed
What is the Medical Services Act? How are physicians paid?
- Mandatory for residents to enrol in MSP in order to access healthcare services
- MSP fees eliminated (2020); Replaced by Employer Health Tax
- MSP pays physicians by a “fee-for-service” model; When a doctor sees a patient, they bill the Medical Services Commission and are paid according to a fee schedule
What are some things MSP does not cover
- Cosmetic surgery (botox, fillers, liposuction)
- Regular dental services
- Eye examinations and glasses
- Prescription drugs
- Limited chiropractic, massage therapy, naturopathy, physiotherapy
- These items may be covered by “extended health”, which is insurance from a private insurance company, such as Pacific Blue Cross
Canadian Physicians education
- Canadian physicians have a medical degree (M.D.) from one of 17 accredited Canadian medical schools (or another accredited medical school)
- A four-year M.D. program is preceded by a four-year undergraduate degree
- After earning an M.D., physicians spend two to five years specializing through internships and residencies
- All must obtain a medical license
List some healthcare providers
M.D.s Nurse practitioners (most educated) Registered nurses (bachelors) Licensed Practical Nurses (2 years certification) Specialists Podiatrists Optometrists Dentists
The Medicare Protection Act prohibits extra billing. What is that?
- Patients cannot be charged for consumables like exam gowns, tongue depressors, or rental fees for equipment
- Patients can be charged for items (e.g. crutches), devices (e.g. IUDs, a contraceptives) and some forms
Canada’s healthcare system can be described as the Welfare Model. Compare it to a socialist model and a free enterprise model.
Canada: Welfare Model
- Universal
- Physicians are self-employed
Cuba: Socialist Model
- Universal; but all clinics and hospitals are government run
- Physicians are government employees
US: Free Enterprise Model
- Health care facilities are part of the private sector
- No universal healthcare; insurance companies are for-profit
What are some medical rights Canadians have?
- Access their records and to keep these records private (It is illegal to keep patient records on servers located outside of Canada)
- Receive treatment that provides a reasonable degree of care
- Know about potential dangers and benefits of any treatment
- Receive competent diagnosis and treatment
- Retain control and dignity of person
- Designate a person to make decisions if they cannot
- Give informed consent for hospitalization, surgery, and other treatments
- Give informed consent required for any research studies
Over the counter drugs
- safe to use medications without a physician’s prescription
- Generic drugs must meet the same Health Canada standards as their brand name counterparts
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
CAM tends to focus on the body, mind and spirit and is primarily based on healing traditions and accumulated experience
- Examples: traditional Chinese medicine, chiropractic, naturopathy and homeopathy
What are the 5 domains of CAM?
- Alternative medicinal systems (Traditional Chinese medicine, Native American medicine, Naturopathy, Homeopathy)
- Mind-body interventions (meditation, prayer, hypnosis)
- Biologically based therapies (herbal, orthomolecular, special dietary)
- Manipulative and body-based methods (chiropractic, osteopathy, massage therapy)
- Energy therapies
