I know how difficult it can be for a patient trying to navigate our public health care system in search of access to high quality care or some accountability for the lack thereof. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for the doctors, nurses and other health care providers forced to work within [...]
Charles Cruden volunteers much of his time to advocating on issues of concern to seniors. He’s deeply concerned about the sustainability of the Canadian health care system. Over the last few years he’s dedicated many hours to compiling publicly available information on administrative costs within his health region in Manitoba. With nearly thirty years of [...]
Sisters Leslie Worthington and Val Lee had many questions surrounding the medical care their father John received prior to his death. The search for answers would lead their family through a bureaucratic maze, one that is replicated throughout the Canadian health care system. In today’s video clips Leslie Worthington and Val Lee talk about the bureaucracy of regional health authorities in the Canadian health [...]
Canadian Patient Safety Week starts today and I thought it would be a good time to share videos about patient safety issues in our health care system. I don’t mean the usual wash your hands message directed at our health care providers. What I mean is straight talk about some of the underlying problems in [...]
The Canadian government talks a good talk when it comes to preventative health care but let’s face it, in order to be preventative it has to be timely. My husband Cameron lost his father to esophageal cancer last year. With a family history of cancer and symptoms of heartburn he decides to see his doctor about [...]
The Globe and Mail newspaper is featuring a series of articles on Canadian health care. I find the online comments to these articles most interesting. Many people are defending our current health care system based on the political promises of Medicare and not the realities facing Canadian patients. Here’s a quick reality check: Equal access based [...]
Results of the latest Nanos Poll show that health care is once again the top national issue for Canadians. If you have ever taken a good hard look at the Canadian health care system you can understand why. Despite political promises and annual injections of federal and provincial tax dollars, our universal health care system [...]
The CTV news program W5 recently aired “Silent Treatment” a story about the struggles encountered by two Newfoundland families trying to access medical information following the death of a family member. I believe many Canadian patients and their families can readily identify with this story. Situations involving medical errors and access to medical information are occurring [...]
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA), representing the interests of more than 72,000 members nationally, released its latest policy document titled “Health Care Transformation in Canada: Change that Works. Care that Lasts.” Many of the recommendations contained in the document are not new. For almost a decade the CMA has been advocating for the development of a [...]
A retired business systems analyst, Ed Mendoza recalls tackling his share of complex problems throughout his working career. Little did he know that one day he would be forced to question the logic of one of the largest systems in our country – Canadian health care. The untimely death of his wife Madeleine in March 2003 [...]