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MAKING MEDICARE: THE HISTORY OF HEALTH CARE IN CANADA, 1914 to present day Medicare in Canada is a government-funded universal health insurance program established by legislation passed in 1957, 1966 and 1984. But the concept of a publicly funded and administered, comprehensive, accessible hospital and medical services insurance plan has a much longer and more complex history than simply the politics of creating a federal–provincial–territorial shared-cost agreement. As the Canadian health care system evolved, rising costs for hospital and medical services led citizens, progressive health professionals and some politicians to argue that health care was a social good not merely another purchasable commodity. This viewpoint was challenged by those who stated that individuals must take responsibility for their own and their family’s health care needs through private, prepaid insurance plans, and that the government should underwrite the costs for those who could not afford such benefits. ...

Canada's national health insurance program, often referred to as "Medicare", is designed to ensure that all residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services, on a prepaid basis. Instead of having a single national plan, we have a national program that is composed of 13 interlocking provincial and territorial health insurance plans, all of which share certain common features and basic standards of coverage. Framed by the Canada Health Act, the principles governing our health care system are symbols of the underlying Canadian values of equity and solidarity. Roles and responsibilities for Canada's health care system are shared between the federal and provincial-territorial governments. Under the Canada Health Act (CHA), our federal health insurance legislation, criteria and conditions are specified that must be satisfied by the provincial and territorial health care insurance plans in order for them to qualify for their full share ...

Doctors saving on paperwork, study finds While critics of the Canadian health-care system lament long wait times and big costs to government, a University of Toronto study shows one way our system works more efficiently than those south of the border. Researchers found U.S. physician practices spend almost four times as much money and 10 times as many hours on paperwork than Canadian ones do. "The Canadian system is by no means perfect," said Dr. Dante Morra, lead author of the study. "But there are points in time where we have to sit back and say our system does ... provide quality care and it does deliver it in an efficient fashion." American practices spend $83,000 per doctor every year dealing with health insurers and other payers, whereas Ontario only doles out $22,000, according to the study published in the journal Health Affairs. Researchers interviewed doctors from across the U.S. and Ontario about their daily practices. Morra said Ontario's costs are f...

The doctor is inundated, poll finds Complexity of cases, chronic conditions impose new demands For a growing number of Dr.'s, a typical 15-minute visit is simply not enough. The Dr. is seeing more elderly patients who need more of his time. "The population is aging, and that certainly is having an effect," he said on Monday. "We are seeing more chronic disease and complexity in managing patients with multiple medical problems, including heart disease, arthritis, mental health problems and cancer." A survey of 12,000 physicians across the country shows some 72 per cent of Canadian doctors report the complexity of their patient caseload is placing increasing demands on their time, while 63 per cent said managing patients with chronic conditions was a factor in this. Other findings of the National Physician Survey, conducted in 2010 by  Mount Sinai, says care for an aging population is complex. WAIT TIMES: Patients requiring urgent care are waiting longer to see ph...

Canada placed seventh on the list in terms of longevity and second from the bottom in infant mortality statistics, he said. This country’s 10th place showing has not changed since a major 2009 report put out by the board, which looked at data from the previous year to set its rankings. Thursday’s document, which also used the 2008 data, brought in per capita health costs to compare the effectiveness of our spending with the other nations, Stewart-Patterson says Japan, with $2,729 per capita annual expenditures, delivers the best health system, based on the longevity and infant mortality parameters. “Italy has the second-lowest (costs) and has the third best life expectancy,” Stewart-Patterson says. The U.S., on the other hand, spends substantially more — about $7,500 per person — on health care than any of the other listed nations and provides amongst the worst care, he says. While there may well be cultural and social issues at play in the varying health outcomes among the listed nati...

Canada spends more and gets less in health care than most advanced nations. Canadians are not getting what they’re paying for with their health care dollars, a new report says. This country spends more per capita on health care than all but three of the world’s most advanced nations, yet ranks a lowly 10th in the quality of medicine it delivers, the Conference Board of Canada report argues. “The clear message for Canada is that we’re fourth highest on the spending list here and yet we’re not doing as well when it comes to health outcomes,” advises the board’s vice-president of public policy. “We can and should be getting better value for our health-care spending in terms of the length and quality of life that Canadians enjoy.With 10 per cent of our gross domestic product tied up in health costs, this country spends about $4,100 per person each year on its overall medical system. This country spends more per capita on health care than all but three of the world’s most advanced nations, ...

Walmarts plans to pick up the pace with plans to add 3 more this year, mainly in the larger supercentres where it 'sells fresh food as well as general merchandise."There's a need out there in the marketplace," Thompson said, noting many new immigrants don't have a family doctor. Clinics in retail settings are similar in some respects to doctors' offices anywhere. They bill OHIP for their services and pay administrative and other expenses out of the billings.But in other ways they're quite different.Clinics in retail settings see a lot more "walk-in" patients than a typical family physician's practice. They tend to be run by third-party professional management firm that buys the equipment, hires the administrative staff and oversees the billing.The doctors pay for those services either on a percentage or flat-fee basis. The retailer generally acts as the landlord to the clinics.Doctors who join this type of clinic are often recent graduates lo...