RE:Our medical system is broken and you need to have a planYes, the Canadian system is so encumbered and bogged down it has become a behemoth, unable to deliver prompt and efficient care at a reasonable cost. It is a horrible imposition placing no value for the imposition of time and cost for the patient, and at the same time inefficient and impractical for those trying to deliver care.
We must continue to remind ourselves that just one LNG export plant would provide millions in tax revenue needed to improve and support more hospitals even with our current broken delivery system. But we just won't have any more talk of that with this regime.
My elderly parents have health issues, and are having long wait times in Canada, and there are 2 doctors and 2 dentists in the family.
One of the most positive things I enjoy about Thailand, is it's cost efficient and excellent medical care.
There is no BS with privacy rules, lawyers, liability, ambulance transport handoff issues, everyone just does their job. Medicines are a tiny fraction of the costs in Canada as well, and you can go to any pharmacy and ask for 95% of all your medicines without a doctors visit or prescription. The Pharmacists are great consults for advice for most ailments.
I prefer the Thai system far better than being in Canada on a waitng list for a test to get on another waiting list to get an operation. Unlike the monopoly situation that exists in Canada with set prices for care, competition here has drastically lowered the prices. They are jumping over eachother to get patients. Some have competing fleets of ambulances at the ready, to race there first, and bring you in to their facility. Yes it is 2 tier here. Welcome to the real world.
It seems in Canada you have to push the hospitals to get care, whereas here, the hospitals are pulling you in to give you care.
More on Thailand's 2 tier system:
Firstly, there is the Thai public care system that takes care of everyone. Basic care. It has long lineups, and family from villages out of town camped on the floor beside beds in a multi bed room, feeding and taking care of their loved ones. Hospitals are OK. Everybody gets treatment, tests, operations, and free medicine for the fee of 30 baht, about $1. Been there. Not pleasant, but the end result is a lot faster than in Canada, and it works.
Then there is an extensive private system, with many different options and many good hospitals to choose from. Mostly, the same doctors work at both places, and some even have their own private clinics.
You can walk in to see any doctor there mostly within minutes, and no waiting to get blood tests ($2), xrays, ultrasounds, MRI, CT scans, etc. You can even select your own tests you want, a full array of basic tests for a physical for a about $100, with consults. CT, ultrasounds, MRI are slightly more, and gotta shop around.
Private hospitals are like businesses, fullly staffed sometimes with more staff than patients. Many are brand new, still peeling the plastic off the machines, and fully trained staff. They are very pleasant and there to serve your every need.
There are many good private clinics. If Paul wants some breast implants, no problem. He can even get one now, then install the next one later when he can afford it, up to him. Skin clinics, laser treatment, skin cancer removal, sex change, on and on...
Dental is another field where quality is excellent, and cost is very reasonable. Cleanings about $40, extraction $20, fillings $30, Xrays $5, crowns about $200, bridges, implants vary but the very best places about $2000 - $3000, with multiple visits. Less if you shop around.
Thailand sees how bad the west has screwed up their own health care systems, and the field of medical tourism is being pushed here more to attract disgruntled patients, as the differences in cost and wait times is staggering. I would not trust India though. You may come back with a new scar and one less kidney.
I don't even have health insurance here, as good care here is so cheap, and health insurance so expensive with limits, deductables, and pre existing condition exclusions. I have a doctor that I see as often as I wish, and I also I keep a good chunk of cash here to self insure. I think in Thailand, for a million baht, ($40000) it is a huge amount, and for that price they can bring me back from the dead.
For those waiting for elective surgery, expensive dental, or on long waiting lists for tests, they should consider coming over here to get it done, and the savings may even pay for your trip. It might give you peace of mind with cash left over.
And if you meet a one breasted man named Paul, buy him a drink.
Obscure1 wrote: The medical system in Canada is BROKEN. Beyond broken actually.
Please bear with me as I relay my recent personal experience. I'm just one of tens or hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions of Canadians that are in trouble.
Our family physician has been commuting from the GTA to our city 3 days per week for ten years. He told us he is exhausted and his family needs him so he decided to stop the 1.5 hour commute each day. As such he is no longer available to us unless we are willing to travel 1.5 hours for an appointment.
Our family doctor has 3,000 patients in our community. Those 3,000 patients are now without a doctor because there is nobody available to take over his practice. There are plenty of doctors in Canada who can't practice because they did not do their schooling in Canada. The foreign doctors have been pretty much sidelined for two years due to Covid protocols so they can't write the required exams or do internships.
If you are in a position of looking for a new doctor, you better hope that luck in on your side.
You can reach out to HealthCare Connect which is a system designed to help people connect with primary health care providers. Unfortunately, the system is overwhelmed and you have to HOPE that a doctor will reach out to you. You can imagine how well that is working out.
The HealtCare Connect system also provides a list of physicians in your area that you can contact. I started calling the doctor offices on the list. The answer from every office I contacted provided the same answer which was: "the doctor is not taking new patients". When questioned as to what advice they could give to help, they suggest contacting HealthCare Connect.
The the next step was to visit the local walk-in clinic. It is closed and the notice on the door says that they are not taking walk-ins unless you are already a patient of one of their listed physicians.
Apparently, walk-in clinics are all headed that way if they are not already there.
Our exiting family physician is taking one day per week off each week to travel to his old clinic to help patients transition. He does this on his own time and you have to call him on his personal line to book time. We met with him today, and there was a room full of patients ahead of us on a first come first serve basis. There was nobody answering the phone as there is no work for an assistant because there is no doctor. The pharmacist in the same location is fielding calls from the doctor's 3,000 patients as they are all in the dark. She doesn't have any answers about anything other than "the doctor is not in today". She is exhausted and frustrated and is quitting.
While at the office, the patients waiting for their turn were relating their experiences. One couple told us that they eventually found a doctor that might be able to fit them in, but they were told that they were too old. Old people need more care.
Every patient was nervous that they wouldn't be able to get health care going forward.
My wife needs hip surgery which is deemed an elective surgery. Virtually all elective surgeries were cancelled during Covid. That means there is a two year back log. If you have a family doctor who can refer you to a surgeon, it takes a couple of months to see the surgeon if you are willing to show up when there is a cancellation. Once my wife met the surgeon, who verified that she needs the surgery, she was informed that the surgeon was only allowed to book out OR time in three month blocks. When the 3 month block was ending, my wife called and was told she was not scheluded for the next block. When she asked when she might be included on the list, she was told to keep calling in every three months. After talking to the doctor's office manager for awhile, the person offered that the timing would be at leat a year and maybe two years.
Canadians without a family physician are in a real pickle. Canada has a massive shortage of doctors and those that are still around are at their limit. Doctors are quitting and it is going to get worse. Doctors are used to being hand held from the day they enter medical school so they have little if any practical business experience. Their staffs are quitting as they are exhausted as well from dealing with the overwhelming dissatisfaction of the patients. When a doctor loses staff, they are totally ill-equipped to manage on their own.
The problem is getting worse and worse by the day. Every time a doctor or staff member gives up what they consider to be insane lives, the pressure just mounts.
It has now gotten to the point that if you need to see a doctor and you don't have a family physician, you have to go to Emergency at your hospital. The wait time ranges from two hours if you are extremely lucky to eight hours or more.
Need a prescription? Be prepared to take a day off work.
Have to pick up the kids from school before your name is called? Sorry!
When you do get into see a doctor, if you need a referral, that can take months. If you need surgery, that can take years.
What do you do if:
a) You have a family physician. Make sure that you find out about their future plans in terms of moving or retirement. Has the doctor arranged for a succession plan? If not, get your doctor thinking about it before another 3,000 patients get dumped into the abyss.
b) You don't have a family physician. Get started today on a plan of action.