Thoughts on Universal healthcare

[Dar]

Quote:
I am not out to change minds or preach about the Canadian health care system...but the lies that have been passed along from generation to generation, or through the educational system..or however these untruths are being passed that's what kills me

if my time on this topic has helped to open 1 persons mind, or at least to make them sit back and say wait a minute..then it has all been worth it.

there has been some discussion about the medical records being posted in an online data base for the doctor to access...I understand where you are coming from when you say NO WAY...what if it gets "hacked". or its no ones business about my medical records but my current care physician and I agree 100%

now lets see the flip side of this...imagine with me if you will.....
I have been seen by my PCP (primary care physician) for a irregular heart beat...and I am in Guelph...>>>>fast forward 3 weeks~~~~~~ I am driving to my moms in Oshawa 2 hour drive all of a sudden I am unconscious at the wheel and am involved in a car wreck. As soon as the ER doc (well the triage nurse ) swipes my Ontario Health card they will see that I have been undergoing testing and treatment for an irregular heart beat and the results of the tests so that they dont waste my "golden" hour guessing why this may have happened...

Also contained in this info would be...if there was a DNR (do not resuscitate) or my blood type again saving time, or do they call a priest or a rabbi... it all goes back to continuity of care...but thats
JMO

Lol... HI,

They are trialing a system like this over here. It has cost billions already and is failing. I share your concern about the issue of Hacking, and also harrassment from advertising.

Hmmmm funny once we has a simple system here of a necklace or bracelet with a few notes inside that would give all the info required in an emergency. Surely that wouldbe less costlyand more effective. Most important we could control it. In the past it was very effective for Diabetics.



I am not in favour of any more BIG Brother over here.

I agree but there has been a few times that I can think of where my medic alert bracelet has FAILED me... I have a condition called HHT...now it is so rare that when most doc hear about it I am the one educating them...(when I go to a new doc i usually bring an info package...lol)...but with this condition there is certain medications i need to avoid...a common aspirin is potentially fatal to me

 

[Wifezilla]

Doesn't the arrogance and misconceptions of US citizens drive you crazy

LOL

All my conceptions about the Canadian system have come from Canadians. I have heard more negative than positive over the years. Maybe universal care in Canada isn't as universal as some might think.​

 

[Dar]

Quote:
LOL

All my conceptions about the Canadian system have come from Canadians. I have heard more negative than positive over the years. Maybe universal care in Canada isn't as universal as some might think.

you are right...100% my coverage in Ontario is different then in Alberta, and in Newfoundland

 

[Wifezilla]

And if the US follows the Canadian system, there will be different levels of care in Mississippi, New York, California, Iowa, etc...

It wont be universal at all.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I'm just going to add some thoughts here....

I feel that the lack of a universal health care system here in the US stiffles entreprenuership and innovation. People are afraid to leave jobs that offer insurance coverage to move to jobs that do not. Startups and small business become risky propositions for those with families; especially if it means a lapse of insurance coverage that could result in the pre-existing condition clause kicking in. People are less likely to start a new business if it means costing their or their children's health.

People have complained that a government run healthcare system would decide which doctor they could see, would limit coverage, and would regulate what medications they could take. My insurance company already does that....I have to see approved doctors, take approved meds, be referred to a specialist, and in some cases insurance companies limit coverage to a set dollar limit.

The government runs many programs and services that work remarkably well. The USPS runs service to EVERY home and business in the United States, every one; not just the easy to get to ones. It is the third largest employer in the US, and handles the bulk of world mail. It is amazing in size, volume of product and level of service. Yes it has problems....but everyone trusts it, and it works.

Whatever the solution, there has to be something better than what is currently going on. We require everyone who drives to carry car insurance, why is health insurance any different? We have higher infant and child mortality rates than most developed nations, higher health cost than almost anywhere else in the world, we have between 10-15 % of the population uninsured, and we force people to choose between medical care and other neccesities.

 

[Jena]

Wifezilla,

Come to the UK and you will hear worse. It is a national sport over here.

We moan about the weather and about health constant.

I have real isues with health here, I am guilty as anyone else.

I wish:

1. that they were more up to date.
2. that GPs were not so old fashioned and blinkered sometimes.
3. That the doctors were not driven by the politicians to make off the cuff assumptions about people.
4. That the Nurses, the backbone of the service here were paid a good salary that they more than deserve.

Honestly 2 years ago the politicians here decided to review the GP salaries and paymnet methods. they also reviewed the Nurses pay.

Results: Many of the GPs got more than double what they were getting before.

Nurses were given new levels of pay and about 80% lost on their basic salary.

Consultants and surgeons had a huge pay rise, and were now being paid not to work.

This is my whole issue about health here..... get rid of the politicians. they are all idiots.

 

[geareduplyn]

Wow! What an interesting thread. I've leaned three things from it.

#1 There are more socialists out there than I imagined.

#2 Some people must spend most of their time staring at a computer screen.

#3 There are some speedy typists out there. Since I only have 5&1/2 usable fingers, some of the posts would have taken me most of the day to type.

 

[klf73]

mom'sfolly :

I'm just going to add some thoughts here....

I feel that the lack of a universal health care system here in the US stiffles entreprenuership and innovation. People are afraid to leave jobs that offer insurance coverage to move to jobs that do not. Startups and small business become risky propositions for those with families; especially if it means a lapse of insurance coverage that could result in the pre-existing condition clause kicking in. People are less likely to start a new business if it means costing their or their children's health.

People have complained that a government run healthcare system would decide which doctor they could see, would limit coverage, and would regulate what medications they could take. My insurance company already does that....I have to see approved doctors, take approved meds, be referred to a specialist, and in some cases insurance companies limit coverage to a set dollar limit.

The government runs many programs and services that work remarkably well. The USPS runs service to EVERY home and business in the United States, every one; not just the easy to get to ones. It is the third largest employer in the US, and handles the bulk of world mail. It is amazing in size, volume of product and level of service. Yes it has problems....but everyone trusts it, and it works.

Whatever the solution, there has to be something better than what is currently going on. We require everyone who drives to carry car insurance, why is health insurance any different? We have higher infant and child mortality rates than most developed nations, higher health cost than almost anywhere else in the world, we have between 10-15 % of the population uninsured, and we force people to choose between medical care and other neccesities.

I thought most (if not all) states had insurance for uninsured kids, or is it just my state?

Heck, you don't even have to be a citizen to get free health care at the hospital here

 

[horsejody]

Quote:
My daughter did just start an entry level job. She cut back on her expenses to purchase a health insurance policy. Why should her taxes be raised to pay for someone in a similar situation that has made a decision to not cancel cable and internet service and not go out to eat and not put the savings towards paying for coverage? I know at least one woman that won't even pay the $40 that could get her daughter covered under the state children's insurance program. She says she can't afford it. However, that same person has cable, internet, a cell phone, a dog and horses. I know some people really can't afford it. Most of the ones that can't afford it qualify for government assistance. Some just don't know how to budget or have priorities. I lived n a country with government run health insurance. I have friends that are still there. It's not good. Yes, I know that there seems to be one great province in Canada with perfect service. I don't think that's the norm. Just look at how the government mismanages and screws everything up now. The last thing the country needs in another intrusion by government.

 

[HennysMom]

Quote:
Yes, but is this in-house? From the sound of it, you're working for a medical clinic - that I can understand the need for electronic records in that instance; you have many doctors IN your clinic building working together side by side. My GP works the same way - its a practise with many other Drs and specialists in and of itself. That isnt what most people are concerned with...it is the nationalization of our healthcare records that is the concern, that anyone in the medical community can access them, they are held not on private servers (such as this case and in mine) but in a database of sorts. THAT I will not approve of, ever.

Our entire lives are online as it is and are stolen every single minute thanks to the invention of the internet, no one need know my medical information. Hackers break into things all the time and the only failsafe is not to do it in the first place, it should be a patients choice - not a governments rule, but thats just my opinion.

Nice that the pts in your clinic can actually access their lab results online and whatnot. We cant even do that and we're electronic; guess that only goes so far with my drs office as they believe that lab results still warrant a personal phone call vs. logging in to check it. What does your office do if lab results are bad? That could be very nerve wracking for someone that gets awful results and they see them before the doctor talks to them. This is why my dr will call.... if there's an issue, he wants to be the one to tell you, not have you find out while sitting there alone.