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Medical Post editor votes for doctors to rescue public health care in Canada
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The Medical Post editorial published on May 24, 2011 draws attention to a report co-authored by David Dodge and Richard Dion on "Chronic Healthcare Spending Disease". The editorial also offers several insights on why the editor votes for doctors to rescue public health care.
"David Dodge, the former Bank of Canada governor, in a report released last month by C.D. Howe Institute, outlined what he's called the four "stark and unpalatable" options we face with our unsustainable health spending:
- a "sharp reduction" in other programs and services provided by government;
- increased taxes;
- increased spending by individuals, ...
- a "major degradation" of publicly insured health care standards ..."
The editorial writer, Colin Leslie offers several insights and goes on to say, "But ultimately I believe Canada's political system has a better chance of resolving this problem than any other nation. ... And doctors are key to this. I truly believe that physicians, both because of their knowledge base and because, well frankly, they have a long tradition of unhesitatingly disagreeing with authority, will be the key players in finding the multifactorial solutions needed here.
Great nations solve their problems when smart people are involved in solving the problems of the day. Doctors, as the lead professional advocates for patients, have an almost holy duty to engage in this matter."
So how are doctors engaging? Or are doctors at risk of becoming cogs in the system?
Attached is the full editorial and here is a link to the report by David Dodge and Richard Dion.
http://cdhowe.org/chronic-healthcare-spending-disease-a-macro-diagnosis-...
| Attachment | Size |
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| 2011-05-26_Medical_Post_Editorial_MP09_012.p1.pdf | 518.91 KB |
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I don't believe doctors will save healthcare, profession is deadPublic
More than 5 years ago, when I wrote the review of the Medical Post editorial, I believed that doctors could and would step up and do something. I don't believe that anymore. I think the medical profession is brain dead. It has succumbed to the same bureaucrat overgrowth and lack of grassroots input that we have seen in government and throughout health care. It's very sad to think it has come to this, "Great nations solve their problems when smart people are involved in solving the problems of the day. Doctors, as the lead professional advocates for patients, have an almost holy duty to engage in this matter." But, alas the profession has failed it's duty and privilege. There are many posts on the pages of doclounge.net chronicling the decline.
This is thought provoking.Public
This is thought provoking. On the one hand I do believe that most medical doctors in Canada would like to see some sort of universal health care plan for patients, to prevent them from economic catastrophe, or, worse, having to make unpalatable choices. I also think most doctors would like to see such a plan based on rational and reasonably achievable objectives. This might crudely be summarized as "Health Care for All - But Not All Health Care. I suspect most doctors would like to see such a plan being efficiently run by an administrative force no larger than 10% of that which is current.
Would this be 'rescuing' health care? I don't think so. I think it would require a complete annihilation of the current system and starting again at the beginning. But I also think the apocalypse will come before that.