http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canad...193648603.html

What do you think about this ?

This doesn't look good. I just hope we never end up having the american system.

There is a lot of waste in the health care system. One such way to cut waste is to charge a small fee (like $5) for every ER visit. When I had to go to emergency a few years ago, I would say half of the people there were there for issues that were not an emergency at all. This situation costs time, and time is money especially for the cost of professionals (nurses, doctors) Also, Harper is one of the only leaders to still use public health care. I am not sure about the interim NDP leader, but he is not so against public health care as some seem to believe

Originally Posted by Misspolitics

There is a lot of waste in the health care system. One such way to cut waste is to charge a small fee (like $5) for every ER visit. When I had to go to emergency a few years ago, I would say half of the people there were there for issues that were not an emergency at all. This situation costs time, and time is money especially for the cost of professionals (nurses, doctors) Also, Harper is one of the only leaders to still use public health care. I am not sure about the interim NDP leader, but he is not so against public health care as some seem to believe

Who are you to determine if its an emergency or not? My doctor recommended going to the ER if we needed anything (xray, mri) if it was after office hours. Boo hoo for you if you had to go one time and wait a little, you're taking a small incident and using it to support policy that effects everybody.

Originally Posted by Misspolitics

There is a lot of waste in the health care system. One such way to cut waste is to charge a small fee (like $5) for every ER visit. When I had to go to emergency a few years ago, I would say half of the people there were there for issues that were not an emergency at all. This situation costs time, and time is money especially for the cost of professionals (nurses, doctors) Also, Harper is one of the only leaders to still use public health care. I am not sure about the interim NDP leader, but he is not so against public health care as some seem to believe

I have to agree with you on this one - I volunteered in a hospital emergency room for a year, and I mean I'm no nurse or doctor, but only about 1 in 5 people that walk into the ER are the real emergencies. I think the general public just doesn't understand that you should not go the emergency room if your cold gets really bad... :/ high fever, sure, but some people walk in complaining that they're shivering a lot (?) and expect to be seen before the man with chest pains :/ I think a small fee would actually benefit those patients that really need to be seen.

Originally Posted by RyanC

Who are you to determine if its an emergency or not? My doctor recommended going to the ER if we needed anything (xray, mri) if it was after office hours. Boo hoo for you if you had to go one time and wait a little, you're taking a small incident and using it to support policy that effects everybody.

Do you disagree that people would think twice if there was a small fee? You didn't mention that. Also I didn't know that 9 hours was "wait a little" Also, numerous people were eating chips and drinking pops with a sore hand, etc, then leave because they were tired, etc costing time of getting them signed in. If there was a fee, people would use other institutions like drop in clinics, then determine whether it is serious enough to go to a hospital. If you needed an X-ray or mri, then that is an absolute emergency. I don't think I would go to my family doctor if I needed either one, anyway.

Originally Posted by Eternal Fire

This doesn't look good. I just hope we never end up having the american system.

With the increasing lifespan and therefore more seniors, it is only going to put strain in the system as they're the heavier users of health care. Also a large chunk of health care is used to promote healthy lifestyles (e.g. the Canadian Food Guide), but that can only go as far as whether people are willing to make positive lifestyle changes. Debatable, but I don't think many people are catching on to it. And also many, many problems in budgeting and spending and how money is being handle *cough*Quebec*cough*. Although I'm sure that's a problem in all the provinces.

I can't see a full privatization happening, but a two-tier system is starting to look more likely.

Originally Posted by Misspolitics

Do you disagree that people would think twice if there was a small fee? You didn't mention that. Also I didn't know that 9 hours was "wait a little" Also, numerous people were eating chips and drinking pops with a sore hand, etc, then leave because they were tired, etc costing time of getting them signed in. If there was a fee, people would use other institutions like drop in clinics, then determine whether it is serious enough to go to a hospital. If you needed an X-ray or mri, then that is an absolute emergency. I don't think I would go to my family doctor if I needed either one, anyway.

I agree that fees would discourage people from using the ER, but it will also discourage people who are considering to go to the ER who might actually need to be there. Once you start introducing disincentives for people to seek healthcare, you're entering the territory of systems like they have in the US.

there arent too many alternatives for after hours so if there is something wrong and you dont know how bad it is, then you have to go to the ER. Its too bad but there is little else you can do.

Originally Posted by RyanC

I agree that fees would discourage people from using the ER, but it will also discourage people who are considering to go to the ER who might actually need to be there. Once you start introducing disincentives for people to seek healthcare, you're entering the territory of systems like they have in the US.

umm but this doesnt stop ppl from calling 911 in real emergencies. more specifically for ambulances, they cost a lot, and are not covered by health care. if youve ever had to be taken an ambulance somewhere you know that they send you a bill for 45$ or something in the mail (http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/publi.../ohip/amb.aspx). knowing this, are you not going to call an ambulance the next time your in an emergency?

people know that an ambulance is only for the really serious and actual emergencies. the same goes for an ER. sure you can drive up to an ER, and in certain cases people do need to go to an ER for certain things which may not be as serious as what you would call an ambulance for, but at the same time a lot of people are there because they dont know how to take care of them selves and how to deal with minor things like scratches, headaches, fevers, colds, etc. etc. etc.

the general public is actually pretty ignorant when it comes to knowing what is deemed serious and what is not, and ppl dont know how to treat them selves. (as such i strongly believe that first aid and other such courses should be mandatory in school, it would sure reduce a lot of the minor things in ER) but yea.

a 5$ charge is pretty irrelevant. its a tiny fee which can go a long way considering how many people visit the er each year. if nothing else than a 5$ charge for the small trivial things, and if it is a real emergency which requires and er than the fee can be dropped.

essentially, i forgot what the point of this was, but i believe that the government needs to educate the public so it isnt so ignorant and can help it self with minor things. implementing such things as fees for ER visits, mandatory first aid, cpr, etc. courses in schooling, and other such things would definitely reduce the number of trivial no er requiring matters which we do see soo much in ER's

Unfortunately the health care system is rather wasteful. From what I can muster from my friends interning at Sunnybrook, there are older people who simply check in for a place to stay lol. I'm sure my friends are somewhat biased in that they have to take care of them but from a medical standpoint, there is nothing wrong with these people, yet they insist on occupying a bed for upto 14 days ...

My friend broke his arm in half and had to wait 6-7 hours in the ER for a doctor to snap it back in place. Fail system

Originally Posted by xxsumz

My friend broke his arm in half and had to wait 6-7 hours in the ER for a doctor to snap it back in place. Fail system

I cut my leg open and got in for a boatload of stitches within 15 minutes. They even (rightfully) took priority off me and put it on a boy with a bad case of glass shards in the face and I was still in within 15 getting my leg stitched up.

I think I should get dual citizenship.......... ................

I want to clear a few things up here:

A lot of people do NOT have family physicians. It may seem like a minor ailment to you, but they may not have anyone else to go to.

Many clinics aren't open after hours. The government is trying to promote clinics/NPs, but there simply isn't the availability outside 9-5.

Old people checking in - yes this is a waste of resources, but have you seen the waiting lists/costs associated with nursing homes?

I really detest the idea of charging for the medical system, and I think we should instead be looking for solutions to prevent them from getting into the hospital in the first place. Yes, there is the "they should be taking better care of themselves" argument, but that fails to take into account the social determinants of health. Those being income, education and housing. Many people WANT to take better care of themselves but simply don't have the means to. I agree, there does need to be more education but why should people be punished for not having medical training to differentiate between illnesses? The symptoms behind a bacterial and viral respiratory infection can be very similar, and that's not something the general public is aware of.

I'm not saying that there is nothing wrong with our healthcare system - simply that we need to look at new and innovative ways of working with a "Health for all" policy rather than seeking to create a two tiered system.