Action on wait times is needed
Latest media reports of recent health studies have drawn attention, once again, to the unsatisfactory wait times for access to health care in Alberta and the rest of Canada.
A 2016 survey published in the November issue of the Health Affairs journal shows that only 45 per cent of Canadians rated the overall quality of medical care as very good or excellent, the third-worst result in the report. Some examples of poor access included delays in returning phone calls, waits in emergency rooms, and delays to see a specialist.
What else is new? We’ve been hearing these concerns for many years.
But what distinguishes the countries that have markedly better results than Canada — the Nordic countries and New Zealand — is the emphasis on primary care (family practice teams) and the cohesiveness of the health-care system as a whole in which the roles and responsibilities of all the key players in the system (practitioners, insurers and the government) are clearly defined and complementary.
Recent efforts by the NDP government to establish multidisciplinary clinics with a different funding model (blended capitation) for physicians is a good start. There also needs to be expanded hours of operation in family practice and, as in the Canterbury model used by New Zealand, a commonly understood, clear “pathway” for patients entering the system for more comprehensive and coordinated care. Since doctors are usually independent practitioners, it will take some thoughtful and persistent negotiation to make the necessary changes, including extending hours of access and limiting of new physician licences to locations and skills most needed.
If society is to crack this “wicked problem” of escalating costs and reduced quality, the government must lead, and the medical profession, including the Alberta Medical Association and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, must play a stronger role. Gone are the days when medical graduates could do whatever they choose, when and wherever they choose. As payers of medical services, the public needs government to take a stronger role in defining what is needed and where.
“Patient-centred care” is not simply a feel-good term. It is essential to improving lives of both the patients and the care providers. And that will require real leadership from all stakeholders, including patients themselves.