https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEMX_quSMZY
Interesting discussion for sure. Good to see some rationality.
I have to point out the info on Canadian docs having a salary cap is wrong.There are docs here making $2M+ in certain fields (optho and cardiology in particular) - it's public record, I can share a link.
Intensive here isn't the issue IMO, specialists often make $300-500K+. The issue is primarily due to shortages in primary care/family medicine doctors. Too few want to work in rural areas so care suffers there, and they aren't paid as well as specialist so it's not a super attractive field. We need to encourage more medical students and change compensation to drive them to primary care. The government just changed their comp structure which may help.
Access to things like MRI's and specialty treatment can be long too but it's not 'veterinary care.' :lol: His family doc could have his mom referred to a geriatric specialist like my wife, and have her into her clinic for a specialty appointment in 2-3 months (or less if it's urgent) for a full day of cognitive and memory tests and a free appointment with a dietician and nurse - just as an example.
I had an ultrasound recently on a sore ankle. From primary doc to specialist to ultrasound was 1 month. I had an elective, non-urgent sports hernia surgery done in 5-6 months. There are stories that make headlines of bad outcomes for sure, but overall the waits aren't that bad for a system that costs a third per capita, and you'll never see a medical bill.
One area we really lag in is access to cutting edge drugs. That's more on the regulation side though, the FDA is far quicker to approve new medicine than our HPFB. Often folks come to my wife and ask about a new drug they read about and it's just not approved yet - so people bitch about that.
I do think a 2-tier system is slowly coming to Canada too, and you can pay out of pocket for things like a full body scan now. The tough part is the main healthcare network will suffer resource drain. If we do it, I think they should make doctors spend a portion of their time working in the first tier system so it maintains an acceptable level of care.
I can tell you it's ok here though, the vast majority of us are fine and get free care when we need it. Our life expectancy is 20th in the world after all. It's always the unhappiest folks who make all the negative noise about our system, as with everything.