"An Ontario doctor says health-care wait times have reached “insane”
lengths in the province, as one of her patients faces a 4.5-year wait to
see a neurologist.
When Dr. Joy Hataley, a family practice anesthetist in Kingston, Ont.,
recently tried to send a patient to a neurologist at the Kingston
General Hospital, she received a letter from the specialist’s office
telling her that the current wait time for new patient referrals is 4.5
years.
The letter said that, if the delay is “unacceptable” to Dr. Hataley,
she should instead refer the patient to a neurologist in Ottawa or
Toronto.
Dr. Hataley said she's used to hearing back from
specialists who are unable to see her patients for months, and even up
to 2.5 years. But a 4.5 year wait is "insane," she told CTVNews.ca in a
telephone interview." - 'It's insane': Ont. patient told she'd have to wait 4.5 years to see neurologist, CTVNews.ca, 11/02/2017
Link to the entire report appears below:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/it-s-insane-ont-patient-told-she-d-have-to-wait-4-5-years-to-see-neurologist-1.3661114
“Americans like to think that our health care system is very different from “socialized medicine” in Canada. In fact, the two health care systems are far more similar than they are different. In Canada, when people go to the doctor the visit is free. In America, it’s almost free.
On the average, every time Americans spend a dollar at a doctor’s office only 10 cents is coming out of our own pockets. The rest is paid by an employer, an insurance company or government. Like the Canadians, we do not primarily pay for health care with money. We pay with time.
According to a Merritt Hawkins survey:
The average wait time to see a primary care doctor in the United States is almost three weeks.
In Boston (where we are told there was universal coverage even before there was Obamacare), the average wait is more than two months.
Compare that with how long you have to wait to get your cellphone repaired.
Waiting in the US is becoming more like waiting in Canada and in some cases it can be worse.” - What Everyone Should Know About Rationing By Waiting, Forbes, 11/09/2015
Link the entire article appears below:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngoodman/2015/11/09/what-everyone-should-know-about-rationing-by-waiting/
