Waiting Times in Health Care

Introduction Since 1947, Canada has taken pride in its publicly funded, universal health care system and has successfully provided exceptional health care to all Canadian citizens. Founded by Tommy Douglas, the Medicare system, eventually leading to the Canadian Health Act of 1984, paved the way for today’s health care system in Canada (Bryant, 2010). Boasting free health care coverage to every Canadian, the Canadian Health Act promises more than it can realistically live up to. As times continue to change, pressures to do more plague the Canadian health care system in spite of slower rates of advancement and expansion in resources. Diminishing access to care, increased numbers of patients, and intolerable wait times are some examples of issues that have been of high concern to the government and general public. For years, tedious waiting times have become a deepening rift in Canada’s health care system. A waiting list commonly refers to a roster of people in need of medical attention who are pending a specific service. In theory, they are present when the demand for specific medical attention exceeds the instantly available supply (Mcdonald et al, 1998). With minor exceptions, Canadian waiting lists, like most countries, are non-regulated, generally unsupervised, and in dire need of reform. Specialized treatments, surgeries and many other procedures that do not fall under the category of “medically necessary” are commonly pushed to the side while cases that require immediate attention take precedence (Bryant, 2010). ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬What follows is a discussion of the shortcomings of the current Canadian Healthcare system. These issues continue to emerge as a major blemish in the Canadian system. Namely, a lack of doctors, uneven distribution of health care practitioners between and within provinces, and the non-standardization of wait lists have had significant impacts on Canadian wait times, ultimately risking adaptation to a private health care system. By