The problem with "healthcare problems"

Today, a local radio talk show was asking listeners "Do you think that Universal Health Care can work, or is a two tier system the way to go?"

According to the the Edmonton Sun, the NDP will introduce a bill to prohibit new private health care clinics in Canada.

Yes Canada has healthcare problems.

The problem is that the true issue remains hidden behind the rhetoric.

Canadians simply do not have adequate health care resources.

The problem is compounded by the fact that we exist in a global economy with a worldwide shortage of medical personnel.

Simply, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals' time need to be more focussed on practicing their crafts. Period.

How? Increased efficiencies, electronic medical records, proper allocation of resources (Why on earth does my GP take my blood pressure and weigh me?) are just some means to this end. Certainly there are many "Best Practices" which ought to be brought to the forefront and implemented throughout the system.

We are allowing ourselves to lose sight of what is important. People's health and wellbeing. Today, people die for lack of resources. When the healthcare system fails the Hypocratic oath of Above all, do no harm we are truly deceiving ourselves if we think that endless debate over private/public will have any positive impact.

Target energy and money on figuring out how our limited pool of physicians and nurses can assess and treat more patients and we will see the waiting lists shrink.

Employers should urge workers to adopt healthier lifestyles

It is more and more apparent that employee health impacts productivity and profitability. South of the border, lifestyle change is the order of the day. Benefit news "Businesses should invest more in financial incentives to urge workers to adopt healthier lifestyles, because medical cost containment depends on changing people's habits."

The difference that we face in Canada is that cost containment is not our primary focus when it comes to healthcare. Cost containment has long been part of the Canadian equation for disability insurance and workers' compensation programs. Otherwise, employers count on the medicare system to address the medical problems of their employees. So it is a non-issue. Or is it?

An inadvertant result of not having to care about cost containment related to medical problems, is that employers tend to not care at all about employee medical problems.

While the employer has no DIRECT cost of employee health costs, the indirect costs rise year to year, as employees are out sick more often and longer. Canadian employers are greatly impacted by the loss of productivity resulting from medical absence.

Consequently, while the US initiative - to change employees' lifestyle habits as suggested by the article is sound for Canadian employers, the driver is different.

Ultimately, though, be it cost containment, or re-couped productivity, it all ends up on the bottom line.

Chronic Pain

I have been talking more and more with people who have problems that there appears, after investigation, that there are no solutions for.

This is most acute in the area of chronic pain. An enlightening article was written in Elle magazine.

The article sheds light on just how challenging it is for someone with this type of problem to lead as normal a life as possible.

Congratulations to those who overcome the huge obstacles in front of them each day to be as productive as they can be.

Thanks to kiki for the article.