Why do they have such long wait times to see specialists in Canada?

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The reason it takes so long is because there are so many people in that profession in this country that decide oh lets move to the US because they make more money being a doctor. You still get a lot of money for being a doctor here too, I don't understand how someone can be so selfish. Our country needs the help.

Anyways it takes so long because we don't have enough doctors because they apparently don't make enough money here.

But yeah we don't even have to wait 3 months it's more like 1 month or less.

tonalc2

Rather than a two-year-old report, why not look at a one-year-old report from the Health Council of Canada, showing median wait times have decreased for many services? And that on average, Canadians reported waiting four weeks to see a specialist, not three months.

And sorry--affordability isn't an issue? Are you aware that the main reason for bankruptcies in this country is trying to pay for medical care?

Steve

Please don't generalize. I've gone to specialists in Ontario, and I've never waited anywhere near as long as three months to see one. Opponents of universal health care go looking for the absolute worst case scenario and then make it sound as if that is the norm.

The reason people have to wait to see a specialist is not because of the government deciding when you can go to the doctor. It's because there's a shortage of specialists. More doctors in Canada go into general practice than in the US. In other cases, specialists have decided to move to other countries where their services pay more. And some specialists have decided to focus their work on providing services not covered by insurance - dermatologists, for instance, have found it more profitable to focus on cosmetic surgery than on medical related skin ailments.

The amount of time you might have to wait to see a specialist depends on the severity of your illness. Additionally, while there are Canadians who do go abroad for for medical care, the percentage of medical procedures that Canadians receive abroad is miniscule in comparison to the number of procedures performed in Canada.

I had to see a doctor because I was diagnosed with melanoma, and I saw him within two weeks, and within four weeks I was in the hospital for surgery to have the melanoma removed. That was more than two years ago, and I'm fine today.

I've also had to see other specialists, and I've maybe waited, at most, six weeks, on one occasion. It's usually two to three weeks, and believe me I've waited that long to see specialists when I worked in the US.

What I'm trying to say is that the Canadian system is not perfect, by any means, but it is also not as bad as many Americans seem to think it is. And, at least, it covers all residents.

tuppenybitz

i live in ontario and have never waited more than 4 weeks to see a specialist, and if it is urgent you get to see one right away so whats the problem? as a non canadian why do you care anyway

MasterPython

It depends on the specialist, there are shortages of some of them and those are the ones you need to wait months for. And there is a limit to how much the government will spend on people. If the only thing that will keep you alive is a new fancy expensive drug the government can and has told people that they need to come up with the money if they want to live.

And in Canada you can get your dog an MRI or anything else you can afford right away too. Vets are private for profit they can buy all the stuff they can get a loan for. Just like in Cuba and North Korea it's illegal for doctors to operate that way unless they only treat foreigners and the occasional politician. Politicians also get concealed carry permits if their life is in danger and they feel their normal special police protection is insufficient.

Samarcanda

Non profit hospitals doesn't mean they aren't going to charge you, while in Canada you just DO-NOT-GET-CHARGED.

*ajidamoon* the Eh team

What bogus information you are being spoon fed, my friend. When my GP suspected I might have an illness I was in to see a specialist in that area three days later. Thankfully, no illness. I have also had many CT's, ultrasounds, and a few MRI's. Needless to say the longest I had to wait was 9 days, as I scheduled the appointment around my son's hockey tourney. I have many american relatives, several of whom travel across the border into Canada to partake in our medical services. They even come here for their dental. We have a higher quality of life, and a longer life expectancy here, as another poster already mentioned. Our health care system is great. The one flaw I see in it, is that our doctors are being poached by higher paying american medical buisnesses. Canada is now getting into the Medical Tourism Industry, as too many americans come here to reap our benefits. You are being sorely mislead.

Time travler

Canada has what we call universal health care and this is what Obama proposes. Hillary is a huge fan of this kind of health care, but not for herself because she can afford to pay for her own doctor. This is also why so many do not approve of universal health care.

Kira

With free healthy care, it is natural that wait times would be longer in Canada. Not nearly as many Americans can see specialists because they can't afford to.

thinkingtime

That is a site to coordinate the fight against universal healthcare by for profit companies.

How on earth do you think we all live in Canada? Did you know that Canadians live longer than Americans?

I got timely, effective and quick treatment (MRI in four days). My friend got surgery in 6 hours when she needed it in Canada. An American acquaintance can't afford an MRI to see if her tumour is back.

Where do you guys get this stuff?

OK, I know, H********, and all the other big companies....

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