4 ms·

>That's a better deal any way you look at it I'm Canadian and can't get a family doctor (nor can my wife). I don't consider that a "good deal". Maybe if it w

>That's a better deal any way you look at it I'm Canadian and can't get a family doctor (nor can my wife). I don't consider that a "good deal". Maybe if it was more lucrative (read: doctors made more money, budgets were higher) we could attract more talent and I could?

msbarnett 10y ago
The US system has the same issue -- many people don't have a regular family doctor and rely on clinics. It's a more complicated problem than pay -- family medicine simply isn't an attractive speciality to many medical students. Money could move the needle a bit, but treating strep throat is never going to be a prestigious pursuit versus a lot of other specialties. And if it doesn't improve overall longterm outcomes, it's not worth spending the money to move that needle. At any rate, it's rarely impossible to find a family doctor, but it can take some persistence to find one accepting new patients. Almost every provincial medical association maintains a list of family doctors accepting new patients. If you're in a small town it might be a challenge, though. edit: to put some numbers on this, 15% of Canadians don't have a family doctor (http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada-ranked-last-among-oecd-countries-in-health-care-wait-times-1.1647061 http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada-ranked-last-among-oecd-c...). In the much higher spending US system, 20% of Americans don't have a family doctor (http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/one-five-americans-has-no-family-doctor http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/one-five-american...).
UseStrict 10y ago
Where do you live that you are having these problems? I was able to find a family doctor within a month of searching and reading reviews. Granted I'm based in a major city (Ottawa), but I was normally directed to other physicians when I called one that wasn't accepting patients.

msbarnett 10y ago

The US system has the same issue -- many people don't have a regular family doctor and rely on clinics. It's a more complicated problem than pay -- family medicine simply isn't an attractive speciality to many medical students. Money could move the needle a bit, but treating strep throat is never going to be a prestigious pursuit versus a lot of other specialties. And if it doesn't improve overall longterm outcomes, it's not worth spending the money to move that needle. At any rate, it's rarely impossible to find a family doctor, but it can take some persistence to find one accepting new patients. Almost every provincial medical association maintains a list of family doctors accepting new patients. If you're in a small town it might be a challenge, though. edit: to put some numbers on this, 15% of Canadians don't have a family doctor (http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada-ranked-last-among-oecd-countries-in-health-care-wait-times-1.1647061 http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/canada-ranked-last-among-oecd-c...). In the much higher spending US system, 20% of Americans don't have a family doctor (http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/one-five-americans-has-no-family-doctor http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/healthcare/one-five-american...).

UseStrict 10y ago

Where do you live that you are having these problems? I was able to find a family doctor within a month of searching and reading reviews. Granted I'm based in a major city (Ottawa), but I was normally directed to other physicians when I called one that wasn't accepting patients.