Stats Canada have announced that 4.1 million Canadians do not have a family doctor.
Almost one-quarter of rural residents reported going to an emergency room, compared to eight per cent of urban residents.
The president of the College of Family Physicians of Canada says walk-in clinics, emergency departments and other alternatives are a good safety valve in the system for those unable to access medical care any other way.
But Dr. Ruth Wilson says they are not the best choice for patients who need long-term management of chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure.
About 25% of rural Canadians - code for Islanders - don't have a doctor. Chronic diseases such as diabetes are endemic here.
On P.E.I., 10 per cent couldn't find a doctor, the highest percentage of any province.
Is it possible for PEI to attract and keep more doctors here? I don't think that this is realistic. Fewer choose family medicine. All have huuuuuge costs involved in their very long training. Let's face it folks - they are not coming.
So what to do?
Let's consider a phone triage interface staffed by nurses and some doctors. You are now only a phone call away fro having an experienced person help you though what is going on. It can be staffed centrally and even of Island. Islanders can know that they will get help in a few minutes.
If it is serious - then you go into the hospital. With your file!
Plus such a system can then connect you to social help. Much of the treatment and many of the issues for people extend beyond diagnosis and treatment plan. How do you give a 2 year old an injection? How can you lose 40 pounds. How do you cope with a colostomy? See what I mean? It is other people like you that can help you live with the disease not the medical profession.
Now we start to get at the core of the other related problem. Cost.
What really happens now is that you have your 3 minutes with the doc who prescribes a drug. She has no time to hear you nor to help you make the changes that will really make you well. So drugs and even surgery are the substitute. I go to see the knee man this Friday. I do have a problem but if I lost 30 pounds, I would be better! My doctor can't help me with the weight loss but you might!
So today we have the most expensive process possible. You have to leave work, home, your kids and drove to the doctor/hospital. There you meet the most expensive person in the system - the Doctor/Gatekeeper. Who substitutes time with you by giving you a drug or a procedure.
As the times get tougher - surely we have to start thinking about healthcare in a new way?
