Andre Picard wrote an article in the Globe and Mail, stating that the public private debate is a distraction from the real problems with healthcare in Canada.

His article points out what some of us know; that most doctors operate private businesses.

Pharmacists run private businesses.

Occupational therapists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, chiropodists, social workers, psychologists, many nurse practitioners, massage therapists and other care providers operate private businesses and/or charge people for services privately.

Dentistry is private.

And so the uproar over healthcare becoming private seems to be a bit confusing, when so much of it is.

That this public private debate really is a distraction from the real problems we need to face. 

The real concern that should be the centre of uproar relates to whether healthcare needs are actually being met in Canada.

Most people do recognize that Canada’s public healthcare is in dire crisis.

The extensive waiting lists for surgery and 20 hour waits in the ER are real.

There are 6.5 million Canadians without access to primary care.

And another 5 million Canadians who are attached to a primary care doctor but can't get access. 

So something has to change. 

In the meantime, without the ability to access the care they need and the fear that’s growing, we are seeing more and more families purchasing private health insurance.

That’s right.

Canadian residents are able to purchase private international health insurance while residing in Canada.

The care can be sourced in Europe, Asia, the US or elsewhere.

Without Canada’s healthcare meeting needs, here is another private option only available to well-resourced families and individuals.

The annual cost is not out of reach for most families

Years ago, when I was on an informal health policy advisory group with the late Professor Brenda Zimmerman of York University, she spoke about complex adaptive systems.

Our healthcare system is a complex system.

The problem is that it is not adapting. Not changing and evolving in response to need. That is when systems break down. That is what we are experiencing.

So it may be time to move on from the public private debate and talk about innovation in health system design.

Or more and more, only the Canadians who can afford private options will be accessing the healthcare they need.

Either through all the private care options already available in Canada but not understood to be available or through private international insurance, where ironically the premium dollars collected will fund the healthcare systems of other countries and not ours. 

If you are curious, click on https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-private-public-debate-is-a-distraction-from-health-cares-real/

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Raymond Rupert  

CEO  

RCM Health Consultancy Inc.

www.rcmhealth.ca