Alberta Leading in Healthcare.

[Canuck E Stan]

Project drastically cuts surgery wait times

A pilot project in Alberta has cut wait times for hip and knee surgeries to a fraction of what they were before.

The provincial government and a consortium of private doctors are hailing the success of the project, which is only half-way to completion.

Hospital waiting room (CP file photo)

The numbers show patients waited just six weeks on average from the time they had a complaint to the time they saw a specialist. The normal wait time is nine months. And the time between seeing a surgeon to the operation was reduced to about seven weeks from 11 months.

Isn't this what everyone is wanting? Shorter waiting time? Klien's third way is the way.

[Slim MacSquinty]

It must feel pretty damn good to be Ralph Klein today, fuddle duddle Paul Martin!

[Yaro]

Of course its so simple! all we have to do is invent a time machine go back in time and make sure that oil develops in every province so that everyone has that extra revenue! its so obvious now!

Also 7 week reduction to an 11 month average should not be referred to as a fraction which implies a small fraction. Technically 998/999 is a fraction.

[lovecanada]

Of course its so simple! all we have to do is invent a time machine go back in time and make sure that oil develops in every province so that everyone has that extra revenue! its so obvious now!

Also 7 week reduction to an 11 month average should not be referred to as a fraction which implies a small fraction. Technically 998/999 is a fraction.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It only took 20 million by the Alberta government not the BILLIONS that Martin is pouring into the provinces without results!

How can you be so bitter about something so good for health care?? Cause it was Alberta that did it? Get over it, anything that can help people in pain, IS GOOD, I don't care what party did it!

[Slim MacSquinty]

Can't wait to hear the Liberal spin tommorrow.

Way to go Ralph, could you e-mail dorky Dalton your phone number.

[Yaro]

It only took 20 million by the Alberta government not the BILLIONS that Martin is pouring into the provinces without results!

Because it didn't cost 20 million, that was the Alberta Government's Contribution. So again no you don't know what your talking about.

Its also ludicrous to compare the National spending on health care from the federal government to a special project for 1200 surgeries in Alberta.

It should also be noted that under utilization of facilities was one of the major issues cited in every evaluation of Canada's health care system, this isn't a private health care act these are doctors performing operations in public facilities that have been underutilized due to largely exhorbinant doctors fees (Specialist doctors in Canada make more then in any other western nation).

[cybercoma]

I guess what it does show is that the provinces really should be responsible for their own health care, instead of the federal government making the demands.

[Yaro]

The provinces do run there own healthcare, the federal has been handing out the money no strings attached. Whether thats good or bad I don't know.

[Riverwind]

The provinces do run there own healthcare, the federal has been handing out the money no strings attached. Whether thats good or bad I don't know.

What we need is a system where the provinces collect all the taxes they need to pay for healthcare instead of getting hand outs from the feds. It screws up the system of accountability if the people collecting the taxes for a service are not the people spending the money.

[Slim MacSquinty]

The Federal buffoons are all running around talking, studying and blaming, Ralph just got sick of WAITING and went ahead. Sure it's only one set of proceedures and limitted in scope but it's a success, what other province has had one.

I'm glad to see that somewhere someone is trying to solve these problems, and Alberta should be especially proud given the aggressive stance the federal libs have taken against them.

The only good idea is a liberal idea so lets shoot it down. grow up people.

[Canuck E Stan]

Globe and Mail

All this was done within the medicare system -- though it should be noted some of the clinics doing the surgery were for-profit facilities and some were not-for-profits, but that is generally not something patients care about. What matters is that all the procedures were centrally administered and paid for from the public purse.

While some investment was required upfront, researchers figure the approach will be revenue neutral.

In other words, providing care quickly costs no more than providing it slowly -- except you eliminate the suffering.

The Alberta study tells us that we have a health system that is fundamentally sound, but it needs to be funded adequately and managed effectively, and services need to be better integrated. It tells us that the solution to our waiting-list woes is threefold: Use an evidence-based approach, provide incentives for health-care providers to work collaboratively, and listen to patients.

The Globe and Mail has put this story under -The Election: Analysis.

All of the leaders should be commenting on this super successful private/public mix of healthcare.

Layton especially should admit that it does work and his idea of a strictly public system is bogus.

[Biblio Bibuli]

All of the leaders should be commenting on this super successful private/public mix of healthcare.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I bet you that by mid January even Joe Clark wil be campaigning for Stephen Harper.

[Yaro]

Ok, my objections are put aside then, the original article was poorly written and implied several untrue things. This is essentially the French model which I have no problem with.

[Guest eureka]

What does a pilot project for a limited number of cases mean? The object is to reduce for the whole population and that, incidentally has seen waiting times reducing but not by nearly enough.

That is still a work in progress and only a complete idiot would think that the introduction of private care will help in any way. There is not a single rational argument to be made in favour of that unless we really do have proper two tier WITH the same resources devoted to the public care as are presently given.

That is politically and economically impossible.

[Biblio Bibuli]

only a complete idiot would think that the introduction of private care will help in any way.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I must be a complete idiot then.

What if I were to tell you that I could get 2x, THREE TIMES as much production out of a doctor that I snitched from the Canadian public system?

[Guest eureka]

Then you would possibly qualify as a high grade moron ( better than anidiot) for getting something but not understanding the harm you do to the health system.

You could not, by the way.

[Biblio Bibuli]

You could not, by the way.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Want to bet?

[Guest eureka]

Np, because it might be possible to find a retired doctor who would come back to do a little work for the right money.

No other, though.

It would be possible to get more if the paper work was reduced and not increased as it would be under any private component. That is one of the major costs and reductions in output of the US system.

[Yaro]

Want to bet?

I will take that bet.

Even in this article it makes the point that it was cost neutral, in other words it simply cost the same amount that it would have to do it under the public system. This point seems to be lauded as if its some kind of accomplishment (as I suppose it is).

[hiti]

Yes, Martin's plan is finally starting to work.

=============================

As part of a deal requiring Ottawa to spend an extra $41 billion on health over 10 years, the provinces and territories agreed to set benchmarks in September, 2004 during a first ministers' meeting.

The money includes $4.5 billion over six years to reduce waiting times for treatment, and $3.5 billion in additional transfers to the provinces and territories over two years -- which will then be boosted by a six per cent a year "escalator clause" to keep up with rising health costs.

Liberal Leader Paul Martin said Monday that the strategy agreed upon in 2004 is already working and has resulted in a reduction in wait times.

"We're talking about a plan that has been put in place for a year-and-a-half and it is working."

"Let me tell you," he added, "that the most powerful pressure you can bring on any government, in fact, is to have a set of measurements in front of Canadians. And they will decide whether you are achieving (them)."

CTV News

[PocketRocket]

Liberal Leader Paul Martin said Monday that the strategy agreed upon in 2004 is already working and has resulted in a reduction in wait times.

Well you wouldn't expect him to say that his plan is NOT working, would you???

Can you cite an independant source that can verify this claim???

[Guest eureka]

Can't give you a source, Pocket, but I saw or read recently a listing of the reductions in wait times.

They are happening though not fast enough. We won't get more significant reductions until we get rid of the Harper factor in his cooperation with provincial governments who will not cooperate.