There is also an increasing issue in Canada of minor operations being delayed to the point where major surgical intervention is eventually needed.
With the medical system over-burdened, the system is now fundamentally reactionary in many specialties; delaying anything that can possibly be delayed.
It's saving a penny today to pay a dollar (or a loonie, I should say) tomorrow. It's economically burdensome and, obviously, creates a great deal of unnecessary hardship for those in line.
Nearly every Canadian has anecdotal stories of elderly relatively who had a minor ailment that needed surgery - were delayed for months because they were
low priority - and then needed a larger intervention as the problem compounded over said months.
Where does this show up in the data? How do you measure and value up to a year - which can be more than 10% of an elderly persons remaining life - being mired in uncertainty, discomfort, and pain waiting for a procedure? How do you measure medical efficiency and patient outcomes in this context?
The best way to describe the current system is that doctors (surgeons, in particular) are forced not to look out for the individual patient's best interest, but the best interest of their entire surgical waiting list in aggregate (and this can be dozens of names long).
So, yes, it is in the best interest of Patient X to have the minor operation done this week as there is a strong likelihood of further complications and a worse patient outcome if delayed. However, Patient Y needs a major surgery this week so Patient Y, rationally, gets the higher priority.
With the medical system over-burdened, the system is now fundamentally reactionary in many specialties; delaying anything that can possibly be delayed.
It's saving a penny today to pay a dollar (or a loonie, I should say) tomorrow. It's economically burdensome and, obviously, creates a great deal of unnecessary hardship for those in line.
Nearly every Canadian has anecdotal stories of elderly relatively who had a minor ailment that needed surgery - were delayed for months because they were low priority - and then needed a larger intervention as the problem compounded over said months.
Where does this show up in the data? How do you measure and value up to a year - which can be more than 10% of an elderly persons remaining life - being mired in uncertainty, discomfort, and pain waiting for a procedure? How do you measure medical efficiency and patient outcomes in this context?
The best way to describe the current system is that doctors (surgeons, in particular) are forced not to look out for the individual patient's best interest, but the best interest of their entire surgical waiting list in aggregate (and this can be dozens of names long).
So, yes, it is in the best interest of Patient X to have the minor operation done this week as there is a strong likelihood of further complications and a worse patient outcome if delayed. However, Patient Y needs a major surgery this week so Patient Y, rationally, gets the higher priority.