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Name: Muhammed

Title: Private health care won’t reduce wait times — it may raise them, report says

Source: Global News

Year: 2023

This news suggests that waiting times will increase in Canada during the transition from the public health system to the private health system. In this case, doctors who want to earn more are worried about moving to the private sector.

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A new report released Thursday says that privatization of health care in Ontario won't reduce wait times but may actually increase them.

That's because for-profit centres could as well face the staffing shortages that have plagued the public sector, and any talent that is attracted to the private model will in turn reduce staff in public hospitals, according to the report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

"Increasing surgical and diagnostic capacity depends on the availability of qualified staff, which is not magically increased by the addition of profit," report author and Simon Fraser University health policy researcher Andrew Longhurst said in a statement Thursday.

"Expanded outsourcing is likely to worsen public hospital staffing shortages that cause longer waits."

The problems of creating more for-profit health care include higher costs, less staff in the public system, as well as upselling, self-referrals and unnecessary procedures, Longhurst said.

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University of Toronto health policy professor Raisa Deber told Global News that private health care differs from many other services because it is based on need, so for-profit centres could overcharge or upsell services that aren't necessary given the consumer's lack of knowledge but need for care.

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"One of the problems that you run into is that market forces don't work in health care," she said.

"People get very nervous when you start throwing for-profit into the mix because it gives absolutely the wrong incentives to the providers."

She pointed to the pharmaceutical industry as an example, where drugs can be sold for higher costs to drive profit and are still bought by consumers because they are needed.

While privatization of some services is being considered in provinces like Ontario and others due to long wait times and backlogs in the public system, the report noted that wait times in Ontario for "many priority procedures" are the shortest in Canada, such as for hip and knee replacement in 2022.

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In May, the Ontario government passed Bill 60, which encourages the growth of for-profit health care for some surgeries and imaging. Less than two per cent of surgeries in Ontario were done in for-profit facilities in 2021-2022, CCPA said.

Rather than turn to privatization, the report recommends efforts to improve the public system, "not undermine it."

"Ontario does not lack the physical space and equipment to improve wait times for surgeries and medical imaging; what is missing is the health care workforce and funding necessary to do the work," Longhurst said.

The report recommends funding and staffing underused public hospital operating rooms and performing surgeries during the evening and weekends, as well as increasing hospital bed capacity.

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Private health care won't reduce wait times - it may raise them, report says | Globalnews.ca

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A new report released Thursday says that privatization of health care in Ontario won't reduce wait times but may actually increase them.

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Name: Naima Wakeely

Title: Government's responsibility for public health

source: Department of health

Year: 2023

This article shows that the government helps for the public healthcare, and the government is responsible for the public healthcare. so public is one of the greatest things in which a government can invest.

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Areas of Public Health Responsibility
The Roles of Local, State, and Federal Governments
Accreditation and National Public Health Standards
Key Resources

Public health is one of the greatest things in which a government can invest. Early prevention, which is relatively inexpensive, can prevent dire and expensive health care problems later in life.

Early in their development, both Minnesota and the United States recognized the role of the government in protecting the public's health, and each entity makes reference to this in their constitutions as part of a "general welfare" clause. Public health promotes the welfare of the entire population, ensures its security and protects it from the spread of infectious disease and environmental hazards, and helps to ensure access to safe and quality care to benefit the population.

Governmental responsibilities for public health extend beyond voluntary activities and services to include additional authorities such as quarantine, mandatory immunization laws, and regulatory authorities. The state's partnership functions by encouraging residents to do things that benefit their health (e.g., physical activity) or create conditions to promote good health, and requiring certain actions (e.g., food safety).

Areas of Public Health Responsibility

Minnesota's areas of public health responsibility within the Local Public Health Act follow. They describe what people in Minnesota should expect to receive from their local health department no matter where they live, and are used by community health boards for assessment and planning purposes.

The areas of public health responsibility include (1) assuring an adequate local public health infrastructure, (2) promoting healthy communities and healthy behaviors, (3) preventing the spread of communicable disease, (4) protecting against environmental health hazards, (5) preparing for and responding to emergencies, and (6) assuring health services. You can find more information on public health activities relating to these areas online.

Assure an Adequate Local Public Health Infrastructure

Assuring an adequate local public health infrastructure means maintaining the basic capacities foundational to a well-functioning public health system such as data analysis and utilization; health planning; partnership development and community mobilization; policy development, analysis and decision support; communication; and public health research, evaluation and quality improvement.

Promote Healthy Communities and Healthy Behavior

Promoting healthy communities and healthy behaviors means activities that improve health in a population, such as investing in healthy families; engaging communities to change policy, systems or environments to promote positive health or prevent adverse health; providing information and education about healthy communities or population health status; and addressing issues of health equity, health disparities, and the social determinants of health.

Prevent the Spread of Communicable Disease

Preventing the spread of infectious disease means preventing diseases that are caused by infectious agents, such as by detecting acute infectious diseases, assuring the reporting of infectious diseases, preventing the transmission of disease, and implementing control measures during infectious disease outbreaks.

Protect Against Environmental Health Hazards

Protecting against environmental health hazards means addressing aspects of the environment that pose risks to human health, such as monitoring air and water quality, developing policies and programs to reduce exposure to environmental health risks and promote healthy environments, and identifying and mitigating environmental risks such as foodborne and waterborne diseases, radiation, occupational health hazards, and public health nuisances.

Prepare and Respond To Emergencies

Preparing and responding to emergencies means engaging in activities that prepare public health departments to respond to events and incidents and assist communities in recovery, such as providing leadership for public health preparedness activities within a community; developing, exercising and periodically reviewing response plans for public health threats; and developing and maintaining a system of public health workforce readiness, deployment, and response.

Assure Health Services

Assuring health services means engaging in activities such as assessing the availability of health-related services and health care providers in local communities; identifying gaps and barriers; convening community partners to improve community health systems; and providing services identified as priorities by the local assessment and planning process.

The Roles of Local, State, and Federal Governments

Public health is population-based. Although local health departments and community health boards provide services to individuals, the goal of a population-based approach is very different from that of a patient-based or client-based approach that addresses the needs or concerns of an individual. Since public health activities are based on community needs, resources, funding, and support, services vary among local public health departments.

Minnesota's commissioner of health has the general authority for the development and maintenance of an organized system of programs and services for protecting, maintaining, and improving the health of the citizens ( Minn. Stat. § 144.05). Such programs and services are related, but not limited to, maternal/child health, environmental health, public health emergency preparedness, disease prevention, control and epidemiology, public health administration, healthy communities and behaviors, licensing and inspection, and health care access.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is also responsible for monitoring, detecting, and investigating disease outbreaks; researching causes of illness and operating prevention programs; providing laboratory services; safeguarding the quality of health care, working to contain health care costs and assure that all Minnesotans have access to health care; safeguarding the quality of food, drinking water, and indoor air; developing strategies to improve the health of vulnerable populations; and working to eliminate health disparities.

In partnership with local public health entities, MDH helps with everything from developing guidelines, to providing technical assistance and support, to funneling state and federal funds to community health boards. Its specialists and scientists collect and analyze data that are used for research, resource development, and program development throughout the state. Public Health Nurse Consultants (PHNCs) provide specialized assistance on local and tribal public health to regions around the state.

MDH also has staff in seven district offices that provide assistance to local health departments (and others) regarding epidemiological investigations and consultation, emergency preparedness, environmental health, public and nonpublic water supplies, maternal/child health, public health nursing, and the practice of public health, as well as other areas. The MDH district offices are located in Duluth, St. Cloud, Bemidji, Fergus Falls, Marshall, Mankato, and Rochester.

Federal Influences

State and local health departments work with a number of federal agencies, primarily those within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) leads efforts to control communicable disease outbreaks and promote mass immunization. The federal government also assists states with funding (when state resources are not available) and guidance for work such as emergency preparedness. At both the state and local level, Minnesota relies on these offices for grant funding and expertise.

Accreditation and National Public Health Standards

Related: National Public Health Domains: Summary

In recent years, there has been recognition at the national level of the lack of standardization between health departments, and a need to identify what state and local health departments should do to deliver quality public health programs and services. This led to the development of a set of standards that health departments can put into practice to ensure that they are providing the best services possible to keep their communities safe and healthy.

The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) has developed a national voluntary accreditation program for state, local, territorial, and tribal public health departments. The accreditation process will drive public health departments to continuously improve the quality of the services they deliver to the community, as well as offering the following benefits:

Accountability and credibility

Leverage for funding

Visibility

Increased efficiency and effectiveness

The State Community Health Services Advisory Committee, or SCHSAC, which is comprised of representatives from across the state, has recommended that Minnesota's local public health annual reporting align with national standards, and that community health boards interested in applying for accreditation will be ready to apply by 2020.

Key Resources

Next: Background on CHS Administration

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Government's Responsibility for Public Health

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Areas of Public Health Responsibility The Roles of Local, State, and Federal Governments Accreditation and National Public Health Standards Key Resources Public health is one of the greatest things in which a government can invest. Early prevention, which is relatively inexpensive, can prevent dire and expensive health care problems later in life.

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Name:Baris

Title:Public and private payment for health care in Canada

Source:healthy debate

Authors:Karen born,Andreas laupacis

Year:2011

This article explores how Canada’s healthcare system combines public and private funding, with around 70% from the public sector and 30% from private sources. This unique mix reflects ongoing debates about the balance between public and private spending in ensuring sustainable and high-quality healthcare for Canadians.

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While often described as a publicly-funded system, only about 70% of health care costs are paid for publicly, with the remaining 30% paid for privately. In Ontario, medically necessary hospital and physician costs are entirely covered by the public health care system. However patients pay privately for many drugs, dental care, eye care, physiotherapy and other services.
Many politicians speak about Canada's health care system as if virtually everything is paid for by governments. However, this isn't true - about 70% of health care is publicly paid through taxpayers' dollars, with the remaining 30% paid for through private insurance or out-of-pocket payments. How does Canada compare with other countries in the public/private mix?

Public health insurance in Canada developed in two stages, first with the introduction of the Hospital Services and Diagnostics Act in 1957, which established provincial health care plans to cover hospital care. In 1966, the Medical Care Act extended these provincial public insurance programs to include physician fees. During that time, the vast majority of healthcare spending went toward physicians and hospitals. Over time there has been a change in allocation of healthcare expenditures - for example there has been an increase in the proportion spent on prescription drugs. To learn more about who pays for prescription drugs in Canada, and what some policy options are regarding prescription drug coverage, click here.

In 1984, the federal government passed the Canada Health Act which reaffirmed many of the principles set in legislation 20 years earlier, stating that "continued access to quality health care without financial and other barriers will be critical to maintaining the health and well-being of Canadians."

The Canada Health Act tied federal funding transfers to specific conditions - universality (meaning every Canadian is covered to the same degree), comprehensiveness, accessibility, portability and public administration. The comprehensiveness principle required provincial insurance programs to cover all medically necessary hospital and physician services. But there is no definition for "medically necessary" provided in the Act, and provinces have interpreted this differently. As the population ages, and the way that health care is delivered changes, there are growing debates about what services should be covered publicly and what services Canadians should be responsible for paying on their own.

Privatization, in numerous forms, is part of Canada health care. Private health care has been described as "anything beyond what the public system will pay for." For example, if you're in hospital, public insurance will pay for the cost of your bed in a shared room, but if you have private insurance, or want to pay out of pocket, you can upgrade to a private room, for a price.

Private clinics have also opened in many provinces across Canada, offering services such as imaging, diagnostic tests and low risk surgeries, for a fee. Another significant area of private spending is on outpatient prescription drugs. Although some patients are covered by provinicial governements, many are not, and pay for medications through private insurance, out of pocket payments, or a combination of the two.

Derek Burleton, Deputy Chief Economist of TD Economics and author of a recent report on the sustainability of health care in Ontario says that when "provincial governments try to contain costs and deal with deficits" it will "put pressure on the private sector to pick up the slack."

Private health care spending is a higher proportion of overall health care spending in Canada than in many other comparable countries. Mark Stabile, Director of the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto says that "with the system that we have set up in Canada, which systematically excludes prescription drugs" it is no surprise that "there is going to be a large private component" of health spending. Stabile notes that other health care systems such as the United Kingdom do have parallel private systems. However, they tend to be small. Stabile describes these parallel private systems as "focused on a small number of clients and doing a small number of things" noting that "it is unlikely that you will get open heart surgery in a private system because it's not going to make them money."

The mix of what is paid for publicly and privately in Canada differs from comparable countries. The table below provides a snapshot of health services that are paid for publicly and privately in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, New Zealand and the United States.

Physician and hospital services, with varying levels of support for groups related to prescription drug coverage, eye care, dental care, home care, and ambulance services.

Preventative care, inpatient and outpatient care, physician services, inpatient and outpatient drugs, dental care, mental health care, rehabilitation

Hospital care, ambulatory care, prescription drugs. Some preventative services for certain populations.

Public health prevention & promotion, inpatient and outpatient hospital care, primary health care, inpatient and outpatient prescription drugs, mental health care, dental care for children, disability support services

Eligibility for public programs (Medicare and Medicaid) are based on age and income levels and cover inpatient and outpatient care as well as physician services.

There is varying degrees of coverage for prescription drugs, eye care, dental care, home care and ambulance services.

Supplementary private insurance for choice of specialists, queue jumping for elective surgery, better services while in hospital

Cost sharing to some publicly-provided services including hospital care, visits to family doctors and prescription drugs

Co-payments for general practitioner and nurse services, prescription drugs, private hospital or specialist care and adult dental care

Private and employer insurance cover the the majority of residents.

70% public30% private

87% public13% private

76% public24% private

78% public22% private

47% public53% private

Recent data from the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development show that the amount of private spending on health is greater in Canada than in similar countries such as the United Kingdom, Belgium and New Zealand, but not the United States. Private spending on health in Canada reached $56.6 billion in 2010.

Not all experts agree who Canada should be looking to when comparing health spending and coverage. Ted Marmor, a professor of Public Policy and Management at Yale University argues that "from a cost containment standpoint, Canada ought to be properly compared to the United States, which is its closest neighbour" and that the "relative performance [of the Canadian health care system] is most closely related to the United States". For example, many analysts believe that one of the reasons Canadian physicians are among the most highly paid in the world is because they can easily move to the United States if Canadian wages are uncompetitive. However, despite our proximity to the United States, Canada spends 45% less on health care than the United States, according to the Organization of Economic Co-Operation and Development.

The public/private spending mix is a controversial issue. It is important for Canadians to understand where, when and why public and private dollars are being spent on health. The debate persists about the appropriate mix of private and public spending, and who should pay for what services and providers.

Is more private health care inevitable? In the current fiscal environment, is more public spending feasible? What is the appropriate mix of health care spending to ensure good value, sustainability and quality of health care for Canadians?

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Public and private payment for health care in Canada - Healthy Debate

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It is inaccurate to say that Canada has an entirely publicly funded health care system. While often described as a publicly-funded system, only about 70%

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Name: Edison

Title: Understanding public and private health care

Source: Canadian Medical Association

Year: 2024

This article shows the differences and similarities of public and private healthcare in Canda. And the article explain what the covered for all citezens.

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CMA EXPLAINS

As health ministers across the country grapple with intractable wait lists for everything from primary care to specialized surgeries, some are turning to the private sector for help. Although privatization brings American-style health care to mind for many Canadians, there are other models - each with pros and cons.

The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) believes now is a critical moment to speak up for the health system we want, grounded in a shared understanding of the one we have and with a focus on access, equity, quality and system capacity. Here are some basics to start with.

What's covered by "public" health care

In the 2023 federal budget, Ottawa committed $196.1 billion in health funding over 10 years. To receive their portion, provincial and territorial governments must follow established criteria for public health insurance - what most of us refer to simply as public health care.

Not all aspects of care are covered. The focus of Canada's public system is on hospitals, diagnostics and physicians. That's why, for example, a broken ankle will be X-rayed and fixed at no direct cost to you, but the out-patient physiotherapy required to rebuild its strength may not.

And while public health care must be overseen by provinces and territories, they can choose private facilities or providers to deliver care, as long as patients aren't charged for services covered by those health cards in our wallets.

Examples include:
Whatever services are covered, and however they're delivered, the interconnectedness of health care means any change can have a domino effect - for better and for worse.
The patient with the broken ankle, for instance, might benefit most from post-surgical physiotherapy. And for someone with private insurance or the personal funds to pay out-of-pocket, a private provider might offer the fastest, most effective care.

For someone who can't afford private services, on the other hand, further care from a publicly funded physician or hospital may be the only option, impacting not only their own health outcome or wait times but those of other patients as well.

"The conversation is not an easy one, but the time is now for an open and honest dialogue on the way forward out of this health care crisis. Services must be there for Canadians when they need them, and solutions must be grounded in the lived experience of those seeking and those providing care."
Dr. Kathleen Ross, CMA president

The balance of public and private care we have now
To get a sense of the current ratio of private to public care in Canada, here's a snapshot of how things break down in the country's largest province, Ontario, which also has the highest concentration of health providers.
The private sector's role in health care can be obvious - when you get a bill from the dentist or optometrist, say - but not always. Patients are not charged for medically necessary services at privately owned walk-in clinics, for example, because these services are publicly funded by the government. The same is true for blood tests and ultrasounds at privately owned labs and clinics.
Where you live affects the balance of public and private care.
The postal code effect

Patients' options for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans are a good example. All medically necessary scans must be covered by provincial and territorial health insurance. The catch is how fast you'll get one.

Machines cost about $3 million. In remote regions like Nunavut and the Northwest Territories there are none; if you need a scan, you'll need to travel. Elsewhere, there are machines - but average wait-times range from 33 to 91 days.

Some governments - for example in British Columbia and Ontario - have addressed this problem by funding private companies to conduct MRI scans, with services covered by public health insurance at no cost to patients.

Saskatchewan made private-pay MRIs accessible in 2016, but clinics must match every privately funded MRI with a spot for someone else on the public waiting list.

Other provinces have opened access to diagnostics that are both privately funded and privately delivered: Alberta established the first private-pay clinic in Calgary in 1993. Now, they also exist in British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

Even where private-pay scans are not available, as in Ontario, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, patients can go to neighbouring jurisdictions.
A large proportion of privately funded health care is covered by insurance companies.
Paying the bill for private care

72:28

As of 2022, governments paid for 72% of all health care. The rest was paid by patients out-of-pocket (11%), through private health insurance (15%) or other sources (2%).

27 million

About 27 million Canadians have private insurance. Approximately 66% have plans attached to employers, with the rest paying for their own insurance policies.

$1,000

On average, Canadians spent more than $1,000 out-of-pocket on health care in 2020.
Prior to the announcement of the 2023 federal budget, the Angus Reid Institute surveyed Canadians on the possibility of increased private funding and delivery of care. Here's how respondents were divided in their thinking:
What Canadians think

Private care proponents

Think privatization is a necessary evolution of care.

Curious but hesitant

Acknowledge benefits to both public and private care.

​​​​​​

Public health proponents

See little to no place for privatization.

"We need to be clear on the realities of our system. There is so much misinformation out there. Many people aren't aware of the current public-private mix of health care services. We can only stand for equity and timely access for all if we're working with a common awareness of the full scope of options available."
Sudi Barre, CMA Patient Voice

Overall, when asked whether patients should be allowed to pay out-of-pocket for faster access to diagnostic tests or select surgeries, 43% of respondents said they supported the idea and 47% opposed it.

SOURCE: Survey conducted with randomized sample of 2,005 Canadians on Feb. 1-4, 2023, by the Angus Reid Institute. Margin of error +/- 2%, 19 times out of 20.

Where the CMA stands

The CMA's current policy on public and private care is based on guiding principles including:

Timely access: Canadians should have timely access to medically necessary care and individual recourse when wait times are unreasonably long.

Equity: Access to medically necessary care must be based on need and not on ability to pay.

Accountability: Public and private health providers should meet the same standards for patient outcomes, full-cost accounting and value for money.

Our principles haven't changed, but pressure on the health system has - which affects patients' access to quality and timely care and providers' well-being.

That's why we're launching cross-country consultations with both the public and the medical profession. What we hear will inform our policy moving forward, and our recommendations for action at a national level.

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Understanding public and private health care

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CMA EXPLAINS As health ministers across the country grapple with intractable wait lists for everything from primary care to specialized surgeries, some are turning to the private sector for help. Although privatization brings American-style health care to mind for many Canadians, there are other models - each with pros and cons.

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Name : Duy Bao

Title :Ontario's Doug Ford says he believes in public health care but government will 'get creative'

Year : 2022

Organization : CTV NEWS TORONTO

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has expressed his commitment to public healthcare while acknowledging the staffing crisis in hospitals. He stated that his government is open to exploring creative solutions to address the issue, including potential consultations with experts in the field. While Ford emphasized the importance of maintaining coverage under OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan), he did not rule out the possibility of considering further privatization of certain aspects of healthcare.

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Ontario's Doug Ford says he believes in public health care but government will 'get creative'

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he's a strong believer in public health care, but his government is going to "get creative" when looking at how it can be delivered as the province deals with a staffing crisis in hospitals.

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Name: Anh Le

Title: Public vs Private Healthcare

Organization: CBC News

Year: 2006

According to this article, all qualified citizens of their country are entitled to reasonably priced, pre-paid, insured healthcare services without having to pay a fee at the time. It offers relatively uniform healthcare delivery throughout the entire country.

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Does private health care exist in Canada today?

It's a crucial part of the system.

Canada spent an estimated $142 billion on health care in 2005, or $4,411 per person, according to Health Care in Canada 2006, a report released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. After taking inflation into account, this amounts to almost three times what was spent in 1975.

Of that, just over $98.8 billion was spent by governments delivering public health care. About $43.2 billion was spent on private health care.

What is public health care?

Depending on who you ask, it's either what defines Canada – or it's the greatest impediment to ensuring that Canadians get quick access to the kind of medical services they deserve.

Provincial Health Care Legislation

Health care legislation and its enforcement in Canada varies from province to province. Some provinces, like Nova Scotia, currently have no additional provincial legislation (for example to discourage extra billing), and follow the rules of the Canada Health Act. The province is, however, planning public consultation to develop health care legislation.

Other provinces, like British Columbia and Saskatchewan, have provincial health legislation that reinforces the Canada Health Act. This includes provisions forbidding extra billing for facilities or materials and a cap on what can be charged for services if a doctor opts out of the insured system. These rules do allow doctors to practice outside the provincial system, but often, as in BC, require them to charge the same or less than what the government would pay for the services under the insured system. The enforcement of this legislation, however, has recently come into question.

The incidence of health care providers practicing outside a provincial system is on the rise. Provinces like Quebec have seen significant growth in private, for-profit clinics. These clinics allow those who are willing to pay for services to obtain them without the usual wait times, which is in direct violation of the Canada Health Act.

Provinces such as Ontario have recently moved to strengthen the public system. Bill 8 - passed in June of 2004 - is designed to close loopholes that allow queue-jumping and extra billing, make health care providers accountable and establish an independent Ontario Health Quality Council to report on the health care system.

In reality, it's probably something in between.

Public health care is governed by the Canada Health Act. It's designed to make sure that all eligible people in the country have reasonable access to insured health services on a prepaid basis, without direct charges at the point of service.

Simply put, if you break your leg chasing the Canadian dream, you have the right to get fixed up without opening your wallet – except to pull out your provincial health insurance card.

The act is also designed to make sure that the delivery of health care is pretty consistent across the country. Ottawa has found that the best way to do that is by attaching conditions to the cash it transfers to the provinces to cover health care.

Among those conditions are that health care must be:

Portable.

Universal.

Accessible.

Free from extra charges (for insured services).

By portable, Ottawa means if you move from one province or territory to another, you won't lose your coverage. This doesn't mean you can go looking for health services in another province or country because the waiting list at home is too long for your liking. It does, however, mean that your out-of-province in-laws will be covered if they suddenly fall sick while on their annual visit.

Under the universality criterion, all insured residents of a province or territory must be entitled to the insured health services provided by the provincial or territorial health care insurance plan. Doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. You can't buy your way to the front of the line.

By accessible, the CHA means "insured persons in a province or territory have reasonable access to insured hospital, medical and surgical-dental services on uniform terms and conditions, unprecluded or unimpeded, either directly or indirectly, by charges [user charges or extra-billing] or other means [e.g., discrimination on the basis of age, health status or financial circumstances]."

What is private health care?

Anything beyond what the public system will pay for. For instance, should you have to spend some time in the hospital, the public system will cover the cost of your bed in a ward, which usually has three other patients. If you want a private room, the extra charge will come out of your pocket, unless you have extended health coverage either through your employer or through a policy you have bought yourself.

Need an ambulance ride? Expect to receive a bill. If you have extended health care coverage, your insurance company will likely pick up the tab.

Dr. Albert Schumacher, former president of the Canadian Medical Association estimates that 75 per cent of health-care services are delivered privately, but funded publicly.

"Frontline practitioners whether they're GPs or specialists by and large are not salaried. They're small hardware stores. Same thing with labs and radiology clinics ï¿½The situation we are seeing now are more services around not being funded publicly but people having to pay for them, or their insurance companies. We have sort of a passive privatization."

Most cosmetic procedures are not covered by the public system. If you're contemplating undergoing a cosmetic procedure, by the way, you might want to take a close look at your cosmetic surgeon's credentials. Almost any doctor in this country can call him/herself a cosmetic surgeon – and start operating – even if that person was not a surgeon before.

There are no regulations in Canada governing who can – or can't – perform cosmetic surgery. Most procedures are not monitored because they are done in a doctor's office.

Are there other forms of private health care?

There are a few privately-run hospitals in the country, whose services may or may not be covered by health insurance.

Shouldice Hospital in Toronto opened in 1945 – before Canadians were covered by universal health care. Dr. Edward Earle Shouldice developed a unique method of repairing hernias and demand for the services of his staff quickly spread beyond Canada's borders. The hospital remains private today. Residents of Ontario who have a valid health card are covered by the provincial health-care system for the cost of surgery. If you're from outside Ontario, you will probably need extended – private – health coverage to get reimbursed.

Several privately-run clinics have opened across the country as well, offering CT scans and MRI services. Most have contracts with their provincial governments. The idea was to take pressure off the limited resources of hospitals. The clinics are paid by the province to provide their services.

Several clinics opened in Ontario after the then former Conservative government signed contracts with four companies. The companies were allowed to provide 40 hours of testing per machine per week. Physicians associated with the clinics are paid on a fee-for-service basis by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan to read the test results for OHIP-covered patients. While the clinics are allowed to take private customers after hours, they cannot sell MRI or CT scans to anyone who walks in off the street. You have to have a doctor's referral.

The clinics operate on a for-profit basis. The Canadian Health Care Coalition argues that clinics like these lay the groundwork for a private, parallel for-profit health-care system in Canada.

"The proliferation of investor-owned private, for-profit clinics and facilities acts like a viral infection in the body of Canada's public health-care system," the coalition said in a news release following the September 2004 First Ministers Conference on health care. "The for-profit health care virus cannot exist without feeding off and damaging public bodies."

Shortly after beating the Conservatives in Ontario's 2003 election, the Liberal government promised to shut down the private clinics and buy the machines.

However, in 2006, the Conservatives were elected federally on a platform that pushed for a mix of public and private health care, provided that health care stays publicly funded and universally accessible.

There are other signs of a shift toward more private health care.

In December 2006, B.C.'s first private emergency clinic opened in Vancouver. The Urgent Care Centre plans to offer emergency care on a user-fee basis, which raises questions about how it will operate legally under the Canada Health Act.

The provincial government authorized B.C.'s Medical Services Commission to send inspectors to the clinic. Health Minister George Abbott said if they find evidence the law is being broken, the commission would seek an injunction to shut down the clinic.

As well, the Canadian Medical Association elected a new president in August 2006: Vancouver physician Dr. Brian Day, a surgeon and private clinic owner who says he wants to see more private options for health-care services that are currently public. His main opponent was Dr. Jack Burak, also from B.C. and a staunch defender of Canada's public health-care system.

What's the difference between private health care and two-tier health care?

Again, depends who you ask. Private health care exists. It broadens coverage available under the public system, which was designed to guarantee all Canadians basic health coverage. Currently, private health care does not mean that you can move to the front of the line because you can afford to pay more.

Proponents of expanding private health care to offer more health-care choices argue that if you have the means, you should be able to purchase health care services and get around unreasonably long waiting lists. They argue the public system will be maintained and that more choice does not mean one system for the rich and one for those who can't afford to pay extra.

Dr. Arnold Relman, professor emeritus of medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School and emeritus editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, appeared before the Senate committee studying health care in February 2002.

He warned against relying on the market – or greater "consumer choice" – to control health-care costs and improve quality.

"While there is much to be said for making more information available to people about their health care," Relman said, "it is a fundamental misconception to imagine that sick patients can or should behave like ordinary consumers in commercial transactions, selecting the services and prices they want. Health care is totally different from most goods and services, and that's why we have medical insurance and why sick people need the professional and altruistic services of physicians and other providers."

Schumacher argues further privatization will not spell the end of medicare as we know it.

"People worry that if doctors can go private, then they're going to quit the public system. I would argue the opposite. If a doctor can take part of their practice private, they're less likely to leave because they're not tied solely to the government's fee schedule."

# data[].attributes.body
Name: Xintong Wang

Title:Functions, advantages and challenges facing private healthcare organisations in China’s healthcare system: a qualitative analysis through open-ended questionnaires

Source:National Library of Medicine（NIH）

Year:2023

This article talk about the private healthcare’s advantage and challenge in China.This article shows specific statistics about the growth private healthcare.According their survey,we can understand why people think private healthcare is good and more needed.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
BMJ Open. 2023; 13(6): e069381.

Original research

Abstract

Objectives

The medical reform in 2009 stimulated the growth of private healthcare organisations in China, but there is still room for their further development in the healthcare market. The objectives of the study were to provide more information about the healthcare market in China and to explore the challenges private healthcare organisations faced.

Design

Qualitative descriptive study using a web-based open-ended questionnaire and thematic content analysis. Data were collected between 12 February and 20 February 2020.

Setting

This study was conducted in China.

Participants

124 respondents from private healthcare organisations across 20 provinces in China.

Results

Our content analysis identified three themes: (1) functioning and positioning of the healthcare institutions: current private healthcare organisations generally serve as a supplement to public hospitals and focus more on specialised medical and high-end services; (2) institutions' advantages: private healthcare organisations can flexibly respond to market demands, formulate effective strategies, introduce advanced management concepts and methods, provide personalised and diversified services, and introduce new technologies which can stimulate market vitality and promote healthy competition; and (3) institutions' challenges: private healthcare organisations face difficulties in professional development and talent cultivation, branding and establishing a reputation, and the policies for institution establishment, tax and medical insurance pose drawbacks to their development.

Conclusion

This study illustrates that private healthcare organisations need more government support for further development, such as providing a fairer insurance strategy and taxation policy, affording ground for a more equitable scientific research environment and promotion opportunities, and evaluating reputation score for healthcare institutions.

Keywords: Quality in health care, Health policy, Organisation of health services, PUBLIC HEALTH

This study surveyed over 100 management-level employees who are familiar with the operation, administration and macro-organisation of their private healthcare organisations across 20 provinces in China.

This study is carried out from the perspective of service providers, exploring the advantages and challenges of private healthcare organisations and other related issues, which adopts a different perspective from previous research.

Due to the epidemic, qualitative interviews to further explore the respondents' answers to survey questions had not been carried out.

Introduction

Considering China's rapidly growing ageing population and the improvements in living standards, medical and health demands are expanding on a large scale. Over the years, public hospitals have dominated the medical service system, but their existence alone is no longer sufficient to cope with the drastic growth and changes in medical demand. The public has also criticised the disadvantages of the monopoly of public hospitals1 2 and expressed dissatisfaction with the problem of 'difficult to see a doctor and expensive to see a doctor'.3 On the other hand, China has a large population. While the total number of medical institutions is large, the per capita medical service volume is insufficient.4 Moreover, the distribution of medical and health resources in China is imbalanced. Large-scale and high-quality medical institutions are primarily distributed in the central, eastern and coastal regions, with higher concentration in cities, making it challenging to meet the needs of the general public.5-7

Healthcare services provided by private healthcare organisations have been identified as an important way of improving accessibility, quality and efficiency of the healthcare industry.8 First, private healthcare organisations have been proven to play an essential role in the clinical healthcare system in many countries, increasing the accessibility of healthcare services.9 10 Although a few studies have raised concerns about the health equity of private healthcare providers, claiming that they primarily serve higher socioeconomic classes,11-14 it can also be viewed as an important way to reduce disparities in medical service access by creating more room and opportunities for the lower-income population to access public healthcare organisations and resources.15 In addition, providers at private facilities do deliver a significant portion of healthcare services, especially in low-income and middle-income countries, including in both rural and urban areas and for different ethnicities and socioeconomic groups,16 thus increasing the accessibility of medical services to all residents.17 The increase in accessibility and market expansion allows patients with milder conditions to be treated earlier, resulting in early prevention of disease progression and an overall decrease in disease severity.18 Second, the development of private healthcare organisations can introduce a 'catfish effect' in the entire medical service industry, increasing competition and thereby improving the efficiency19 and service quality.20-22 On the other hand, several other studies have reached opposing conclusions that privatisation may cause medical inequality, increase cost for patients and potentially increase revenue by dropping unprofitable but valuable services.23 However, such problems are closely related to the government's management capabilities, industry regulations and the market share of private healthcare organisations. In addition, public-private partnerships in healthcare, a particular form of development of private healthcare organisations, can enable the government to improve its healthcare system and address deficiencies infrastructural and clinical aspects such as diagnosis, care and treatment.24 Therefore, expanding private healthcare organisations to provide more healthcare services for patients to meet their complex needs has the potential to increase the accessibility of services and may be an effective way to ensure the scarce resources in the hospital sector are used more efficiently.25

In order to solve the issues in the current medical system, China announced a series of policies to encourage the development of private healthcare organisations after 2009 to provide adequate medical services ( online supplemental appendix table 1). These policies aim to improve the current healthcare system's capacity and supply the public with higher quality, more affordable and comprehensive medical services.26 As a result, the proportion of private healthcare organisations in the market rose from 17.22% to 63.55% between 2005 and 2018, showing rapid growth of private healthcare organisations.27 28 Among them, the proportion of general hospitals increased from 30.98% to 61.67%; specialised hospitals increased from 55.33% to 77.91%; and nursing homes increased from 55.10% to 90.57% from 2010 to 2018 ( online supplemental appendix table 2). However, there were still considerable gaps in the number of beds and healthcare professionals between public and private healthcare organisations in 2018,29 indicating that the size of private healthcare organisations is generally smaller than that of public hospitals. In addition, private healthcare organisations only account for a very small part of the market. It is difficult for private healthcare organisations to gain sufficient public recognition for health services in China. Many people have a negative opinion of the private sector. They believe that it is poorly controlled, money-driven and permeated by less qualified doctors or even 'fake doctors' and 'fake pharmaceuticals'.30-33 Moreover, many private healthcare organisations are not covered by social health insurance policies, resulting in patients preferring public providers.34 Therefore, patients are more willing to go to public medical institutions for treatment, and visits to private healthcare organisations account for only 14.7% of the total healthcare market,29 suggesting there is still room for development for private healthcare organisations.

Given the benefits mentioned previously of private healthcare organisations, it is necessary to explore the external factors (ie, social environments and policies) that prevented private healthcare organisations from achieving enough success in China. Existing studies on this topic in China focus on the perspectives of policy creators, regulators and consumers. There are limited studies on the perspective of managers and administrators of private healthcare organisations. Therefore, this study aims to understand the problems that still exist in China's healthcare market and to explore the difficulties and challenges private healthcare organisations face from the perspective of private healthcare organisations' administrators. We used qualitative data gathered from key stakeholders and respondents from the private sector to provide more information about the healthcare market in China and explore the developmental dilemmas encountered in the development of hospitals.

Methods

Study design and setting

This cross-sectional study used an open-ended questionnaire to evaluate the perspectives of the department managers of private healthcare organisations on the functions, advantages and challenges of the private healthcare organisations in China.

Respondents

The respondents were recruited by the Chinese Non-government Medical Institutions Association (CNMIA), which is a national independent non-profit association established voluntarily by private healthcare organisations, social groups, and other relevant organisations and individuals.

These respondents are institution-level or department-level managers familiar with the operation, administration and macro-organisation of their healthcare institutions.

Data collection and questionnaire

The questionnaire was distributed by the CNMIA to their members who are likely to respond between 12 February and 20 February 2020 using an online system named Wenjuanxing in WeChat. The CNMIA helped us advertise the questionnaire to their members and deliver the invitation letter and questionnaire link to potential volunteer respondents. Since the questionnaire was as an advertisement, we used voluntary response sampling method. A total of 128 questionnaires were recovered, of which 124 across 20 provinces in China were valid questionnaires.

The questionnaire was initially formulated by two investigators. We sent the questionnaire to five experts outside the research group and discussed the reasonableness of the questionnaire through an expert discussion meeting. Before the formally distributing the questionnaire, we conducted a pretest involving several hospital directors for further improvements. The final questionnaire comprised 4 major sections and 19 open-ended questions regarding private healthcare organisations. The four sections included (1) the role of private healthcare organisations' services, (2) barriers and facilitators of private healthcare organisations, (3) career development for health professionals in private healthcare organisations and (4) perspectives on the improvement of the healthcare system. In addition, the respondents were inquired about the characteristics of their workplaces and demographics, education level and job positions.

Data management and analysis

Responses to the open-ended questionnaire were electronically exported into excel documents. One investigator reviewed all responses and deleted duplicate or ineffective data (due to improper operation of the online survey) to ensure the quality of all responses. This investigator continued to identify all questionable responses, and another investigator checked these responses with the original submission.

We used conventional content analysis to code themes in the open-ended responses. Two research fellows at the China Centre for Health Economics Research performed coding of the questionnaire responses to generate an initial codebook using NVivo V.12 software. Two principal investigators then reviewed the data and the codebook to validate the coding and ensure no relevant information was overlooked. All the researchers attended discussions to reflect on the codebook edits, the collection of codes into themes and the significance of the identified themes and ultimately reached a consensus on the final version.

Patient and public involvement

No patient was involved in the study.

Results

Descriptive statistics

The total number of effective respondents was 124, and their demographic and work-related characteristics are summarised in table 1 . Of the 124 respondents, 79 were male and 23 were female. A majority of the respondents were over the age of 50, and most respondents had attained a bachelor's degree. Our respondents held various positions in their institutions, from administrative officers to clinical professionals. Most of them held high-level positions such as president, vice president and department chair.

The characteristics of the private healthcare organisations where our respondents work are summarised in table 2 . These private healthcare organisations are distributed in 24 of China's 34 provincial-level administrative regions, covering the eastern, central and western regions of the country ( online supplemental appendix table 3). Most organisations are general or specialty hospitals, with a few community medical and health centres. Healthcare organisations are also classified based on the three-tier system, which designates these organisations into primary (21.1%), secondary (39.4%) or tertiary (12.8%) categories. With regard to the number of hospital beds by the end of 2018, most organisations had between 1 and 500 beds, while a small number had either no beds or more than 1000 beds.

Function and positioning of private healthcare organisations

The majority of respondents considered private healthcare organisations as supplementary to public hospitals. They argued that private healthcare organisations could provide differentiated non-basic medical and health services, such as certain specialty care, high-end care, rehabilitation, long-term care, elderly care and more. In addition, private healthcare organisations can supplement the existing medical system in areas such as paediatric and mental health services. Respondents also asserted that private healthcare organisations could develop into multilocation specialty practices and small-scale hospitals, and they can help improve medical service capabilities, especially in regions with inadequate public healthcare services and insufficient medical resources.

Thirty-eight respondents believed private healthcare organisations should focus on specialty services and provide convenient medical care. Thirty-eight other respondents stated that private healthcare organisations should aim to provide high-end services, orient towards the middle-income and upper-income classes to provide personalised and refined health services, and develop continuity of services according to the specific needs of different people. According to the characteristics of the healthcare organisations the respondents belong to, respondents from medium-sized and large-sized private hospitals aim to provide comprehensive, high-quality and integrated services. In contrast, those from small private hospitals aim to supply unique and personalised services.

Private healthcare organisations are a supplement to the provision of various high-end medical services and primary medical care.i

Private healthcare organisations should aim to establish the continuity of medical services based on the primary medical care and essential public health services of public hospitals.

... specialty hospital with particular subset of skills to serve the corresponding populations.

... specialty services with their own unique characteristics.

Private healthcare organizations are oriented toward the middle and upper-income class populations, mainly providing non-basic medical and health services.

Make up for the shortcomings of public medical institutions and develop continuity of medical services according to the needs of different people, such as high-end medical services, rehabilitation, long-term care, elderly care, etc.

Enrich and complement public health care with personalized medical service features.

From providing simple medical services to integrated services such as medical treatment, prevention and health care, we prioritize the need to provide comprehensive and high-quality services.

When answering questions about their own institutions' positioning, 56 respondents stated that the various medical specialties are the primary type of service their institutions provide, such as cosmetology, dentistry, ophthalmology, dermatology, rehabilitation and community medical care, and medical testing. Another seven respondents noted that the key service direction of their hospital is general medicine. Forty-seven respondents expressed that they wished to maintain the current positioning and asserted that their organisations had accumulated several advantages over the years. On the other hand, 60 respondents declared possible future adjustments because of the monopolisation of public hospitals in primary medical care and disease treatment, leaving limited space and opportunity for private healthcare organisations. Therefore, they will adjust their services towards other areas, such as preventive medicine and disease management. In general, respondents from small organisations are more likely to strengthen their specialties without adjusting direction. In contrast, those from large and medium-sized organisations tend to add rehabilitation services, combine medical and elderly care, establish telemedicine and construct integrated regional medical centres. In addition, given China's vast ageing population, seven respondents said they should pay greater attention to the elderly's health, particularly in traditional care, chronic illness management, mental health services, and related health and wellness services.

Instead of adjusting, we will continue to improve under the current positioning of the institution to ensure high quality of service.

Since the government is too monopolistic towards basic medical services and their policies are unstable, only the big health sector has room for extensive development.

...we plan to improve the service capacity and adjust to the high-end direction accordingly.

There are planned adjustments to expand into the chronic disease management market.

...we plan to expand rehabilitation medical services in addition to specialized medical services in psychiatric medical institutions.

...currently planning on adding elderly care services.

...integration of medical institutions and nursing homes.

Advantages of private healthcare organisations

Respondents generally believed that the addition of private healthcare organisations to the market could provide more diverse and personalised medical services, which could offer patients more options and accessibility. Their flexible practices in management, staff incentives and technological innovations can stimulate market vitality and promote healthy competition, which are private healthcare organisations' major contribution to the entire healthcare industry.

Seventy-three respondents declared that private services are more oriented towards individualised market needs and can make timely adjustments. They argued that their organisations are more concerned about the patient's medical experience, have a stronger awareness of serving and provide a better medical environment than public hospitals. At the same time, they also provide targeted and personalised services to meet the multilevel needs of patients.

The content of the service can be flexibly modified according to market demand.

Private hospitals can grasp market demands and flexibly adjust business strategies based on market research.

Create and provide personalized, high-end services such as private customized membership service, VIP ward service, confinement club service, etc.

Private hospitals present themselves with convenient medical care, multi-level and diversified services, attention to detail, high service quality, reasonable fees, and emphasis on brand reputation.

In addition, the flexibility of private healthcare organisations in terms of staff incentives, management and operation and technical support generates the catfish effect, which can help stimulate market competition.

Among the respondents, 56 thought that private healthcare organisations could independently enforce rewards and punishments, transparent salaries and comprehensive performance appraisals to motivate medical staff.

Private healthcare organizations provided full autonomy in incentive mechanism, performance appraisal, service evaluation, etc.

The medical professionals' salary is flexible to reflect their value to the institution and society.

Another 46 respondents answered that private healthcare organisations have advantages in management and could introduce management philosophies such as centralised procurement, cost control, chain operations and brand effects into the medical industry.

Private hospitals have a relatively mature model in terms of chain operation and group management.

...more refined management with accurate accounting and better cost control.

Private healthcare organizations enforce centralized procurement in the supply chain, lower procurement costs, and online process management.

Moreover, 37 respondents believed that private healthcare organisations could quickly introduce new technology, methods and equipment due to the flexibility of management and form unique advantages in several fields. Specifically, respondents from large organisations claimed they allocate more resources to allow their organisations to become leaders in clinical technology and skilfulness, while respondents from smaller organisations focus more on meeting current technical and clinical standards and acquiring unique skills.

Private healthcare organizations have advantages in introducing advanced technologies, techniques, and talents from abroad and obtaining international healthcare accreditation.

Lastly, 77 respondents stressed that a competitive market will help improve the quantity and quality of medical services.

Challenges faced by private healthcare organisations

We identified four major challenges faced by private healthcare organisations.

First, 110 respondents emphasised significant differences in policies between the for-profit private healthcare organisations and the public medical institutions, such as access to the market, taxation, health insurance policies and more.

Fifty-one respondents stated that there are barriers limiting institutional development and limited supervision regulating professional qualification.

There are contradictions between relaxing market access and regional medical institution establishment planning. Local governments often restrict the development of private healthcare organizations due to the restrictions of regional health planning and medical institution establishment planning.

Fifty-two respondents were dissatisfied with the current tax policy and thought tax levying only depends on the for-profit or non-profit nature of the medical organisation, without considering the scope and nature of the medical service itself. This policy led to similar medical services facing different tax treatments in medical organisations of different natures and increased the cost of medical services provided by private healthcare organisations.

Compared with public hospitals, private healthcare organizations are generally self-financing and have to pay more taxes and funds such as trade union funds, vocational education fees, disability funds, business tax, urban maintenance and construction tax, education surtax, local education fees, etc., which create a significant burden.

The basic medical services provided by for-profit hospitals are subject to 25% income tax, whereas the same services provided by non-profit hospitals are exempted from tax filing.

Ninety-four respondents argued that there were unfair treatments for private healthcare organisations in medical insurance policies compared with public healthcare institutions. Also, supplemental health insurance is underdeveloped.

It is more difficult for private healthcare organizations to obtain medical insurance designated qualifications, and they always receive a small share of the total medical insurance fund under the total prepayment system.

Due to the insurance companies' lack of confidence in the profitability and the government's lack of strong promotion of supplementary medical insurance, it will take some time for commercial insurance to become more universal.

Second, 70 respondents stated that private healthcare organisations face immense challenges in attracting high-quality medical talents and organising residency programmes to train and cultivate new medical school graduates due to their short development time and insufficient patient volume.

...private healthcare organizations have a severe lack of attraction for talents due to lack of staffing quota system benefits, lower academic status and a shorter establishment period.

There is a general scarcity of highly qualified medical personnel, all-around management talents and technically competent personnel.

Twenty-eight respondents expressed that although private healthcare organisations provide doctors with high salaries and favourable living conditions, private healthcare organisations' social security benefits and welfare are far from comparable with that of public hospitals. The staffing quota system of public institutions makes it less likely for health professionals in public hospitals to have the desire to transfer to private healthcare organisations.

Public hospitals provide career status with employment benefits, while private hospitals are not able to.

Due to the imperfect social security mechanism, long-term employee benefits are still far lower than public hospitals. Moreover, under the staffing quota system of public institutions, professional and technical personnel in public hospitals will not easily move to social medical institutions.

Seven respondents reported a significant gap between private and public healthcare institutions in scientific research and academic ability and status. It is difficult for medical professionals to conduct advanced research with the resources provided by the institutions. Moreover, applications for high-level scientific research projects in private healthcare organisations are restricted by policies.

In terms of talents, it is difficult for private healthcare organizations to attract and retain backbone technical personnel and outstanding young talents with the lack of academic status, teaching and scientific research support.

As for the training of young medical staff, eight respondents said it is difficult to create residency programmes to train and cultivate new medical school graduates.

Young medical personnel recruited through campus recruitment channels can only be sent to public hospitals with standardized residency programs for rotation training. However, during the training period, young medical staff do not rotate in private healthcare organizations.

Third, 50 respondents highlighted the extremely high importance of branding and thought that private healthcare organisations' public acceptance is low.

In the past, the phenomenon of "cheating and fraud" in private hospitals was common, which led to their bad reputation.

Due to the lack of understanding of private healthcare organizations by the public, coupled with the "Wei Zexi incident" and other non-standard operation behaviors in Putian hospital industry in recent years, the social understanding of private healthcare organizations is biased, which restricts their development to a certain extent.

Fourth, 10 respondents highlighted the long-standing history associated with public hospitals and its impact on the resources private healthcare organisations receive.

Due to the longstanding policies and historical accumulation supporting the development of public hospitals, they enjoy a superior quality of medical resources, including various talents, technologies, and finance.

Discussion

Since the medical reform in 2009, private healthcare services have received extensive attention as an important player in deepening the reform.35 Their functions in expanding medical resources, improving competition momentum and providing diversified services have been fully affirmed.35 How to give full play to the positive role of private healthcare organisations in the medical system is an urgent issue. This study delivered a questionnaire to private healthcare organisations to review the operating environment and regulatory policies and to analyse the main challenges encountered by these organisations in the industry.

The respondents generally believed private healthcare organisations are more sensitive to incentives and responsive to various emerging health needs. Therefore, they could pay more attention to patients' medical experience and flexibly provide targeted and personalised services, which were also highlighted in previous studies.15 25 36Especially in the case of China's fast-growing ageing population, respondents asserted that private healthcare organisations could respond more flexibly to the new medical and disability service demands to better serve the elderly than public healthcare organisations that rely more on government programmes. Private healthcare organisations could also integrate medical services and elderly care to meet the elderly's expectations for quality of life. Similar to other studies,37 private healthcare organisations could provide medical staff with broader practice space and more flexible incentive conditions.

Previous research shows that the development of private healthcare organisations in China can promote competition in the medical service industry, reduce medical expenses, steadily enhance patients' welfare and improve efficiency.38-41However, our research found that the current positioning of private healthcare organisations in China is mainly supplementary to public hospitals, which still dominate the healthcare market. They have not established sufficient competition with public hospitals and cannot give full play to their competitive advantages, consistent with the findings in previous studies.42 43 In addition, the dominance of public hospitals is difficult to be shaken in the upcoming years as the administrators of private medical organisations do not yet have the intention and confidence to do so. Thus, competition has not yet fully played its role in pushing the reform of public hospitals.

In contrast to public medical institutions with long-accumulated experience and long-term national financial support in discipline construction and personnel training,44 private healthcare organisations are disadvantaged in the capital, experience accumulation, policies, talents and branding due to their shorter operating time.

The current policies for institution establishment, tax and medical insurance pose drawbacks to private healthcare organisations. The social medical access policy has strict requirements that result in barriers restricting the establishment of private healthcare organisations, such as the specific location of the organisations, total investment, complicated application and approval procedures, and lengthy approval periods. The current domestic taxation policy is determined by whether the hospital is a for-profit or non-profit organisation. For for-profit private healthcare organisations, even if they are engaged in non-profit activities such as rehabilitation and public health services, they are still required to pay taxes due to their status restrictions.45 46 Since the 'VAT reform' policy in 2016,47 48 the tax burden of private healthcare organisations increased, as mentioned by the respondents, a point less discussed in previous studies. According to the law,45 47 48 the medical service itself is tax-exempted, but the deductions of non-medical taxable services are relatively low. Respondents also complained that this part of the operating costs of private healthcare organisations is higher than that of public medical institutions. In addition, the respondents argued that they encountered more difficulties to be selected as designated hospitals of basic medical insurance and received lower quota payments than the public healthcare institutions, which is also reflected in the data from previous statistical studies.49 They also expressed the desire to allow private healthcare organisations to have the same reimbursement policy as public hospitals.

Some studies mentioned that private healthcare organisations have low awareness of personnel training; managers often overlook the importance of personnel cultivation and talent pool construction.50 However, our study found that the existing medical system and policies restrict the ability of private healthcare organisations to attract and manage talent. The staffing quota system, scientific research project opportunities, different social security benefits and professional title promotion are major difficulties facing private healthcare organisations in attracting and retaining talents, which were also highlighted in previous research.27 51 52 Many respondents suggested breaking through stereotypes about current mechanisms of personnel development and encouraging healthcare personnel to flow between institutions. Systematic training and advanced studies are also needed to enable talented personnel's value to be fully realised in private healthcare organisations.

Most private healthcare organisations are distrusted by the public, a finding that is consistent with research done from the public's perspective.19 35 53 Previous studies have often attributed the source of distrust to the improper operation of private medical organisations and the adoption of improper or even illegal marketing methods, such as false publicity, price gouging, excessive medical treatment and even illegal operation beyond the scope of practice.54 55 In our study, the respondents argued that only a small portion of private healthcare organisations in the industry are fraudulent and ill-intentioned, but their poor reputation has led to public distrust of the entire industry. In addition, our study explored the reasons behind this distrust from the perspective of the private healthcare organisations and gathered that the public could not distinguish the qualified organisations from the unqualified, profit-seeking facilities with a history of malpractices such as illegal medical advertisements, illegal use of medical technology, and prescription of unnecessary medications and treatments. The issues mentioned previously increase the number of medical disputes, mislead the public into thinking that the operation of private healthcare organisations is a malicious profit-seeking behaviour of the market economy, and damage the overall image and public credibility of private healthcare organisations.

Limitations

Due to the epidemic, our data were collected through open-ended questionnaires delivered via an online application to institution-level and department-level employers at private healthcare organisations. We only received 124 completed questionnaires, but we were unable to visit in person and invite more organisations to participate in our study. However, these 124 hospitals were located in 20 different provinces of China, and the number is higher than that of previous studies. A few respondents also raised some thought-provoking points regarding the pricing power and regulation of private healthcare organisations. However, their discussion of these points was brief and insufficient. Currently, we are unable to explore the answers further, but we hope to use qualitative interviews in the future to deepen our understanding of their responses. In addition, due to the format of the open-ended questionnaire, the method by which data were collected until no new content appeared, generally assumed as saturation in qualitative research, has limitations.

Conclusion

We provided an analysis of the current private healthcare organisations in China and discussed their functioning and positioning, advantages and challenges. This study illustrates that private healthcare organisations need more government support for further development and improvement. Systems that can provide a fairer insurance strategy and taxation policies, afford ground for a more equitable scientific research environment and promotion opportunities, and evaluate institutions' reputation scores are suggested.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Chinese Non-government Medical Institutions Association for its coordination and assistance in recruiting respondents. The authors are indebted to the research fellows from China Center for Health Economic Research for their assistance in organising the questionnaire and coding themes.

Contributors: MW conceptualised the study and created the study design. MW, XC, QW and YS were responsible for drafting the article. QW organised the data. MW and XC were responsible for the interpretation of the data. GL supervised the study and responsible for the overall content. All authors have critically revised and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Funding: This study was funded by the Social Science Planning Fund of Liaoning Province (L22BGL010).

Competing interests: None declared.

Patient and public involvement: Patients and/or the public were not involved in the design, conduct, reporting or dissemination plans of this research.

Provenance and peer review: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Supplemental material: This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.

The block quote is the original words of the respondents. We just translated the Chinese answers into English.

Data availability statement

No data are available.

Ethics statements

Patient consent for publication

Not applicable.

Ethics approval

This study involves human participants and was approved by Institutional Review Board (IRB) of College of Public Administration and Humanities at Dalian Maritime University (200102) Participants gave informed consent to participate in the study before taking part.

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Articles from BMJ Open are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Original research: Functions, advantages and challenges facing private healthcare organisations in China's healthcare system: a qualitative analysis through open-ended questionnaires

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The medical reform in 2009 stimulated the growth of private healthcare organisations in China, but there is still room for their further development in the healthcare market. The objectives of the study were to provide more information about the healthcare ...

# data[].attributes.body
Name: Minh.

Title: The Future of Healthcare: Pros and Cons of Healthcare Privatization in Ontario.

Author: Shirley Chen.

Source: Rhyno Care.

Year: 2022.

The article talks about the importance of private healthcare in Ontario's current situation. It also speaks to the benefits that private healthcare brings to people in the Ontario region.

# data[].attributes.body
Name: Yuliia

Title: Top Ten Benefits of Private Health Care System

Source: Medical island

Autor: Dr. Lawrence Kindo

Year: 2014

This article highlights the benefits of private health care. Even though private health care is not cheap, people are willing to pay money to avoid waiting in line. Сompetition between private clinics provides more quality services to patients.

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A publicly funded health care system has long been considered the backbone in providing for the health care needs of any given community. That is even more true with the installment of new healthcare laws and the Affordable Care Act. However, this scenario has changed with the entry of private health care businesses that cater to people driven by hyper health consciousness and increasing health awareness. Most people are willing to pay a premium to avoid long queues and the perceived risk of infection in public-sector hospitals, besides availability of a ready access to specialized care. There is a steady increase in private sector hospitals, health hubs, and insurance companies to satiate the growing hunger for quality and customized health care. There are numerous benefits of a private health care system, despite being in the limelight for being an expensive provider.

To name just a few, the top ten benefits of private health care are:

1. Quality Health Care: Often, Private Health Care has been equated to quality health care! A patient's freedom to choose rival providers is the fodder that drives a healthy competition between various health care providers.

2. Multi-Speciality Coverage: Private Health Care Providers are the major players when it comes to specialized medical and surgical treatment provided under a single roof or plan.

3. Insignificant Waiting Time: The concept of "Service with No Waiting Time" offered by Private Health Care Providers for a premium, is a welcome offing for this busy generation that equates time with money.

4. Generation of Jobs: Private health care system has generated abundant health care related jobs in insurance companies, hospitals, residential care facilities and health spas. Today, private health care industry is one of the largest industries in the world.

5. Competition: Tough competition for better services at a lower price is what makes the private health care industry a boon for patients.

6. Value Added Services: The public health care system falls short when it comes to providing value added services like personalised nursing or intensive care facilities, while their counterparts provide the best of services for a premium.

7. Self-Financing: Private health care system does not require Government funding, saving tax payers' money, with distribution of cost between the providers and their customers.

8. Job-Related Health Care Incentives: Many employers provide lucrative private health care incentives as a benefit for employees which reduce government spending on health care.

9. Physician Choice: Private Hospitals hand it out to the patient when it comes to choosing their doctors.

10. Customised Health Insurance: Most Insurance Companies offer a wide variety of customised health insurance options that suit every patient's needs.

It is benefits like these that make the private health care system a lucrative business proposition. The conscious effort to outdo the public health care system has generated a highly competitive atmosphere in the healthcare sector that pushes public players to join the fray and offer quality healthcare at a reasonable cost.

Impact on Health Professionals and Patients: A Welcome Side Effect?

Even doctors and other health professionals have experienced a renewed work environment with the stiffening competition in healthcare. Government sector hospitals have started providing benefits to their employees, equivalent to or better than private players, to lure them and make them stay. This in turn pushes private players to provide better packages to health professionals while at the same time keeping essential healthcare reasonably affordable to all sections of society.

Overall, private healthcare has triggered in a quality-cum-cost revolution in both private and public health sectors benefitting end-users in the bargain - doctors and patients. In short, it is a "WIN-WIN" for all.

Tagged As: customised health insurance, health care, health insurance, private health care, quality health care, top ten benefits of private health care

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Top Ten Benefits of Private Health Care System

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A publicly funded health care system has long been considered the backbone in providing for the health care needs of any given community. That is even more true with the installment of new healthcare laws and the Affordable Care Act. However, this scenario has changed with the entry of private health care businesses that cater to...

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Name: Nurhak

Title: Public vs. private health care-What is private health care?

Year: 2006

Private health care refers to medical services or treatments that are not covered by the public health care system and require individuals to pay out-of-pocket or through private insurance.

It includes services such as private hospital rooms, cosmetic procedures, and ambulance rides, which are not covered or only partially covered by public health care.

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Does private health care exist in Canada today?

It's a crucial part of the system.

Canada spent an estimated $142 billion on health care in 2005, or $4,411 per person, according to Health Care in Canada 2006, a report released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information. After taking inflation into account, this amounts to almost three times what was spent in 1975.

Of that, just over $98.8 billion was spent by governments delivering public health care. About $43.2 billion was spent on private health care.

What is public health care?

Depending on who you ask, it's either what defines Canada – or it's the greatest impediment to ensuring that Canadians get quick access to the kind of medical services they deserve.

Provincial Health Care Legislation

Health care legislation and its enforcement in Canada varies from province to province. Some provinces, like Nova Scotia, currently have no additional provincial legislation (for example to discourage extra billing), and follow the rules of the Canada Health Act. The province is, however, planning public consultation to develop health care legislation.

Other provinces, like British Columbia and Saskatchewan, have provincial health legislation that reinforces the Canada Health Act. This includes provisions forbidding extra billing for facilities or materials and a cap on what can be charged for services if a doctor opts out of the insured system. These rules do allow doctors to practice outside the provincial system, but often, as in BC, require them to charge the same or less than what the government would pay for the services under the insured system. The enforcement of this legislation, however, has recently come into question.

The incidence of health care providers practicing outside a provincial system is on the rise. Provinces like Quebec have seen significant growth in private, for-profit clinics. These clinics allow those who are willing to pay for services to obtain them without the usual wait times, which is in direct violation of the Canada Health Act.

Provinces such as Ontario have recently moved to strengthen the public system. Bill 8 - passed in June of 2004 - is designed to close loopholes that allow queue-jumping and extra billing, make health care providers accountable and establish an independent Ontario Health Quality Council to report on the health care system.

In reality, it's probably something in between.

Public health care is governed by the Canada Health Act. It's designed to make sure that all eligible people in the country have reasonable access to insured health services on a prepaid basis, without direct charges at the point of service.

Simply put, if you break your leg chasing the Canadian dream, you have the right to get fixed up without opening your wallet – except to pull out your provincial health insurance card.

The act is also designed to make sure that the delivery of health care is pretty consistent across the country. Ottawa has found that the best way to do that is by attaching conditions to the cash it transfers to the provinces to cover health care.

Among those conditions are that health care must be:

Portable.

Universal.

Accessible.

Free from extra charges (for insured services).

By portable, Ottawa means if you move from one province or territory to another, you won't lose your coverage. This doesn't mean you can go looking for health services in another province or country because the waiting list at home is too long for your liking. It does, however, mean that your out-of-province in-laws will be covered if they suddenly fall sick while on their annual visit.

Under the universality criterion, all insured residents of a province or territory must be entitled to the insured health services provided by the provincial or territorial health care insurance plan. Doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. You can't buy your way to the front of the line.

By accessible, the CHA means "insured persons in a province or territory have reasonable access to insured hospital, medical and surgical-dental services on uniform terms and conditions, unprecluded or unimpeded, either directly or indirectly, by charges [user charges or extra-billing] or other means [e.g., discrimination on the basis of age, health status or financial circumstances]."

What is private health care?

Anything beyond what the public system will pay for. For instance, should you have to spend some time in the hospital, the public system will cover the cost of your bed in a ward, which usually has three other patients. If you want a private room, the extra charge will come out of your pocket, unless you have extended health coverage either through your employer or through a policy you have bought yourself.

Need an ambulance ride? Expect to receive a bill. If you have extended health care coverage, your insurance company will likely pick up the tab.

Dr. Albert Schumacher, former president of the Canadian Medical Association estimates that 75 per cent of health-care services are delivered privately, but funded publicly.

"Frontline practitioners whether they're GPs or specialists by and large are not salaried. They're small hardware stores. Same thing with labs and radiology clinics ï¿½The situation we are seeing now are more services around not being funded publicly but people having to pay for them, or their insurance companies. We have sort of a passive privatization."

Most cosmetic procedures are not covered by the public system. If you're contemplating undergoing a cosmetic procedure, by the way, you might want to take a close look at your cosmetic surgeon's credentials. Almost any doctor in this country can call him/herself a cosmetic surgeon – and start operating – even if that person was not a surgeon before.

There are no regulations in Canada governing who can – or can't – perform cosmetic surgery. Most procedures are not monitored because they are done in a doctor's office.

Are there other forms of private health care?

There are a few privately-run hospitals in the country, whose services may or may not be covered by health insurance.

Shouldice Hospital in Toronto opened in 1945 – before Canadians were covered by universal health care. Dr. Edward Earle Shouldice developed a unique method of repairing hernias and demand for the services of his staff quickly spread beyond Canada's borders. The hospital remains private today. Residents of Ontario who have a valid health card are covered by the provincial health-care system for the cost of surgery. If you're from outside Ontario, you will probably need extended – private – health coverage to get reimbursed.

Several privately-run clinics have opened across the country as well, offering CT scans and MRI services. Most have contracts with their provincial governments. The idea was to take pressure off the limited resources of hospitals. The clinics are paid by the province to provide their services.

Several clinics opened in Ontario after the then former Conservative government signed contracts with four companies. The companies were allowed to provide 40 hours of testing per machine per week. Physicians associated with the clinics are paid on a fee-for-service basis by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan to read the test results for OHIP-covered patients. While the clinics are allowed to take private customers after hours, they cannot sell MRI or CT scans to anyone who walks in off the street. You have to have a doctor's referral.

The clinics operate on a for-profit basis. The Canadian Health Care Coalition argues that clinics like these lay the groundwork for a private, parallel for-profit health-care system in Canada.

"The proliferation of investor-owned private, for-profit clinics and facilities acts like a viral infection in the body of Canada's public health-care system," the coalition said in a news release following the September 2004 First Ministers Conference on health care. "The for-profit health care virus cannot exist without feeding off and damaging public bodies."

Shortly after beating the Conservatives in Ontario's 2003 election, the Liberal government promised to shut down the private clinics and buy the machines.

However, in 2006, the Conservatives were elected federally on a platform that pushed for a mix of public and private health care, provided that health care stays publicly funded and universally accessible.

There are other signs of a shift toward more private health care.

In December 2006, B.C.'s first private emergency clinic opened in Vancouver. The Urgent Care Centre plans to offer emergency care on a user-fee basis, which raises questions about how it will operate legally under the Canada Health Act.

The provincial government authorized B.C.'s Medical Services Commission to send inspectors to the clinic. Health Minister George Abbott said if they find evidence the law is being broken, the commission would seek an injunction to shut down the clinic.

As well, the Canadian Medical Association elected a new president in August 2006: Vancouver physician Dr. Brian Day, a surgeon and private clinic owner who says he wants to see more private options for health-care services that are currently public. His main opponent was Dr. Jack Burak, also from B.C. and a staunch defender of Canada's public health-care system.

What's the difference between private health care and two-tier health care?

Again, depends who you ask. Private health care exists. It broadens coverage available under the public system, which was designed to guarantee all Canadians basic health coverage. Currently, private health care does not mean that you can move to the front of the line because you can afford to pay more.

Proponents of expanding private health care to offer more health-care choices argue that if you have the means, you should be able to purchase health care services and get around unreasonably long waiting lists. They argue the public system will be maintained and that more choice does not mean one system for the rich and one for those who can't afford to pay extra.

Dr. Arnold Relman, professor emeritus of medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School and emeritus editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, appeared before the Senate committee studying health care in February 2002.

He warned against relying on the market – or greater "consumer choice" – to control health-care costs and improve quality.

"While there is much to be said for making more information available to people about their health care," Relman said, "it is a fundamental misconception to imagine that sick patients can or should behave like ordinary consumers in commercial transactions, selecting the services and prices they want. Health care is totally different from most goods and services, and that's why we have medical insurance and why sick people need the professional and altruistic services of physicians and other providers."

Schumacher argues further privatization will not spell the end of medicare as we know it.

"People worry that if doctors can go private, then they're going to quit the public system. I would argue the opposite. If a doctor can take part of their practice private, they're less likely to leave because they're not tied solely to the government's fee schedule."

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Name: Flora Eva

Title: Pros And Cons Of Healthcare In Canada: A Closer Look

Author: Kate Piamonte

Source: The Caring Support Blog

Year: 2023

The article highlights the vital role of public health care in Canada. It emphasizes the importance of public health care in ensuring equitable access to quality medical services for all Canadians.

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To address rising healthcare costs and myriad health disparities, Canada's healthcare system was designed to provide universal healthcare coverage to all Canadian citizens. Backed by extensive health research and supported by the federal government through the Canada Health Transfer, every public health agency in Canada offers free and accessible public health care services.

However, like any other system, it has its advantages and disadvantages that must be carefully examined. From universal healthcare coverage and its adherence to national standards to its struggles like the lack of primary healthcare providers such as nurse practitioners and issues with medical equipment, it has gained attention for both its benefits and drawbacks.

In this article, Caring Support takes a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of Canada's healthcare system. We'll examine the role of the health card, and discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the system. This article also aims to tackle issues regarding medical expenses, public health insurance, medical insurance, diagnostic services, and mental health care, among others.

Overview of Healthcare in Canada

The health system implemented all over Canada is also widely known as Canadian Medicare. This is a publicly funded system that provides universal healthcare coverage to all Canadian citizens and permanent residents. The system is administered and funded by the government, with each province and territory responsible for delivering healthcare services to its residents.

In the name of health information, health promotion with such services as specialist care and rehabilitation services, an influx of health professionals, and the addressing of the overall need for health services from any general practitioner, the Canada Health Transfer was created. The total funding has been made to grow along with a three-year moving average of nominal GDP or gross domestic product, which is slated to go up by at least 3% per year.

In addition, funds of the Canada Health Transfer have sometimes been withheld when some parts of the Canada Health Act (CHA) are violated, especially those in regard to excess health expenditure and additional user charges. Health Canada makes it a point to produce an Annual Report depending on the provincial and territorial health care insurance plans fit the conditions for payment under the CHA.

How Does the Health Card Work in Canada?

Health cards are critical documents for accessing healthcare services in Canada and an essential component of Canada's healthcare system, providing universal coverage and ensuring that all Canadians have access to the medical care they need.

Having your health card is necessary, because only through can you gain access to quality medical services, including doctor visits, necessary hospital care, and some prescription medications. It ensures that people receive necessary medical treatment, regardless of their ability to pay, and promotes social equity by making healthcare accessible to all Canadians.

This means that serious conditions such as chronic disease or heart disease are included in the Health Act. However, this primarily doesn't include dental care or vision coverage.

How Do You Get a Government Health Card in Canada?

In order to get a government health card in Canada, individuals must first apply for coverage through their province or territory's health insurance plan. Generally, this coverage is available to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who have lived in the province or territory for a minimum period, which is usually 3 months.

To be eligible for a Canadian health card, you must be:

1. A permanent resident of Canada.

2. An authorized refugee or protected person (refugee claimants are not eligible).

3. A non-resident who has been in Canada for at least 6 months and has applied for coverage under the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP).

4. If you meet these requirements, there are two ways to apply for your card: online or by mail. In order to apply online, visit Service Canada's website and click "Sign In." A new window will appear with instructions for logging in or registering as a new user. You will need to register using your GCKey, bank, or your provincial digital ID.

The application process involves providing personal information, such as name, address, date of birth, and proof of residency. Once approved, individuals receive a health card that they must present when accessing healthcare services.

Overview of the Canadian Healthcare System Pros and Cons

Because of the Canada Health Act, one of the more notable advantages of the system is that it ensures equal healthcare access through social assistance. Canadians can benefit from health services and comprehensive care, including preventive measures, medical treatments, and prescription drugs. The healthcare system focuses on prioritizing primary care services by keeping family physicians as gatekeepers to specialist consultations or hospital referrals. This approach encourages early intervention and reduces unnecessary hospital visits, leading to cost-effective utilization of resources.

However, some challenges need addressing regarding the social services under the Canadian healthcare system. Long waiting times for specialty consultations or non-urgent surgeries can be problematic for patients seeking timely treatment. There's also the problem of scarcity of doctors in remote areas, which poses geographical barriers to accessing healthcare services uniformly across the country. Nonetheless, ongoing efforts are being made to address these concerns and continually improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of Canada's healthcare system.

Why is Canada's Healthcare So Good? The Many Benefits of Canada's Healthcare System

The Canadian healthcare system has many benefits, which other countries do not have. These advantages have proven to be useful and helpful to Canadian citizens of all ages, races, and backgrounds. The many benefits of the system include the following:

Gives Access to Universal Healthcare Coverage

The primary benefit is access to universal healthcare coverage. With a health card, Canadians can access a range of medical services, such as doctor visits, hospital care, and prescription medications, all for gratis. The health card also ensures that Canadian citizens and other qualified individuals receive the medical treatment that they need, regardless of their ability to pay. This aspect of the healthcare system helps promote social equity and ensures that healthcare is not a privilege reserved for the wealthy.

Reduces Additional Expenses

One of the most significant benefits of Canada's healthcare system is that it reduces out-of-pocket expenses for individuals and families. With a health card, Canadians can access a wide range of medical services without having to pay significant fees or deductibles. This can be especially important for low-income families, seniors, and those with chronic medical conditions that require ongoing care. The reduced financial burden of accessing medical care can help prevent medical bankruptcies among Canadian citizens, along with other financial hardships, promoting better health outcomes and reducing stress and anxiety for patients and families.

Addresses Social Inequity

Another significant benefit is that it promotes social equity as the health card ensures that all Canadians have access to essential medical services, regardless of their income, age, or health status. This promotes a fair and just healthcare system that prioritizes the health and well-being of all citizens, rather than just those who can afford to pay for medical care.

In addition to reducing out-of-pocket expenses and promoting social equity, Canada's health card provides a range of other benefits:

Allows for more efficient healthcare system delivery, as healthcare providers can easily access patient information and medical histories.

Enables Canadians to travel and receive medical treatment in other provinces and territories without incurring additional costs.

Encourages preventative care by providing free or low-cost services, such as vaccinations and cancer screenings.

Helps track and manage public health concerns, such as disease outbreaks and epidemics.

Read More: Top Hospital Jobs for Healthcare Workers

Cons of Public Health Care: Some Disadvantages of Canada's Healthcare System

While Canada's healthcare system has provided its citizens with so much convenience and quality healthcare services, there are also some negative factors that we must consider, some of which include the waiting time, the number of healthcare practitioners, and the level of technological advancement when it comes to medical equipment.

Long Wait Time for Medical Procedures

The issue of long wait times for medical procedures is a longstanding issue within the system. Canadian citizens and other qualified individuals may have to wait for several months or even years for elective procedures, which can lead to frustration and worsening health conditions. This waiting time is definitely disadvantageous for patients who are in constant pain and discomfort, and it significantly impacts their quality of life negatively.

Shortage of Healthcare Providers

The Canadian healthcare system has also suffered from a shortage of healthcare providers such as caregivers, especially in certain areas of the country. This means that there is reduced access to care, longer wait times for available medical providers, and overworked health professionals, which significantly impacts the quality of care that patients receive. To address this, an influx of qualified, skilled, and highly-trained healthcare professionals is needed, which is what Caring Support does.

Lack of Investment in Medical Technology

Lastly, there's also been a lack of investment in cutting-edge medical technology and treatments as a direct effect of the system's focus on providing basic health care for all Canadians. The lack of funding and investment in advanced medical technology and treatments can lead to reduced access to specialized care and even cause worsened health conditions or deaths among patients, which is not something that should be swept under the rug.

To address this issue, the Canadian government has made efforts to increase funding for new medical technologies and treatments for the benefit of Canadian citizens and other qualified individuals. Even if a lot is yet to be done in order to ensure that Canadians have access to the best medical treatments and equipment.

Which Province Has the Best Healthcare System?

There is no clear answer to which province in Canada has the best healthcare system, as each province and territory has its strengths and weaknesses. However, some studies suggest that British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec have the best overall healthcare systems, while Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have the most significant challenges.

Read More: What Are The Best Hospitals And Clinics In Ottawa?

Comparing Canada's Healthcare System to Other Countries

When comparing Canada's healthcare system to those of other countries, there are both similarities and differences. Like Canada, many other developed countries have universal healthcare coverage, funded by the government.

However, Canada's healthcare system is unique in its structure and delivery of services. Unlike some other countries, Canada's healthcare system is decentralized, with each province and territory responsible for administering healthcare services. This approach can lead to some variability in the quality and availability of care across the country.

The Future of Canada's Healthcare

While the system has served Canadians well for decades, there are growing concerns about its sustainability and effectiveness. The aging population, changing demographics, and rising healthcare costs are all putting pressure on the system, which could lead to reduced access to care and longer wait times in the coming years.

To address these challenges, the government has made significant investments in healthcare, such as hiring more healthcare providers, increasing funding for new technologies and treatments, and focusing on preventative care. Additionally, some experts have suggested that the healthcare system should move towards more integrated and patient-centred care, which could help reduce wait times and improve outcomes.

However, there are still significant challenges to be addressed, including improving access to care in rural and remote areas, addressing the shortage of healthcare providers, and reducing wait times for some medical procedures.

How Caring Support Helps the System

By streamlining the hiring process and helping healthcare organizations find qualified candidates, Caring Support could help reduce wait times, improve access to care, and promote better health outcomes for Canadians. Additionally, the platform could help address the issue of social equity in healthcare by providing equal opportunities for healthcare workers from diverse backgrounds to connect with healthcare organizations.

Overall, Canada's healthcare system will be successful if the government can balance funding and efficiency with providing quality care. A significant improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of the Canadian healthcare system could come from Caring Support, making it easier for healthcare organizations to hire qualified candidates and ensuring that all Canadians have access to quality healthcare.

Find Your Dream Job Today at Caring Support

Canada's healthcare system has its fair share of both advantages and disadvantages. While the system provides universal coverage and high-quality care, it also faces significant challenges, such as long wait times and rising healthcare costs. However, the government is taking steps to address these challenges by investing in healthcare, focusing on preventative care, and exploring new approaches to patient-centred care. Additionally, Canada's healthcare system can serve as a model for other countries, highlighting the benefits of universal coverage and public funding.

As Canada's population continues to age and demographics shift, it will be critical to continue improving the healthcare system and ensuring that all Canadians have access to high-quality care, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay. Ultimately, the success of Canada's healthcare system will depend on a delicate balance of funding, efficiency, and access to care, but with continued investment and attention to these critical areas, Canada's healthcare system has the potential to remain a world leader in providing universal coverage and high-quality care for all.

It's time-consuming to find an employee who fits all the conditions for a healthcare position as much as it's difficult to access all the possible healthcare employers for professionals to be able to serve their patients effectively. Caring Support bridges the gap between the need for qualified healthcare professionals and trusted and reputable healthcare institutions in service of all Canadians and qualified individuals who benefit from the healthcare system.

If you work in healthcare, hundreds of thousands of opportunities are waiting for you. Your dream job is just a tap and click away. Create your account or log in to the official Caring Support website today and download the app to gain access to endless healthcare employment opportunities. Find out more on how to land your dream job and connect with a trusted healthcare employer at Caring Support today.

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canadian healthcare system pros and cons

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Pros and Cons of Healthcare in Canada: A Closer Look | Caring Support

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Why is Canada's healthcare system so good? Learn about the pros and cons of the Canadian healthcare system in our latest blog.

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Name: Janet

Title: Public vs. Private Health Care: An Overview

Source: Canadian Points of View (Humber Library)

Year: 2018

This article provides perspectives for both public and private healthcare. It gives brief points specific to the Canadian and American systems.

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Use of Humber Libraries’ eResources are limited to current students, faculty and staff and are only licensed for the academic and teaching purposes of the institution’s programs. Content from these vendor sources cannot be made available, in any form, to individuals, businesses or organizations outs…