Healthcare quarterly (Toronto, Ont.)
-
Comparative Study
Private health insurance: an international overview and considerations for Canada.
Since the passage of the Canada Health Act in 1984 and its prohibition of extra-billing, there has been an extremely limited role for private health insurance in Canada as a mechanism to pay for medically necessary physician or hospital services. In the aftermath of the landmark Supreme Court decision Chaoulli v. Québec, this may change.
-
In 2005, a large Canadian health region conducted an emergency department patient feedback survey to obtain information on patient perceptions of satisfaction with emergency services received. The Capital Health region is one of nine Alberta Health Authorities, located in the central portion of the province, serving a population of 1.6 million people in metropolitan Edmonton and the surrounding area. Analysis reveals significant demographic and acuity differences in perceptions of care and suggests the need to consider patient mix in future satisfaction surveys and to examine improvement strategies targeted at these specific patient groups.
-
Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Nova Scotia (ICONS) was a five-year, community partnership-based disease-management project that sought, as a primary goal, to improve the care and outcomes of patients with heart disease in Nova Scotia. This program, based on a broad stakeholder partnership, provided repeated measurement and feedback on practices and outcomes as well as widespread communication and education among all partners. From a clinical viewpoint, ICONS was successful. ⋯ The various government levels benefit from the direct influx of private funds into the publicly funded healthcare sector, from direct and indirect tax revenues and from an increase in knowledge-related employment. This, of course, is in addition to the clinical benefits associated with the partnership-measurement disease-management model. Because of their uniquely simultaneous roles as beneficiary and major resource provider, the public payer can play an early and active role in such partnerships to enhance its efficiencies and increase the likelihood of sustainability if the original concepts are proven of value.