health care waiting times
In 2020, patients in New Brunswick faced a median 41.3 week wait for medically necessary treatment.
Patients in the province waited 33.3 weeks (on average) for medically necessary treatment.
An estimated 1,064,286 Canadians waited for medically necessary treatment in 2019.
Alberta is a comparatively high spender on health care but at best a modest performer.
Ontarians waited 29.7 weeks (on average) for orthopedic surgery this year.
Other universal health-care countries including France, Japan and Sweden practise cost-sharing.
Universal health-care systems in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and Australia include private insurers and/or providers.
A group of Canadian physician associations (the Wait Time Alliance) has just released a report on providing Canadian patients more timely access to care. Surprisingly, the report shows little regard for the pain and suffering patients experience while waiting for medical treatment. Even more troubling than the report itself is that this lack of regard for patients needs is becoming remarkably popular in Canada.