1.5 year waiting list for knee surgery?

Snidely, yes, 1 year is the norm for knee (and other surgeries) here in Canada.

My brother got in earlier because there was a cancellation. He was waiting 7 months.

Our friend and neighbour thought she was going to be able to have her hysterectomy in June (she was told she needed that, last October. She heard from the urologist early Jan and he said that June isn't going to happen as there are other patients waiting ahead of her.

This is not a surgery by choice, something is growing (in her uterus, or something) and it shouldn't be. It's the size of a softball and should be the size of a grape)

Hey we're in for a cold spell again, aren't we Eccentric??
-14 for a high starting today for the rest of the week. But it's easier to get around in the crisp cold, as the roads are dry. With the mild weather last week, the streets and were greasy.

Jas, I missed the post about your brother's surgery, but I'm glad to hear it went well. Hope you warm up soon, but it's cold here this week, too.

I had no idea the medical care was so poor there. Are they trying to eliminate the long wait times?

Having to wait more than a few weeks to have a tumor removed or to fix a knee problem would make most people here crazy. Especially in the case of a tumor, the delay could be like a death sentence.

jasdip - yes, we sure are in for another cold snap! I was out shovelling this morning and tomorrow the high is supposed to be -19 C before the wind chill. Horrible - I hate the cold. Heck, I am cold in the summer. My husband had eye surgery a couple of years ago and I did not relax until he was on the table. Very few doctors perform the procedure he had done and many are bumped an hour before surgery.

snidely - yes, the wait times in Canada for surgery are very long. And if you want to see even a derm (for something other than a cosmetic procedure) the wait can be as long as 9 months. Oncologists are ballistic. To see a specialist in Ontario you need a referral from a GP - I know that is not always the case in the U.S. - and the referral is only good for one year.

My husband's cousin finally travelled to the U.S. to be diagnosed with of all things ALS - she was not expecting that at age 54. She had an appointment with a specialist in Canada but the wait time was going to be more than a year - and she had already been falling down for 2 years and seeing other doctors during that time period. The Mayo Clinic diagnosed her in a few days.

After researching it, the wait times are considered problematic by Canadian standards, not just population, but by medical personnel. They consider it a top priority, but not a solved problem. The US has different problems snidely, but we may share this problem before long, and it has nothing to do with payer systems.

It's because, in part, of an aging population.

Rob333, you're probably spot on with the aging population being problematic. The baby boomers started turning 65 in 2010 and, since I want to make myself feel really old, I'm older than they are :-(

I have always been under the impression that Canada had an excellent health care system. Did something change? And another question, when you finally do have surgery what are the costs like? I'm very curious.

(Edited to say, I did a look up as did rob333 and the following is what I found)

rob333, the attached link includes highlights and a further link to an annual Canadian survey on waiting times. Among other things It says

- surgery wait lists were nearly 2 1/2 months in 1993, though they're double that or more now.

- waits for CT or MRI scans can be 2-3 months or more, does that add to the multiple months of wait needed to see an orthopedic surgeon?

Canada must have the same baby boom demographic we have here (most Western European countries do), so I don't think the problem is aging. Especially given that they had what still have been unacceptable waits 20 years ago.

To our Canadian neighbors, stay healthy! I don't see our system going that way.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waiting Your Turn

This post was edited by snidely on Mon, Jan 20, 14 at 20:25

My data was from a decade later and it's still trending as too long, but they're working on it. Providers think it'd be better for them to be seen sooner than they are. I don't think there is a system that is 100% hiccup free. There is data that shows all over the world wait times. It's a pretty universal problem. My mom wants to get her stress test done so she can have surgery. She began this process in December and hasn't even made it to the second part of three parts and won't until March. And she has decent insurance/providers. She's tried two different ways to get it sooner. The surgery (part 3) can't even get scheduled until she passes this test. How much longer will that be? Another three months? Sounds like we similar wait times in the US. Such is the nature of the beast when you have an overburdened system. And the study I saw, listed age as a factor along with other reasonable things.
_____________
"Morris pointed to three possible factors for the increasing demand for joint replacements (I wasn't guessing):
-Aging population.
-Growth in health conditions such as obesity and arthritis that drive the need for hip and knee replacements.
-Technical improvements to the prostheses themselves, which now last longer and are now increasingly being offered to younger patients aged 45 to 54."

_________________
Actually, the second factor also sounds like the US. I happen to be entrenched in the medical processes of the US, and aging population is the largest concern. The system is about to become incredibly bogged down in price, and wait times. Somebody needs to come up with something quickly!

Here is a link that might be useful: the article

Patti, we don't pay anything out of pocket, for surgeries or medication needed while in the hospital.

Unless we have coverage thru work, or personal insurance, there is no coverage for medications once released though.

There is always a news article on medications not being covered, either by the province, or insurance companies and people sell their homes, investments, etc just to stay alive.

Here is just one small example:"Despite being approved for use by Health Canada, the expensive drug is not covered for brain cancer in Ontario.
Desperate to keep his wife alive, Henry Langrehr began paying more than $6,000 per treatment. A treatment he was told might be needed every three weeks."

He has sold their house to pay for the treatments.

The absolute joke of our Provincial government is get this.....Sex Change operations are completely covered by our healthcare. Some idiot thought this was a good idea, and the rest of the provincial government passed it. Good grief.

jasdip is absolutely correct.

snidely - I read an article last night that listed wait times to see even family doctors in various "first world" countries - so I am sure you can imagine the wait times to see specialists. Canada came in last. Not surprised. And many people don't have family doctors - but they must still pay for their respective provincial coverage. My family doctor is a sole practitioner - I am afraid every time I go just in case she has decided to close shop. As it is she only works a few days a week. And many GPs here have prospective patients screened first to weed out patients that they don't want. It has been this way for several years now. My doctor has a closed practice.

When I needed some CT scans, MRI, etc. (no fee) I had minimal wait time - and I don't have friends at court.

I paid zero for my treatments at emerg., when I had blood clots, or for blood tests for the past 3 years plus. Had to pay for squeezy socks for varicose veins, and first $100.00 per year of meds, after that, as a senior, minimal cost per prescription, which includes the diuretics for the veins, plus the warfarin.

Doc recommended that I take glucosamine for arthritis, which, being over-the-counter goods, is all on my tab, of course.

Doc said he planned to retire ... last year ... or this year ... hasn't yet. When he said that, a couple of years ago, on my next visit I asked him to be sure to tell me when ... as I figured that I needed to die first, and when he reacted with shocked surprise, I said that he knew how hard it is to find a doc., these days!

Some provinces have no medical insurance cost, Ontario used to have health insurance, then cancelled it a number of years ago, and reinstituted it a few years ago.

One of the major problems is that, with a single-payer system, if an independent, self-employed doc sends in a bill to them, unless they than can prove fraud, they pretty well have to pay it. Which may make the provincial government somewhat lacking in enthusiasm for registering a large number of new doctors.

At my income level, approx. $50,000., provincial health levy is around $450. - 600. per year. Though I've managed my affairs to bring income tax quite low or zero ... that fee's hard to avoid ...

... but there's a credit allowed on provincial income tax for contributions to a political party, which offsets it some.

That wouldn't work at the federal level, as political contributions in that situation can be used to reduce your income tax to zero ... but any con-tributions above the amount required to do that lose any further, i.e. refundable credit.

ole joyful

Oh Eccentric,
Was talking to my brother, and he still has pain. He's driving, BUT he got downsized last week. Crap

My best friend Sue lives in Ottawa. She was told there's a 2 year wait for colonoscopy.

Jannie, the wait times for colonoscopies shouldn't be that long. Hubby has had 2 in the last year.

jasdip - Very sorry that your brother is still in pain. But, no doubt that the pain of being downsized is even worse. At a certain age it makes things very difficult. I hope he is able to find a new job soon.

jannie - sometimes wait times all depend on where you live and what you are going to have done. But they can be very lengthy in Ontario - Toronto is not good.

old joyful - my husband turned 65 in Dec. but will continue to work until age 67. He has 2 eye drop prescriptions - that is it. He will have to pay the $100 deductible to the ODB this month and first go through it for reimbursement of his eye drops - but there is at least a $25.00 differential between what the ODB will pay and the cost of each of the eye drops. He then is to submit the excess cost to his office plan insurer (they pay up to 90% of generic drugs) - BUT he can't claim the $100 deductible. He does have to pay a considerable amount for his office family plan and I am 2 years younger than he is. My B-I-L worked for the government - he can claim the ODB $100 against his government continued benefits. My husband works for a private company. I currently have 2 prescriptions and am being weaned off of them. The ODB would not cover them anyway - and except for the odd sinus meds that is it for me. But at 65 I will still have the deductible (and my birthday is in Aug. - how convenient!). I know for a fact that the ODB is going to stop covering some drugs that many seniors take. In the hospital, yes drugs are covered, and you were VERY lucky to have had an MRI so quickly. I know I would be waiting a long time. Re the ODB I actually called them up to ask if they seriously expected people still working to go through them first. Obviously I do not want to find myself having to take multiple drugs or having procedures at age 65 - especially since I am allergic to so many things. But it does get frustrating. I have a terrible cold - and of course am allergic to antihistamine and decongestant!

You Canadians may not want to hear this, but...I saw my orthopedic surgeon on Jan 16, got my total knee replacement scheduled for Jan 27 - it took less than 2 weeks! Scheduling was so fast that I barely had time to blink before they were hustling me off for preop tests. This is a *good*, well recommended surgeon and hospital, too - he isn't scrambling for "work"...I've got just enough time to load up on books/groceries, and get the CPM and cold machines, but I don't have to wait either.

I've heard good things about low cost Canadian care, but I wouldn't like those wait times either.

In the US, I find it's usually the people who have always had good insurance and haven't had to worry about it who find fault with the idea universal healthcare.

No system is perfect but I think it's utterly ridiculous in the US that people can go bankrupt because they get sick.

The same thing happens here, too Chi.

I have not always had good health insurance. During times of unemployment, I barely survived, medically. I have friends and relatives who have not had important health screenings because they can't afford them.

But - seems like there must be a better way to do it, in a way that avoids long wait times. Maybe encourage medical students/nursing students to provide more free/low cost care as part of their training, tax incentives to licensed professionals who volunteer time. Encourage volunteers from the community to provide clerical help, to do low skilled tasks at medical facilities. Limit the legal liability that doctors can face...there must be a better way than the "Obamacare" that we have had thrown at us.