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We get a lot of information about how bad our healthcare system is and where the faults might lie. We also get suggestions for progressive solutions, namely single payer, but the reality of achieving such a healthcare system in America seems still a ways off to put it mildly! We now at best have to settle for possible compromises with the existing private insurance run system which most of us are very suspicious about. Well call this diary a trip to a far off land (or so it would seem but it is not that far away) that already is doing single payer, but wants, no needs to improve even that system that we seem to desire here. I thought it might be nice to read about what British Columbia is planning for improvements in their public single payer system because maybe we can learn from this, or at least envy the social harmony and responsibility they seemed to have arrived at. When Parliament begins in the Province of British Columbia, a Speech from the Throne is given. The full speech can be read at the following link, but I have cut out and blockquoted the health related parts. Read and dream America! -------------- Speech from the Throne The Honourable Steven L. Point, OBC Lieutenant-Governor at the Opening of the Fourth Session, Thirty-Eighth Parliament of the Province of British Columbia February 12, 2008 Living Smart Means Healthier Families and Sustainable Health Delivery
British Columbians were asked how we might strengthen our health system within the Canada Health Act and secure it for future generations during the Conversation on Health.
That Conversation produced valuable ideas and helped inform British Columbians about their health system, its challenges and the need for renewal.
This session your government will act to improve health care for the long term through a new emphasis on healthy lifestyles, prevention and accountability.
There will be one public payer for services under the Canada Health Act that will continue to deliver services through public and private service providers.
British Columbia's health care system will be built on an express commitment to accessibility, universality, portability, comprehensiveness and public - not private - administration.
Amendments will define and enshrine those five principles of the Canada Health Act under the Medicare Protection Act. A sixth principle of sustainability will be added to ensure our health care system will be there for our children, our grandchildren and their families.
The Medical Services Plan will be required to be administered in a manner that is fiscally sustainable and provides for British Columbians' current health needs without compromising future generations' entitlement to similar MSP benefits.
Other amendments will codify a commitment to building a public health care system that is founded on the values of individual choice, personal responsibility, innovation, transparency and accountability.
Our goal is an efficient, effective, integrated health system that promotes the health of all citizens, and provides high-quality patient care that is medically appropriate and ensures reasonable access to medically necessary services consistent with the Canada Health Act.
Citizens will gain new access to their health records and medical information so they can play an informed role in making both preventative and therapeutic care choices.
People who choose to, will have the option of staying in their homes with their families as long as possible at the end of life.
This year the government will undertake a study of the opportunities and costs involved in the establishment of a new Independent Living Savings Account framework.
It would allow citizens to choose to invest a certain portion of their income each year, up to age 75, in a tax-sheltered savings account that can be used for home care support, assisted independent housing and supportive housing options.
Patient choice and access will also be improved through major new investments in eHealth and expansions to BC NurseLine, including a new "specialist referral service."
Since December, your government has waived the three-month residency period to access MSP benefits for soldiers and their families who are serving our country in Afghanistan and elsewhere abroad.
As of today, British Columbia will waive the wait period for all Canadian soldiers and their families who move to B.C. from elsewhere in Canada.
Your government urges all provinces to do likewise to show our national gratitude to those who serve in our military.
With their sacrifices in mind each of us can ask: what are we doing to help our planet, our country and future generations?
The fight against climate change is our fight. The battle to save Medicare is our battle. We all must do our part.
All the money raised from sales tax, Medicare premiums, tobacco tax, health-care fees, federal health transfer payments and corporate income tax combined does not cover the costs of our health services.
Health expenditures have grown at more than twice the rate of growth in GDP over the last 20 years and at nearly quadruple inflation rates in this decade.
If we fail to come to grips with that trend, it will be our children and their families who will pay the highest price.
This obliges us to adopt new effective strategies that at once improve the health of our citizens, improve health delivery and protect our public health system for the long term.
Throughout the Conversation on Health there was overwhelming support for more focus on disease prevention and health promotion.
Diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and strokes rob aging individuals of their memories, motor skills and faculties. Mental illnesses like depression, schizophrenia and substance abuse typically begin in childhood, exerting a lifelong impact on the individual, their families and society.
The causes of childhood afflictions such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Autism Spectrum Disorder remain poorly understood.
This legislature will be asked to approve major investments aimed at strengthening our ability to prevent and treat such conditions.
Your government will build on the expertise and success of the Brain Research Centre with a new Centre for Brain Health. It will help people avoid brain diseases and provide new treatment and rehabilitation options for patients.
B.C. is recognized across the country for its excellent work in cancer research.
Expanded pediatric oncology research will offer new hope for cancer prevention and treatment specifically focused on children.
Some 20 per cent of all hip fractures result in death and half of those who do survive are left with disabilities. Musculoskeletal diseases generate more direct and indirect costs than any other health condition in B.C.
New investments in the Centre for Hip Health and Musculoskeletal Research will be undertaken.
The Hip Centre will work to prevent falls and hip fractures through the development of early intervention programs for youth and seniors. It will enhance the detection of osteoarthritis at an early stage and the education of highly skilled scientists and clinicians.
Personal health starts with personal commitment to healthy eating, active living and responsible health management.
Your government will establish ActNow seniors' community parks throughout the province. They will be designed especially for seniors to help them stay mobile, physically active and healthy.
The best way to stay healthier later in life is to be health-smart all our lives.
Expectant parents have been given new tools and support to help them make healthy choices for their new babies.
Universal early screening programs have been introduced that have been complemented by early childhood development programs for infants, toddlers and preschoolers.
New daily minimum physical activity requirements are now in place for B.C. students.
Working with parents, educators and students, two new programs will be designed to provide our children with new opportunities for daily physical activities.
A new "Walking School Bus" program will be developed to enable young students to walk safely to their schools, accompanied by adults. A similar new program - the "Bicycle Train"- will give groups of children the chance to bicycle to class with adult supervision.
To encourage healthy eating, your government has introduced and is expanding the school fruit and vegetable nutritional program.
It has banned junk food in schools and vending machines in provincially-owned buildings.
It will now act to ban the use of trans fats in the preparation of foods in schools, restaurants and food-service establishments by 2010.
Smoking remains one of the most pernicious health threats to children.
It has now been banned in all indoor public spaces and on all school property. Yet more must be done.
The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that as many as one in five children are exposed to second-hand smoke while riding in passenger vehicles.
To ensure children are no longer subjected to second-hand smoke in any vehicle, new legislation will ban smoking in vehicles when children are present. There is nothing more precious or important than the health of our children.
BC Children's Hospital provides outstanding care for many of British Columbia's most seriously ill or injured children. It provides highly specialized services that are not available elsewhere in B.C.
Your government is committed to the upgrading and expansion o BC Children's Hospital. It will work with the BC Children's Hospital Foundation and the Provincial Health Services Agency to plan, modernize and refurbish that important health facility and improve its health services for children in all regions of British Columbia.
British Columbia has some of the best population health outcomes anywhere in the world. Yet each year, public health risks emerge.
Improvements to the Public Health Act will help deal decisively with these challenges and protect our citizens from infectious diseases and emergency health hazards.
Your government will strengthen its statutory capacity to guarantee the highest standards of safety and quality in service delivery.
A new BC Patient Safety Council will be established. It will enhance patient safety, reduce errors, promote transparency and identify best practices to improve patient care.
New Patient Care Quality Review Boards will also be established for all health regions. They will provide a clear, consistent, timely and transparent process for patients to register complaints about service quality or clinical appropriateness in the health system, including the residential care sector.
Health professionals are the lynchpins of quality health care. Access to qualified health professionals will be substantially expanded.
New legislative authority will be sought to ensure health professionals who are certified to practise in other Canadian jurisdictions will be welcomed to practise in B.C. and have their credentials recognized. This includes foreign-trained doctors.
A new restricted licence will allow internationally trained physicians to practise in their specific areas of qualification.
Residency positions will be significantly expanded to complement the recent doubling of medical school spaces. A new framework to allow Canadian citizens trained outside Canada to find residencies and practise in B.C. will be developed and implemented.
A three-year Bachelor of Nursing Science program will be established. It will permit nurses to gain their degree a year sooner with significant 'on-the-job' training.
Nurses will be trained and authorized to deliver a broader range of health services such as suturing, ultrasounds, allergy testing, local anaesthesia and cardiac stress testing.
They will be able to give medications for minor pain at triage while patients are waiting to see a doctor. They will be authorized to order lab work, blood tests and X-rays.
Amendments to the Health Professions Act will allow health providers the opportunity to utilize their full scope of training and expertise.
A new Health Profession Review Board will ensure that all qualified health workers can fully and appropriately utilize their training and skills, and not be denied that right by unnecessary credentialing and licensure restrictions.
Pharmacists will be permitted to authorize routine prescription renewals, making it easier for patients with chronic illnesses to manage their conditions.
Ambulance paramedics will be authorized to treat and release when appropriate. Naturopaths will be permitted to prescribe medicinal therapies as appropriate and restrictions on their access to medical labs for prescribed tests for patients will be removed.
Midwives will be authorized to deliver a broader range of services without a physician present to new and expectant mothers who choose to utilize their services.
These measures will be bolstered by expanded access to primary care, new independent living options, and improved service levels in assisted living and residential care.
Teams of health professionals working together for patients will be available 24 hours a day to provide clinically appropriate care that is now only available in emergency rooms.
New tools and support services will be created to help home caregivers and family members who are providing in-home care.
Better co-ordination of patient services across the Lower Mainland will reduce administration costs. Those revenues will be redirected to patient services.
Integrated approaches to health human resources training and recruitment, data collection, procurement and services will be implemented.
New investments will standardize information technology platforms and provide new tools for better managing and optimizing health expenditures.
Your government will also launch an innovation and integration fund for the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities to help move beyond "block funding" toward a new provincewide patient-centred funding model.
This new model will see health dollars follow patients, wherever they are treated. It will tie funding to performance and to increased service levels in specific priority areas, like emergency care and surgical backlogs.
These measures will improve the health of our citizens. They will improve access, choice, quality, transparency and accountability in public health delivery. They will make health care more sustainable. |
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