Six things we need to do to make Health Care sustainable.

Health Care in Alberta, in its current state, is not sustainable.  We are currently allocating somewhere around 40% of the provincial operating budget to health care, and it seems that any additional money we have thrown at this industry is gobbled up with little indication of any improvement in service to the patient.

Here are six things I think we can do to help make health care in Alberta sustainable.  Whether you agree or not, give me your thoughts on this issue.

1. There are many health care facilities around rural Alberta that are not being used to their potential.  Why can’t we make better use of these facilities?  Why can’t we do cataract surgery in Daysland?  Why can’t we do hip & knee replacements in Wainwright?  If we can find a way to do this we use facilities that are already in place.  Sure, there may be some renovation required.  However the positive is we are not building more facilities in Edmonton & Calgary, where the cost is huge.  Other positives are ease of access for patients in rural Alberta, plus the obvious local economic boost.  

2. Wages & benefits are a big part of the cost of health care.  We need to carefully examine the value we are getting from health care employees, whether they interact directly with patients, or not.  Change of work flow and reallocation of duties will result in better use of human resources in the delivery of health care.

3. When we are receiving a service from Alberta Health Services, we need to ask ourselves “Would I do anything differently if I was writing a cheque at the end of the day?”  I am talking about a visit to the doctor for a common cold, or accessing various tests or procedures that simply confirm what is known.  The issue here is responsible use of resources.  By the way, you ARE writing a cheque for the service.  Health care is not free – it is paid for by you & I, in the form of income tax. 

4. The elimination of health care premiums was a mistake.  Users of the service will respect it more if they are paying something for it – even if it is nominal.  I am not opposed to the introduction of an annual deductible of some kind either, with a program in place to waive the requirement for those unable to pay.

5. We need to have the discussion about private delivery of health services.  I know that many of you believe this will result in destruction of the public system, but we have to at least examine this possibility.  Other jurisdictions seem to have found a way to make a blended delivery system work efficiently.

6. We all need to get exercise & eat properly.  This may be the single most important thing we should be doing.  A healthy population will access health services less and ease the strain on the system.  I know I could do better, how about you? 

What do you think?  Okay, maybe we can’t solve this issue with six simple initiatives.  However I think they are a good start.

Let me know your thoughts.

Cheers,

Bud James