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Healthcare Reform in Canada: The Romanow Report

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2004

ALISTER BROWNE
ALISTER BROWNE
Affiliation:
Alister Browne, Ph.D., is Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Langara College, Ethics Consultant at the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre, and Associate Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, Canada
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Extract

The recent history of the Canadian healthcare system has been increasingly one of shortages. There are delays for services that impose risk and hardship, disparities between the accessibility of healthcare for rural versus urban populations, and a lack of adequate coverage for or access to prescription drugs, diagnostic services, and homecare. Add to these problems shortages of healthcare providers—in particular, physicians and nurses—and state-of-the-art equipment, and we can understand the universal agreement that the Canadian healthcare system must change. The only question is how. Some argue for modifications within the basic framework of a one-tier single-payer system; others for more radical reform that will allow for infusions of money by expedients such as user fees, extra billing, or a full-blooded second tier where one can buy any healthcare one wants.I am indebted to Don Brown for comments and discussion.

Type
SPECIAL SECTION: INTERNATIONAL VOICES 2004
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , July 2004 , pp. 221 - 225
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

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