The Role of Canadian Government in Health Care - Research Paper Example

?Public Health Care in Canada Introduction Canadians appreciate high quality health care not withstanding safety and this means the liberty from suffering accidental injury. It is evident that quality and safety in the realm of health care are related and therefore, poor medications, and uncoordinated systems erode patient’s trust in health care system. The Canadian government plays a vital role in enhancing patient safety, electronic record keeping, and prevention and sustaining chronic conditions. The government aim is to improve health care for all Canadians through the federal and territorial governments with support from the Health Council of Canada. It is evident that government is largely involved in healthcare by working close with Canadian agencies and support from other countries (Philippon and BraithWaite, 2008). The Role of Canadian Government in Health Care The institution of the Canadian health care system is mainly based on the Canadian Constitution in which it is accountable to the federal as well as provincial and territorial authorities. The provincial and territorial authority has the most mandates to ensure safe and quality health services to all patients. The federal government duty in health care is based on setting and directing various national polices through the Canada Health Act. The federal government ensures financial backing of the provinces and territories while it also checks that delivery of primary and secondary services to various groups is achieved. These groups involve people like First Nations and Inuit people who are the aboriginals or Canadian natives, assistant to Canadian Forces, and even certain refugees’ applicants. It is the duty of the federal government to ensure that provincial and territorial authority follows accurate criteria for health insurance for them to get the required funding (Fierlbeck, 2011). The federal government support to the First Nations and Inuit involves primary care as well as emergency delivery to remote located and isolated areas which are reserves that are limited to provincial and territorial authority. They support community based health services like the non-insured units such as dental, drugs, as well as ancillary health. The programs are found in nursing homes, health centers, in-patient access, and across community health promotion services (Decter, 2008). The federal government also secures health protection and even regulation in things like pharmaceuticals, food and drugs. They oversee customer safety, investigation of diseases, and preventive methods through research. The Canadian patients get assistance through observation of health connected tax mechanism such as tax credits in treatment expenses, disability, and tax exemption to public facilities as well as caregivers among others (Fierlbeck, 2011). In essence, the provinces and territories offer health care to most of Canada with policies and insurance programs that fall under the national standards of the Canadian Health Act. These health insurance plans covers medical services offered by the hospital and doctors through a pre-paid plan that does not enforce direct charges on the spot after services. The provincial and territorial authority ensures this assistant is offered to patients by determining the essential services that need to be insured. When a service is proven medically to be essential, the insurance provides full cost cover in regards to the Act. However, if the service is not medically essential the province and territory authority covers it under its health insurance policy (Iglehart, 2002). The province and territory therefore, ensure design and funding of health care in hospital and other health institutions, check services offered by health practitioners, public health support as well as initiatives and negotiating fee plans with health practitioners. Additionally, they provide supplementary funds to specific groups like low income earners and the elderly. They offer other secondary services like drug prescriptions that are provided outside a health facility, ambulance, hearing, dental, and vision which are mainly not covered through the Canada Health Act. However, despite the fact that they provide these supplementary services for specific groups, these services are chiefly financed privately. Families and people who are not qualified for public insurance pay their own medical costs such that it could be under employment cover or privately purchased covers (Health Canada, n.d). Delivery of Health Care Services The Canadian health care system is a connection of a set of ten provincial and three territorial systems and they are commonly known as “medicare.” When Canadians seek medical care, the first focus is the primary health care which is the initial contact and it coordinates patients’ medical services to flow smoothly. The primary health care in Canada is advancing which involves prevention and treatment of regular ailments and injuries, primary emergency needs, referrals, as well as coordination with other services. This primary care is felt in services such as hospital support, and mental health among others; additionally, the provincial and territorial authorities in each jurisdiction determine the pay of doctors in private institutions for the services provided. In areas like clinics, community programs, and group practices, payment is mainly dispensed in terms of salaries or combined payment. In Canada, nurses and other health practitioners get paid through salaries which are determined by their unions and employers (Gratzer, 2002). After the primary care, secondary services follow where a patient can be referred for specialized treatment for long-term support or in a community based facility. Most of Canadian hospitals are run by public boards of trustees, voluntary establishments, or by regional health systems which are established by the provincial and territorial authorities. The funding is done annually through global budgets that determine the entire expenditure in collaboration with provincial and territorial authorities or with regional governance. It is evident that global funding is a major method of sustaining hospitals in Canada but lately many provinces have been trying to get additional methods of maintaining medical facilities (Health Canada, n.d). Secondary services may be offered at home or community or in facilities especially where chronic conditions are involved. Referrals in most instances are conducted by doctors, medical facilities, community programs, families, or even the patients themselves. In most instances, informal, home or continuing support is not covered through the Canada Health Act but provinces and territories offer support for specific groups of continuous care. In reality, the provincial and territorial authority pay for medical services offered in long-term institutions but room and boarding cost goes to the patient. There are cases where these boarding and room costs are subsided by the government in instances where the patient cannot pay like the elderly (Health Canada, n.d). Trends in Health Care The Canadian government health care system has changed drastically over the years to respond to the need of the society. Primary care has enhanced through the creation of more hospitals, community settings, centers that offer services 24 hours a day, promotion of health in all sectors especially in the media, and management of chronic conditions, and preventive mechanisms. The government has increased funding for research and development to enhance the health of the Canadian society. Additionally, eHealth is a major focus for the Canadian Health System to make it easier for patients to access medical support. The government has promoted the idea of electronic health records in many public hospital and other community facilities in a bid to offer sufficient health. This includes patient safety, protections, ease of access of records, fast delivery of medical services, and productivity. The use of electronic health services allows growth of primary care by ensuring operational coordination, and integration of services between various care providers (Golden, 2006). The Canadian provincial and territorial authorizes have improved the health system to enhance access of services and minimize waiting time for patients. The government has seen the recruitment of more health professionals, building more regional health facilities, removing backlogs of individuals in need of medical attention, expansion of ambulance services, and facilitating medical equipment in hospitals. The government is also concerned with patient safety and delivery of safe products to the society. The provincial and territorial authorities work closely with health care professionals and institutions to develop measures of ensuring patient safety. Defining Government The government of Canada would be defined as the administration that supports health system through the provincial and territorial administrations. These provinces and territories on the other hand, are supported by the federal government through funding and application of health policies that are beneficial to the Canadian people. In reality, the federal and provincial administrations have their own jurisdictions or regions of public policy. It is clear that one level of government is fully responsible for the administration of public policy and this largely falls on the provinces. These provinces have the authority and mandate to create approve laws that are necessary for the financing and delivery of efficient health care to the Canadian society. In this way, instead of having a central system that oversees uniform administration all over the country, Canada relies on numerous provinces to offer health care systems that are diverse in terms of structure and operation. In this way, the Canadian health care system is not a single structure but instead a “patchwork” of provincial authorities. However, this does not mean that the federal government is useless in health care support and reforms. The federal government is the one in control of constitutional spending authority, besides offering support in some areas of health like aboriginal policies. The government has the mandate to spend money in health care by either doing monetary allocations to the provinces or giving support directly to people or groups. Since the federal governmental spends millions of dollars each year to support the provinces, it has great influence in the health care policies that are created. It therefore, offers money and support to provincial administration if the policies they generate are consistent with the federal goals. If a province or territory creates health policies that do not match with it objectives, it has the authority to withdraw it support and this is cut out clearly in Canada Health Act (Williamson, et al, 2003). Conclusion The Canadian people appreciate high quality health care, safety, and freedom to access medical services without delay. It is clear that the Canadian government plays a vital role in health care system through the federal government as well as provincial and territorial authorities. The federal government main role is to fund the provincial and territorial authorities while overseeing that the health care policies created are compatible with Canada Health Act. The provincial and territorial authorities maintain close contact with Canadian health care system through the creation of policies that improve health, support of ehealth, enhanced medical facilities, oversee that trained medical professionals are employed, and creation of various programs of health care. They also ensure that primary and secondary health care system for the Canadian people is controlled and coordinated through treatment of common diseases, payment of doctors, and referral for further treatment among others. References Decter, M. (2008). Healthcare systems and Organisations: Implications for Health Human Resources. Healthcare Quarterly Vol. No. 2, 80-84. Fierlbeck, K. (2011). Health Care in Canada: A Citizen's Guide to Policy and Politics. Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. Golden, B. (2006). Transforming Healthcare Organisation. Healthcare Quarterly Vol 10, 10-19. Gratzer, D. (2002). Better Medicine: Reforming Canadian Health Care. Toronto, Ontario: ECW Press. Health Canada. (n.d.). Canada's Health Care System. Retrieved from: < http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/pubs/system-regime/2011-hcs-sss/index-eng.php> Iglehart, J. K. (2000). Revisiting the Canadian health care system. New England Journal of Medicine, 342(26), 2007-2012. Philippon, J.D and BraithWaite. (2008). Health Systems Organisations and Governance in Canada and Australia: Acomparison of Historical, Developments, Recent policy changes and future implications. Healthcare policy. Vol 4, No, 1, 168-186. Williamson, D. et al. (2003). Implementation of provincial/territorial health goals in Canada. Health policy, 64(2), 173-191. Read More