Problems in the Canadian Healthcare System - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal: Problems in the Canadian Healthcare System Introduction In the opinion of many people and health Experts, the system governing thepractices and procedures followed in healthcare are plagued with some serious issues, which is denying many people the benefits the provisions of the system can provide. The number of solutions aimed at solving the problems abounds, but nevertheless the system and the administration overseeing it have been quite slower to comprehend. Many people have suggested that it would be in the best interests to move towards a free market system or move towards the option where the entire system is regulated by the government. However, the healthcare system in Canada, popularly known as ‘Medicare’ is cannot be considered to conform to any of the two and is often regarded as a rather restrictive market (Arnold Relman, 2007). Surveys conducted over the last few years have suggested that Medicare has grown into one of the most important political issues in the case of the average Canadian Voter. In fact, Medicare as an agenda ran high on the minds of the people in addition to the public opinion on peacekeeping according to a poll conducted by CBC. The Health Council of Canada has cited Medicare as one of the puzzles in the healthcare sector as the system in place is being seen increasingly as unsustainable although most term their own personal experiences as being rather positive (Theodore Marmor, 2005). One of the popular reasons behind this concern is the successful implementation of efforts during the 1990s, when cost control measures were put in place which resulted in a fall in the health expenditure per capita even after adjustment with the inflation. These efforts have allowed the government to deal with budget deficits, triggering to cuts in the allocation of funds to provinces, thereby draining out the funds that could be allocated to hospitals. This trend has further resulted in a reduction in the number of physicians being trained (Goergina Feldberg, 2003). Further, people awaiting medical attention have often had to wait for prolonged periods. The government has been making efforts to restore public confidence by investing in healthcare, but confidence in such initiatives remains low. Literature Review Many health experts consider the current health insurance system in place as a restrictive market. In other words, this means that insurance, on which the healthcare system depends immensely, is a sector in the industry which thrives along the lines of the profit seeking motive. However, unlike in the case of other sectors such as consumer appliances, people do not have much choice that allows them to have a look at the available alternatives and help them in choosing a suitable one. The predominantly decentralized of the healthcare system in Canada has meant that qualitative data is not available easily thereby preventing people from identifying systemic problems in the system (Janet Kerr, 2006). Considerable efforts are being undertaken to address the relevant issues in this regard with a high emphasis on better assessment of the system. One of the main constraints that consumers face in the wake of any discontentment as it is very difficult to switch between different insurance plans. Due to a lack of mobility in the solutions available, plans are often vulnerable to creating problems thus leading to failures in efficient and timely resolution of claims, slow response to requests for information or the absence of any consistent and credible policy simply due to the fact that they remain tied to their current plans through their employers thus adding further difficulty in switching between plans (Theodore Marmor, 2005). People often complain that they are unable to access the benefits of claims that are usually available for elective surgery as well as diagnostic imaging. Apart from tackling issues concerning the access to health cover and ensuring that the benefit reaches every deserving person, it is also extremely important to understand that the deficiencies in the system are also being exploited for monetary gains through fraudulent means. One of the most regular ways attempted by people to compromise the system is by trying to switch plans when they get sick. It can be considered quite reasonable for allowing plans that do not look to cover any pre-existing conditions while the preceding plan did not contain any such condition, at least in a system where the state does not provide any vouchers for a basic level of health insurance in addition to the provision of a default plan in case people has not considered any such cover (Goergina Feldberg, 2003). Such a plan must also aim at covering all probable treatments that can be analyzed on the basis of their cost benefit evaluations. Based on this standpoint, it is also easy to note that such a provision could only help paying until a certain amount for any kind of treatment. Research Methodology As the above discussion has shown, the research aimed at looking into the provisions, practices and trends within the healthcare system is a pretty complex issue and can only be studied by gathering a volume of information from a multitude of sources. This needs to take into consideration both the history of the healthcare system in America as well as look into the present trends as they exist in the system today. In order to help achieve these twin purposes stated above, the study proposed to gather information in two distinct ways. Firstly, there is a plethora of information in sources from existing literature such as books and journals that discuss in the form of subjects, the various issues pertaining the topics that are being considered under the proposed study. Further, much of this information can also be found online through digital libraries, whose search features can render the information gathering exercise much faster thereby helping in collecting the required data in a very short duration. Apart from the above mentioned secondary sources of literature, where much of the information is related to the past, the study also understands the importance of gaining an understanding of present trends and believes it can be achieved through obtaining the opinions and viewpoints of people involved in the sector in different capacities, who will be identified during the course of the study. By conducting interviews and surveys by ways of pre-formulated questionnaires, the research hopes to garner the latest trends and viewpoints of people involved in the industry as well as those involved in studying the industry thereby helping gain an overall perspective of the problems and issues being faced by the healthcare system and its consumers. The above data collected through the proposed primary and secondary means will be collected, examined and grouped into categories of data as deemed appropriate and will be used to arrive at inferences. In such efforts, the use of mathematical and statistical techniques will be used wherever deemed appropriate so as to be in a position to project trends and conclusions in the form of graphs, charts and tables. Conclusion The proposed research is aimed at looking into the problems being faced by consumers and normal citizens in the wake of the deficiencies that exist in the present healthcare system in Canada as part Medicare, thus looking towards fulfilling the need for carrying forward a thorough evaluation of the entire system as it stands now. In achieving this requirement, the proposed study aims to adopt a proper and carefully structured methodology that is believed to guide the study without any major obstacles thus helping it achieve the intended objectives in a timely and efficient manner. throughout this effort, the research will follow all guidelines for conducting a thorough study in the most efficient and transparent fashion thus looking to determine the required inferences in the most qualitative manner. References 1. Arnold Relman (2007), A second opinion: rescuing Americas healthcare : a plan for universal coverage serving patients over profit. Toronto: PublicAffairs. 2. Theodore Marmor (2005), The politics of medicare. Montreal: Aldine. 3. Goergina Feldberg (2003), Women, health and nation: Canada and the United States since 1945. New York: McGill Queens Press. 4. Janet Kerr (2006), An introduction to issues in community health nursing in Canada. University of Michigan. Read More