What's up Doc?

Socialized medicine...

Oh, where to begin. I could go on and on about this hugely debated topic. When we first moved to Canada, I complained non-stop about socialized medicine to my fellow ex-pats. I understand the idea behind it. It's medicine for the masses. It's the government wanting to take care of their people and provide them with quality, affordable health care. It's something the U.S. has struggled with for years.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm still not wild about it, but there are a few redeemable qualities. When we first moved here, we were required to pay a premium for our health insurance. The government has since eliminated the premium and we now pay nothing. We essentially have free health insurance and with that, we do not pay for ANYTHING health related. Of course, this doesn't include cosmetic procedures or dental. People often purchase additional insurance for dental, but our Caterpillar insurance kicks in for that.

I must admit, it's kind of strange to go to a doctor and never pay a cent, nor see a single scrap of paperwork. I think of all the paperwork I would receive for a simple doctor visit in the states. There's the receipt for my co-pay/portion, then the Explanation of Benefits from my insurance company, showing what percentage they paid and how much they allow for such a procedure. Then I receive another bill from my doctor telling me what wasn't covered by insurance (which means I now owe it). If you have surgery or something, it's practically a full time job managing all the paperwork that comes in. No need to worry about that here. No co-pays, deductibles, out-of-pocket maximums, patient responsibility above "usual and customary" charges. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. You could basically have open heart surgery and never pay a single penny of your own money.

The downside to socialized medicine, and this is a big one, is availability. There is a huge shortage of doctors and medical professionals in Canada. It's referred to as the "brain drain". Many doctors and health care specialists are moving to the U.S. to practice medicine, where they can make more money, pay lower taxes and not be affected by continual provincial health care budget cutbacks. What this translates to as a patient is very long wait times and many doctors who are not accepting new patients. A Canadian friend recently told me, "If you're dying, our system is great!" That's true. If you have a life threatening condition, you will be moved to the top of the list, receive immediate treatment and never pay a penny. But what about the rest of us?

Wyatt has been suffering from repeated ear infections since May of this year. His ears never really drain so there's always fluid in them, meaning any little cold can quickly turn into another infection. He's had one infection after the next and has been on so many antibiotics. We would no sooner finish the dosage and the infection would be back. His pediatrician finally threw up his hands in defeat. He referred us to a Pediatric Ear Nose Throat doctor, but warned us we wouldn't be happy with the wait. The soonest they could see him for a consult was 2 1/2 months out. More waiting, more infections. When the ENT doctor finally saw him, he told us Wyatt needed ear tubes, but the wait list was quite long. Because of his recurrent infections, he would move his name "toward the top of the list". With almost 400 kids (yes, 400!!) waiting for tubes, the soonest he could get his tubes would be December or January. So, that's what they call "toward the top of the list"! We considered going back to the states for the procedure, but that had logistical challenges too. Imagine how surprised and elated we were to get a call Wednesday night from the Children's Hospital telling us they had a last minute cancellation for Thursday morning and could do Wyatt's tubes. Yipee!

We woke at the crack of dawn (well, some of us were up anyway) and hopped in the car to head to the hospital. We were told to arrive at 7am for 9am surgery. Although he would be anesthetized, it is a fairly quick and simple procedure. Nine o'clock came and went and we were still waiting. Finally, around 9:30, they started the initial prep for surgery and changed him into his scrubs. They told us it wouldn't be long and left us in the waiting triage. We waited...and waited. Finally, someone came and told us they needed the bed and we would have to go back to the main waiting room. Wyatt had not had any food or drink since dinner the night before. It broke my heart to keep telling him no when he told me he was hungry and repeatedly asked for water or a snack, especially since the waiting room was packed with people chowing down on sandwiches, donuts, you name it. Anyway... is anyone still reading this long and wordy blog post at this point? More waiting, still no news. Finally, they called us back about 11:30 and brought us to another waiting room. Wyatt was famished by then and frankly, we were too. Wyatt was a trooper and so was Hadley - thank goodness she's such an easy baby. Finally, a little after noon, they came and got him for his surgery. The did apologize and explain that the doctor had an emergency surgery, which was the cause for the unusually long wait. One parent was allowed in the OR, so I donned scrubs and a cap. They told me to hold him while they put him under, but he didn't go down without a fight. It took me plus 3 nurses to hold him while the anesthesiologist did his thing. Wyatt was screaming "NO! I'm all done! NO DOCTOR! NO!" and writhing and flailing while the anesthesiologist held a gas mask over his face. Finally, he succumbed and went limp in my arms. It was incredibly heart wrenching to watch and I left the OR in tears. As promised, the procedure itself was quick and he was fine afterward. We arrived home starving and exhausted. It was an early bedtime for all of us that night.

It's hard enough to watch your child in pain, but knowing that a simple procedure could alleviate the pain and then having to wait 6 months (or longer) for it is just unacceptable. I know the U.S. system is flawed too, but surely there is some happy medium. Sadly, I doubt the problem will be solved in my lifetime. I suppose in the end, we should just be thankful that we live in a civilized country where we have access to health care at all. There are places in the world where people are dying from simple illnesses due to lack of proper care. We are lucky that we are all relatively healthy and if the worst thing we have to deal with is ear infections, we're pretty blessed, right?