Essay on Healthcare Delivery Systems in United States and Canada

Health Care delivery system in any country is measured on the basis of three criteria: Cost, Quality, and Accessibility. When this balance is upset in any one area the others are compromised as well. An efficient and effective health care system maintains a balance between all three. Every country has a slightly different system of delivering health care to its people. There is not one country that has achieved this perfect balance.

One of the biggest political issues facing most North American's these days is health care. You may live in the United States where the system is operated for profit and 40 million Americans have limited access to regular health care. Or you are in Canada where it is operated as a non-profit system and you fear the erosion that you see taking place will become permanent changes to the Canadian Health Act.
It is important for both Americans and Canadians these days to learn about the healthcare delivery systems in both countries. Neither model is ideal because the perfect health care system is an unattainable goal; there will always be patients that will fall through the cracks. However we can learn from each other's mistakes.

Many Americans have seen commercials in their media telling them they don't want the Canadian Healthcare system. Unfortunately most of these commercials are based on generalizations about the Canadian model. For example, they have been told that in Canada they have huge waitlists. Yes in fact Canada does, but they don't tell you if a patient is deemed urgent the Canadian healthcare delivery system does move that patient up the waiting list.

There is considerable confusion over terms here, and it is essential to understand precisely what is entailed in various proposals. There is little controversy about the role of non-profit private sector delivery of services: it is the Canadian norm..................

ESSAY ON THE AMERICAS