Can Wait Times for Hip Replacements in Canada be Shortened?

 Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.  I spent my life teaching actuarial science at a university. As a result, I calculated lots of numbers:  averages, expected values, variances. But, they were only numbers. What I didn’t see was the individual human story behind each calculation. But now that I am the

Quebec’s proposed health reform Iignores best evidence

 By Paul Lamarche, Réjean Hébert and François Béland Mega-mergers in healthcare don’t save money or improve health outcomes Quebec’s Bill 10’s objectives are the improvement to the access and quality of health and social services in the province, while diminishing bureaucracy and increasing efficiency. To accomplish these objectives, the proposed law

An Era of Restraint in Health Care Spending in Canada

 The question is whether the current decline represents a permanent bending of the health care cost curve or a temporary pause In the wake of new health expenditure data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the evidence continues to mount that Canadian public health expenditure growth is moderating.

Look to Alberta Today, Not 20 Years Ago, for Guidance on Private MRIs

 Allowing private MRI clinics does not shorten wait times in public system  This past week, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall took to twitter to ask the question “Is it time to allow people to pay for their own private MRIs in Saskatchewan like they can do in Alberta?” This came after

Thousands of Lives Could be Saved by Improving our Health Care System

 Not all health regions should receive equal funding When a health care system cannot make the best use of resources at its disposal, consequences can be dire, and such is the case with the Canadian health system.  A recent study from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) found that