Discussions

Why is your doctor that is moving not giving you a referral to a new primary care doctor? That’s what they are supposed to do. They can’t just up and leave and not have their patients looked after. At least that’s been my experience in the past.

I'm guessing I have the same family doctor. Got a letter in the mail today saying that she's moving and to access the walk in clinic until a new doctor is available. I don't think they can refer patients to physicians if none of the ones in town are accepting new patients.

A few years ago my doctor at the Brandon Clinic moved away. How I found out a notice was posted in the Brandon Sun. When I called the Brandon Clinic to get a new dr., none were accepting new patients. I even spoke to the Administrator at the Brandon Clinic and he said he would see if one of the drs. would take me on as a new patient and he called me a few days later and told me that all the drs. their practices were full. It's a crappy situation. I ended up finding a dr. at Western Medical Clinic.  
If you want to switch drs. your current dr. has to provide approval for you to switch which is crappy as well.

I understand you're upset with your current situation, but dismantling our healthcare system is not the solution. We, as Canadians, enjoy one of the best, most accessible (and effective) healthcare systems in the world.  
 
Privatizing that would be disastrous, and deadly.  
 
It sounds like your situation may solve itself with a new doctor taking over at your clinic (based on what another user posted). Good luck, and stay safe.

I have attached a link to this province website. A year ago, my husband was working in Nova Scotia and had a stroke. He came home, but did not have a regular doctor until then. I used this website, and he was referred to a nurse practitioner that he absolutely loves! She can do pretty much anything that a doctor can do, and refers him to specialists for everything else. She is very thorough. I highly recommend that you use this website. They are so very helpful!  
 
https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/familydoctorfinder/

we were given several options. Including new doctors taking patients. So you have choices.

It can be unsettling to lose your GP, no question. I had my family Dr of 20 years refuse to make an appt as I was a "new" patient. But I'm NOT a new patient, I have been seeing Dr X for 20 + years I replied. Then I was told that I hadn't been to see him in over 24 months and that made me a "new" patient, and he wasn't taking new patients. I was fortunate in that the clinic had recently engaged several new Dr's from SA. I was taken on and have had the most remarkable care since then. Best Dr I have ever had and I have lived coast to coast and as far south as you can get and still be in Canada.  
I pay my taxes every year and grumble about it like everyone else, but I have never received a charge for medical care. UNTIL, I had a motor vehicle accident while travelling in the USA. $250,000 US to plate a broken collar bone and a weekend for 2 in hospital. Without travel insurance, that would have been my house and everything I have worked for over my lifetime to cover the bill.  
You think Canadian Health Care sucks?  
Be grateful you have never been without it, and while you're at it... Be Careful What you Wish for....

I am glad that you have had that experience with our system. However, there are many who have had vastly different experiences especially regarding the effective part.

Did they say a new doctor would be coming?? Every time I’ve had a doctor leave then I get transferred to a new doctor coming in ( though it may take awhile for a new doctor to get there). This has happened at 2 different clinics. Also you could look into nurse practitioners, I’ve seen some great ones!  
 
Based on my dad’s experience living in the states I would not want healthcare privatized. For one person he paid $600 a month for health insurance. He still had to pay $1600 for a CAT scan. He still had to pay some towards cancer treatments and a deductible. Can you imagine paying insurance for a whole family?

I got the same letter. Very discouraging especially when my husband and daughter have a different doctor in the same clinic. Why can’t I be switched over to him. It’s not like I go to the doctor regularly and they couldn’t fit me in.  
 
I would imagine the clinic will be looking for a replacement. I sure hope so anyway

You mentioned that your GP was leaving Brandon and were finding it difficult to get a new doctor. This problem has been echoed in smaller communities for many years now. Physicians don't want to have practices in smaller communities (in comparison to major centers like Winnipeg, Brandon is still considered small) because 1. there are more social opportunities for their families in larger centers and 2. they can earn more setting up practices in larger centers like Winnipeg. The reason that we see so many foreign physicians setting up practices in the smaller towns is because many graduates from Manitoba universities have no desire to practice in the small towns where they grew up. I have nothing against foreign doctors, but many of them that I have encountered have poor social skills, questionable English, and some are just outright arrogant.

Lots of stories about “their” system vs “ours”... All things being considered, the US system isn’t as bad as lots of people think. I have a number of close relatives in the US, including a family member that has worked on the Administration side of their health care system for 20 years. When you enter a hospital/clinic down there the doctors practically swarm you because they want your “business”. And there is pretty much NO wait time for labs, mri, x-ray or other procedures and surgeries... usually not more than days. They want your business and are willing to compete for it and ensure you are happy with their service. Nearly everyone there carries some sort of health insurance...and its considerably cheaper than the taxes we pay for our “free” health care. And the bonus, when somebody gets a bill for their care, it is very often negotiable (usually by the insurance companies but also personally) and you often pay well less than your bill. Every doctor there wants to be YOUR doctor. That’s not all bad, and their law is that even if you don’t have insurance or cash, you can not be refused health care.

Nurse Practitioners don't have hospital privileges for the most part. Just like a person whose MD does not have hospital privileges, their patients would be admitted under the hospitalist.  
I am a bit biased, but agree that the role of NP is under utilized in the health care system in Manitoba. While NP's don't have admitting privileges, they can do many of the same tasks as a family doctor, and are a very cost effective option for the system. Users of the health care system (ie - all of us!) should encourage our political leadership to fund more positions!

Nicemoustache that's just not true. The U.S. spends MORE public money per capita than Canada does on healthcare. Whether Americans pay that as taxes or its part of their ballooning national debt, it is what it is. When you factor in all the private and out of pocket money spent on healthcare, the U.S. and its citizens spend more on healthcare per capita than any other country, by a significant margin.  
 
And yet, almost every health outcome is worse in the U.S. You can drill down to individual diseases and the outcomes are worse in the U.S. More public money spent than Canada, worse outcomes. That's incredible inefficiency. To spend more public money than Canada per capita and not have universal healthcare. Almost unbelievable.  
 
Life expectancy is lower, suicide is higher, etc. If that's not enough, many Americans have been left destitute by healthcare costs.  
 
Canada's system has lots of room for improvement, but the U.S. healthcare system is not something to aspire to or even claim that "it's not as bad as people think". It's a shame that a country with so much wealth has squandered it and left so many of their citizens with such a poor healthcare system.  
 
We shouldn't compare apples to oranges. We should focus on making our own system better. But let's not pretend the U.S. system is something to emulate.  
 
Edited by JosephC, 2020-09-11 21:58:49

Is it your opinion that health outcomes are worse in the States or do you have something to reference.

With the NHS in the UK which received lots of bad press but was a system that worked great for our family. Since living in Canada I have found the healthcare here to be excellent and accessible. The worst part is that sometimes you have to travel quite a bit which isn’t easy for many. We had no problem finding a doctor, have had easy access to emergency and I received surgery in a timely manner, maybe I was lucky, we live in a rural area which I think has been an advantage. I have heard though that finding family doctors is a particular problem in Brandon. There is no perfect health care system but I find that Manitoba’s is likely as close as you will find.  
I do miss the fixed price pres:cription fee that the NHS provided though. It can be expensive here.  
 
Edited by Farmergeorge, 2020-09-11 22:35:51