Canada Values Health

Walk-in Clinics 2009-04-07 14:46:39

This topic was suggested by a canadavalueshealth.ca visitor.

Personally, I have gone to emergency several times for non-emergent causes, though they were causes requiring medical attention. I do not have a family doctor, and have been trying for over a year to find someone who is accepting patients with no luck. If I had a family doctor, this would be who I would have seen first for the problems. I also do not trust medicentres to have quality physicians.

If we don't have quality walk-in clinics, where else are we to go?



Your responses
Appropriate use of health care professionals
Jennifer Stevens
Posted: 2010-03-26 13:07:05

From an effective and efficient use of resources, a group of health care professionals who are often overlooked and whose skills are often not well understood are paramedics. Currently, there are paramedics working within the emergency departments of hospitals, but are often misused or unused because the people in charge do not know how to deploy them.
For instance, airway management. I’ve seen doctors struggle with intubating patients, when a paramedic (who often performs intubation in the back of a moving ambulance) stands idly by. Charge nurses relegate them to carrying bedpans when they could be assisting with patient care in many more meaningful ways. There are many, many efficiencies to be achieved if it weren’t for egos and ignorance.

More than enough already
docaaron
Posted: 2009-05-11 21:41:49

The #2 reason people go to a family doctor is low back pain. It is common knowledge that Chiropractors are the most knowledgeable concerning low back pain, so wouldn't resources be better spent if Chiropractors were the first level of care for LBP? Chiropractors are actually trained to do much more then LBP. Formal education includes prostate and gyn exams, pharmaceuticals, blood draws and reading special imaging exams and so on. We have the resources already, we just need to make use of them. 
Walk in Clinics
Roto
Posted: 2009-05-06 05:10:15

I seem to recall New Brunswick in order to address the high cost and inefficiency in emergency rooms especially with patients who should not be there, build walk in clinics across  the street.

Patients who showed up in emegency who would have been better served in the walk in clinic  would pay a $5 or $10 fee for using up the more costly emergency room services.

For most the concept of the small fee would have pushed many to the clinic with great savinsg for all. Unfortunately, the feds outlined they could not construct a user fee.

Most of our shortages are not related to shortage of providers, it is related to how we organize and pay for services.
Nowhere
PatrickLouch
Posted: 2009-04-23 08:57:37

This topic question is not well-posed. It's also in the wrong section. It should be under "access".

A good topic would be. "x% of Canadians don't have a family doctor. What should be done?"

a) make more Doctors

-But med schools are maxed-out! 
--Then increase the capacity of med-schools
---But that's hard
---- tough

- But we don't need more specialists, we need more GPs
-- Then make more GPs
---But all the doctors want to be specialists
----Then pay GPs more or reduce the specialization spots
----but that's hard
----- tough
b) make less Canadians

- isn't that genocide
--yes it is, it's a bad suggestion

c) make doctors more productive
-but doctors work so hard
--...at doing things that don't help patients
---I don't follow
----they should treat more patients and do less administration
----Like the Indians?
-----like the indians.