Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe
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56<br />
<strong>Health</strong> systems in transition <strong>Canada</strong><br />
The patient rights movement is relatively underdeveloped in <strong>Canada</strong>, at<br />
least compared with similar movements in the United States and Western<br />
<strong>Europe</strong>. While there are organizations (e.g. Canadian Cancer Society and the<br />
Canadian Mental <strong>Health</strong> Association) that advocate <strong>for</strong> the rights of patients<br />
with particular diseases, there are only a few individually oriented patient<br />
rights groups and these tend to be very weak in comparison with the specific<br />
disease-oriented organizations (Golding, 2005). While more general purpose<br />
organizations such as the Consumers’ Association of <strong>Canada</strong> and the Canadian<br />
Association of Retired Persons have engaged in some patient advocacy, these<br />
ef<strong>for</strong>ts remain limited compared with individually oriented patient rights<br />
organizations in other countries.<br />
Historically, individual patient rights in <strong>Canada</strong> have largely been defined<br />
in terms of a perceived “right” of access to universally insured medicare<br />
services under the <strong>Canada</strong> <strong>Health</strong> Act. Since the introduction of the Charter<br />
of Rights and Freedoms in 1982, there have been a small number of cases in<br />
which patients have challenged provincial governments’ interpretation of what<br />
the basket of universal health services includes. In addition, the question has<br />
arisen whether section 7, the “right to life, liberty and security of the person”,<br />
of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms encompasses a right of access to health<br />
care within a reasonable time (Greschner, 2004; Jackman, 2004). Thus far,<br />
the Supreme Court of <strong>Canada</strong> has not interpreted section 7 to include such a<br />
right (Flood, Roach & Sossin, 2005; Flood, 2007). Indeed, while it appears<br />
that the Supreme Court is concerned about provincial restrictions on private<br />
insurance <strong>for</strong> medicare services and is prepared to extend the right to private<br />
health services as demonstrated in the Chaoulli decision of 2005, it has not yet<br />
been willing to use the Charter to extend or enhance current rights to publicly<br />
financed medicare services (Cousin, 2009).<br />
All F/P/T governments have general laws to ensure that disabled residents<br />
have access to public facilities or to facilities that serve the general public. Since<br />
virtually all health care facilities come within this definition, disabled persons<br />
are ensured physical access to health services.<br />
2.9.4 Complaints procedures (mediation, claims)<br />
Historically, concerns about public health care were either expressed to<br />
provincial and territorial ministries of health and their ministers or to members<br />
of opposition parties, who would then question the governing party through<br />
the media and in the legislature. It is likely that only a tiny minority of<br />
patients ever used this highly political procedure and there has been growing