Canada - World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

58
Health systems in transition Canada
Table 2.5
Survey of sicker adults in terms of access, coordination and patient-centred
experience, 2011 (% of patients)
Same day or next
day appointment
Waited 6 days
or more
Access to doctor or nurse when sick or in need of care
Difficulty getting
after-hours care
without going to ED
Used emergency
department in past
2 years
Waited less than
1 month to see
a specialist
Experienced
coordination gaps
in past 2 years
Experienced gaps in
hospital or surgery
discharge in past
2 years
Any medical,
medication or
laboratory errors
in past 2 years
Shared decisionmaking
with
specialist
Australia 63 10 56 48 59 36 55 19 64
Canada 51 23 63 58 52 40 50 21 61
France 75 8 55 33 67 53 73 13 37
Sweden 50 22 52 50 63 39 67 20 48
United
Kingdom
United
States
79 2 21 40 80 20 26 8 79
59 16 55 49 88 42 29 22 67
Source: Derived from Schoen et al. (2011).
Note: ED: Emergency department.
Since 2008, some provincial ministries of health have launched patientcentred
care initiatives. In Saskatchewan, for example, an externally appointed
ministerial advisory committee, known as the Patient First Review, consulted
patients and caregivers and reviewed existing care processes before making
a series of recommendations for change (Dagnone, 2009). In Ontario, the
provincial government passed a law entitled “Excellent Care for All” that
requires hospitals to engage with their patients and caregivers in order to gauge
the level of satisfaction with services, and requires health care organizations to
develop a declaration of values based in public input.
2.9.6 Patients and cross-border health
Under the portability provision of the Canada Health Act, provincial and
territorial governments are required to provide coverage for insured hospital and
physician services for their residents when they are visiting other jurisdictions,
both inside and outside Canada. Within Canada, section 11 of the Act requires
that residents visiting other jurisdictions be reimbursed at the rate approved by
the P/T plan in which the services are provided unless there is an agreement
between the jurisdictions to do otherwise. Outside Canada, P/T plans are to
reimburse the amount that would have been paid in the home province or
territory.