Canadian ICU

Some of the best Canadian ICU services are not found in Canada, but in the U.S.

Got a heart problem? Head south.

According to the Globe and Mail

421 emergency cardiac patients have been sent to the United States from Ontario since the 2003-2004 fiscal year to Feb. 21 this year.

So why were they sent here?

Most of the heart patients who have been sent south since 2003 typically show up in Ontario hospitals, where they are given clot-busting drugs. If those drugs fail to open their clogged arteries, the scramble to locate angioplasty in the United States begins.

Canadian drugs don't work?

And it isn't just heart patients.

British Columbia has sent 75 pregnant women or their babies to Washington State since February, 2007

Born on U.S. soil. Does that mean they have dual citizenship?

So just what is the problem with the Canadian health system?

We're simply unable to meet the demand, but we don't even know what the demand is.”

Unable to meet the demand for free health care?

Are there other issues as well?

“The health system is not consumer-focused.”

Sounds like the same complaints voiced by many in the states. You know, the folks who think eliminating the for profit carriers is a good idea.