6 Big Ideas, “Better Now” by Dr. Danielle Martin
Originally posted @allaboutestates.ca
I recently had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Danielle Martin address health care system challenges faced by Canadians daily. In her book Better Now, Dr. Martin explores ways to make Canadian health care better. Dr. Martin is a family doctor and practices in the Family Practice Health Centre at Women’s College Hospital where she is also the Vice-President of Medical Affairs & Health System Solutions. Her 6 main ideas include:
Big idea#1: Ensure relationship-based primary health care for every Canadian (talking and connecting with your doctor and electronic sharing of info);
Big Idea # 2: Bring prescription drugs under Medicare (we pay too much and many do without all together);
Big Idea # 3: Reduce unnecessary tests & interventions (does 95 yr old mom need that biopsy?);
Big Idea # 4: Reorganize health care delivery to reduce wait times and improve quality ( how long does it take to see a specialist? New survey says on average Canadians wait 20 weeks for ‘medically necessary’ treatments in 2016);
Big Idea # 5: Implement a basic income guarantee ( poverty can make you sick);
Big Idea # 6: Scale up successful solutions across the country (doing what works);
Certainly not all of these ideas are new. What’s new is that they are been thoughtfully described based on her and of those around her, own experiences. What I didn’t get to ask her that night was her vision on what a dementia strategy would look like and how we can be better prepared to address the needs of all of us as an aging society.
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