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Healthcare in Ontario
As a healthcare professional, it is vital to have a clear understanding of how healthcare works in one's own province as well as other provinces so one can comprehend the pivotal differences between inter-provincial healthcare systems.
In Ontario, the healthcare services are funded by a portion of the taxes paid by the Ontarians which goes towards their health insurance plan named O.H.I.P (Ontario Health Insurance Plan). The O.H.I.P makes the Ontarians eligible for the following services such as doctor’s visit/consultation, emergency hospital visits and stays, ambulance services, medical abortions, podiatry services, certain optometry services and complex dental surgeries in hospitals. For the northern Ontario residents, the health travel grant is extremely beneficial as it covers for their travel and long-distance accommodation costs. Unfortunately, prescriptions provided in healthcare clinics by family doctors/physicians from walk in clinics, dental services delivered in dental offices, eye glasses, contact lenses, cosmetic surgeries are not covered by O.H.I.P (Ministry of Health, 2015).
Healthcare in other provinces
Healthcare services provided in each province differ from each other. According to the Canada's Provincial Health plans, a few key differences observed between the health insurance plan of various provinces are as follows:
-Ambulance services for Prince Edward Island residents is not covered and is available only in certain situations at a subsidized rate. -Manitoba residents could use chiropractic care for up to 12 visits per year. -Alberta, Ontario, New Foundland & Labrador have quite similar coverage in their health insurance plans. -Saskatchewan & British Columbia provide certain healthcare services available for low income families. -Nova Scotia also provides sex reassignment surgery along with short term travel coverage (Canada’s Provincial Health Plans, 2018).
The reason for differences in healthcare services could arise due to numerous factors such as population demographics, lack of resources, shortage of healthcare employees, insufficient funding etc. It is interesting how numerous factors influence the healthcare in each province. While some healthcare services are covered in a particular province, others are not. I would love to research and know more about the factors that lead to discrepancies in healthcare delivery. Is lack of funds a major issue? Are the funds not being managed well? Do we have enough resources to support the aging population? I look forward to writing another blog relevant to one of the above-mentioned topics.
REFERENCES Canada's Provincial Health Plans - What Does Your Province Cover? (2018, July 17). Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
Ministry of Health. (n.d.). Drug System Reforms - MOHLTC. Retrieved from http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/ministry/hc_system/
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