We don’t have to listen to the news for long before we will hear about the ongoing economic burden that our healthcare system put’s on our society.  Here in Ontario, healthcare spending rises about 7% per year, and consumes about 50% of our budget.  Some economists predict that healthcare spending alone, if not revamped significantly, will bankrupt our province by as early as 2030.  Clearly, throwing more money at a system that is failing isn’t the answer.  We need to take a new look at how we take care of ourselves, and how we utilize the system, or we are headed for disaster.

Perhaps where this paradigm shift must start is understanding what our healthcare system is, what it is used for, and what its outcomes are.  If you think about your last few engagements with our medical system, were you seeking health care or sick care?  Chances are, you went to your doctor, or a clinic, or the hospital because you were sick, and you would have been offered care that attempted to remove whatever symptom you developed that caused you be sick.  This isn’t health care – it’s sick care!  We need to recognize our system for what it is – a system that treats sick people – not a system that treats healthy people.  So that’s our starting point.  Our publically funded, medical system is top notch when it comes to acute care and crisis intervention; we engage it when we are sick and look for relief of symptoms.

What we need here in Ontario, and across Canada, is a system that is a true health care system, one that helps provide the means and tools required to get healthy, and to stay healthy, and not one that just works at the level of symptoms and medications.  The removal of a symptom or altering a lab result with a chemical does not restore health.

Over the next few weeks, we will explore this more fully, so stay tuned!  We trust you enjoy our Blog!