[ejb999]

didn't realize there was a doctor shortage in Canada - all I ever hear about countries with socialized medicine is how they are better than the US at delivering health care more cheaply - possibly true in some respects, but if there is no doctor to see you, than it really doesn't matter.

US system is far from perfect, but at least I can always find a doctor when I need one.

[rfrey]

There's a shortage of primary care, family doctors in Canada, but that's a systemic issue resulting from a skewed payment system that undervalues family medicine. The result is some difficulty getting a family doctor after you leave home as many practices are fully booked with patients and there aren't as many young physicians entering family medicine as we need.

The outcome is having to go to a walk-in clinic or (worst case) the ER room if you need care and don't have a doctor. That's inconvenient because of having to sit in the waiting room for a few hours.

In Alberta there is a genuine issue with doctors leaving the province (mostly for other provinces, not the country entirely), but that is the direct result of the conservative government there waging war on the public medical system in an effort to build support for a private system.

The only place I hear about the terrible medical care situation in Canada is in the American far-right press and some of their Canadian surrogates (e.g. Rebel News in Alberta).

[sandworm101]

Is there a country on the planet without a doctor/nurse shortage? I've never heard anyone anywhere say that their had too much healthcare available. No healthcare system is perfect but Canadians are not dropping dead in the streets for lack of doctors. There are localized issues, mostly due to the distances involved in Canada, but the population as a whole is doing better than most.

Just look at the COVID numbers. For all its problems, Canada's healthcare system is handling COVID far better than the US.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60380317

[jamal-kumar]

I ask Canada for a specialist and I'm on a waiting list for half a year and then my appointment gets cancelled.

I fly to Latin America and go to a doctor throw down less than 100$ and my health is immediately better. Total investment stays under 1000$.

[sandworm101]

Yes. In Latin America rich people can almost always purchase better/faster healthcare. Lots of things are cheaper in other countries. Rich people in the US can buy instant healthcare too. Your cash just wont go as far in the US.

[mistrial9]

US has their own versions of this.. basically all General Practitioner aka Family Doctor offices closed here twenty years ago.. rural areas have not one local doctor in many places of the USA - keyword search "medically underserved"

[TMWNN]

>didn't realize there was a doctor shortage in Canada

It is impossible for someone who moves to Halifax, for example, to get a new primary care doctor (<https://globalnews.ca/news/2668767/halifax-area-doctor-says-...>, <https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/john-ross-healthc...>).

[corrral]

> US system is far from perfect, but at least I can always find a doctor when I need one.

You can easily find this, and basically every other problem and horror story from countries with universal care, in the US. Long wait times, trouble finding doctors who are taking new patients, trouble getting appointments with specialists. All that stuff. It varies by location and by which healthcare "networks" you have access to.

And on top of that we get the how-the-fuck-is-this-still-a-thing nightmare of US healthcare billing.

[jamal-kumar]

It's awful if you have a chronic health condition or need specialists but when you get hit by a car and don't have to pay a huge hospital bill it is pretty cool.

Still it's hemorrhaging talent because of dumb pay schemes that could probably be fixed overnight if it wasn't for the aforementioned financial illiteracy

[Mikeb85]

In Canada you get what you pay for... Healthcare is free but it's also pretty shit. Care in Europe is far better, care in the US is far better if you have money.