Absolute must read about the Canadian Premier who went to US for heart surgery.

[snagglepuss]

This relatively short by Andre Picard, the Globe and Mail's science columnist, slams people like Premier Williams who buy into the marketing spin that America has better medical care than Canada. He slams these people for not looking at the evidence, a fault he goes on to say that is especially egregious when found in a politician.

snip

But the ignorance and arrogance Mr. Williams displayed in making the decision to get heart surgery in Miami Beach is staggering.

As the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, he is one of the stewards of the medicare system. The least we can expect from a political leader is some leadership and sound reasoning. What we got instead were inanities like: “This was my heart, my choice and my health.”



Picard goes on to address the fact that even though the minimally invasive surgery he sought in the US is available in Canada (actually the procedure was developed by 2 Canadian doctors, one in Toronto the other in Ottawa)the "minimally invasive surgery, despite the hype, is not necessarily the best option for his condition".


snip

In the U.S. system, marketing, newness and profit margins too often trump evidence.

Mr. Williams’s sin was not in going to the U.S. for surgery, it was in acting on partial information, uttering untruths about the availability of care, and smearing – however inadvertently – Canada’s health system in the process.





http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health/williamss-heart-surgery-choice-was-based-on-ignorance/article1480937/

[n2doc]

1. He forgot to say "his money"

Or, I suppose, the Canadian Government's money. Doesn't matter. The crux is, what good is the "best" healthcare if you can't afford to buy it? Now if he had come down here anonymously, gone in an emergency room entrance and sat there for however long it took for someone to see him, I would have been impressed.

[snagglepuss]

2. Very true however to clarify a point the Canadian taxpayer won't be

picking up his tab because the procedure is available in Canada.

[n2doc]

3. Good n/t

[Bill McBlueState]

4. the real problem here

is that anecdotal evidence, even if it's an anecdote about the almighty premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, is no way to make decisions about health policy.

[Spazito]

5. Excellent take on Williams....

His actions, given his political position, were despicable, imo. He stands in support of the blood-sucking system the U.S. currently has in that he had the big bucks to buy his way to the front of the line there because he could not buy his way to the front of the line here. No thought to the American citizen he bumped down on the 'list' because he was the highest bidder, no thought to the fact that many of his own constituents would not have the same 'choice', no thought to the American citizen he bumped down the 'list' because he was the highest bidder, no thought to the majority of Floridians or, indeed, the majority of Americans who do not have the same 'choice' because they have NO insurance or are under-insured because of the outrageous costs.