When it comes to the state of health care in British Columbia, there's good news and there's bad news.
According to the results of the 2012 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey, released Monday by the Health Council of Canada, B.C. is at or near the top of almost every category studied.
Among Canadian provinces, that is.
When compared to the other nine countries surveyed, Canada as a whole consistently ranks near the bottom of the pile.
So much for our health-care system being the envy of the world.
The survey asked primary care physicians to rate their health systems in Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, the U.K. and U.S.
What the study found is that Canada lags in adopting electronic medical records, despite their use more than doubling since 2006. And communication between hospitals and doctors was among the worst of the group.
B.C. doctors appeared happiest with Canada's health-care system, with the highest number saying only modest change is needed. Yet, once again, all but one country ranked higher in satisfaction.
More troubling statistics:
- 46 per cent reported difficulty in getting diagnostic tests in B.C.; Canada was third worst in the group.
- While B.C. reported the highest rate of same or next-day doctor visits in Canada, overall, Canada ranked worst of the 10 countries.
- B.C. doctors are most likely to make house calls, but Canada came last again in that comparison.
Sadly, the report's authors had this to say: "Canada shows no improvement in any areas of access to care that we could track since 2006."
- Managing Editor
Jon Manchester