Healthcare Triage and different healthcare systems

Delivery of healthcare differs vastly across nations. We, in Canada, often contrast our system with that of the United States. However, frequently the facts of the system give way to myths. So perhaps a little evidence-based clarification is in order.

I watch Healthcare Triage which is a youtube channel run by Dr. Aaron Carroll. He is a pediatrician at Indiana University and blogs at the Incidental Economist. Recently, him and his collaborators put together a series on several healthcare systems.

Their series is especially great because it discusses several healthcare systems one after another with clear discriptions for each system (and sometimes what the country’s citizens think of their system). Whether you are in medicine, interested in medicine or someone who may need some medicine (read: healthcare) I recommend watching this series.

The video Canadians should watch first:

What I really learnt from the series was how different the various systems of healthcare are across the countries discussed. Most people are aware of the United States system design and perhaps how it differs from their home country. However, I hadn’t realized before how different England and Canada were from each other. Or that France constantly changed their system but universally love it. Or that England is so cost effective with minimal out of pocket costs to the patient and is (nearly) truly a socialized system.

International Health Care Systems playlist

The whole playlist currently includes: The United States, Canada, France, England, Singapore, Germay and Switzerland. More may be added in the future.