Scwk1710: Chapter 9

Front 1

Health Gap

Back 1

The growing difference between the rich and poor in terms of health and well-being. Despite the availability of public health care, the rich are healthier than the middle class, who are, in turn, healthier than the poor. The well-educated are healthier than the less-educated, the employed are healthier than the unemployed, and so on.

Front 2

Universal Public Health Care

Back 2

Publicly funded health care that is available to all who qualify (eligibility is determined by residence or citizenship status). Prior to the late 1940's access to health care was based solely on ones's ability to pay. Universal public health care for everyone in Canada took over five decades to evolve.

Front 3

Pre-payment Health Plans

Back 3

Voluntary insurance plans did not cover all medical services, and they were available only to those who could afford to pay the premiums. From 1880 to the 1950s there were a variety of pre-payment health plans in place across Canada, sponsored by local governments, industries, and volunteer agencies.

Front 4

Hall Report

Back 4

A report completed by the Royal Commission on Health Care, chaired by Justice Emmett Hall in 1964, that highlighted the fact that millions of Canadians did not have medical coverage. This report recommended that a comprehensive, publicly administered universal health service plan be implemented and in 1968, the Medical Care Act was passed.

Front 5

Medical Care Act (1968)

Back 5

In 1947, Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas, who became known as the “father of Canadian medicare,” introduced a program of public insurance for hospital services in his province, and he followed this in 1962 with a program covering physician services.

In 1966, Lester Pearson’s federal Liberal government introduced the Medical Care Act, which was similar to Saskatchewan’s programs. Implemented in 1968, the act set out the five principles of what has come to be called “medicare”:

comprehensiveness: all necessary physician and hospital services are covered
universality: services are available to all insured citizens
accessibility: citizens have access to all covered health-care services under uniform terms and conditions, regardless of ability to pay
public administration: the government is the single payer for all covered services
portability: citizens are covered across the country

Front 6

Canada Health Act (1984)

Back 6

In 1984, responding to an abundance of direct charges by physicians to patients (called “extra billing”), the Trudeau Liberal government introduced the Canada Health Act (CHA). Passed unanimously by the federal parliament, the CHA allows the federal government to deduct one dollar from federal transfers to any province or territory for every dollar of direct patient charges in that jurisdiction. Thus the CHA ended user fees for insured physician and hospital services.

The federal minister of health has the final authority to interpret and enforce the act, including the five principles (referred to in the CHA as “criteria”) and two conditions, information and recognition, that the provincial and territorial governments must fulfill.

Front 7

Romanow Commission

Back 7

Led by Roy Romanow, the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada made recommendations in 2002 to preserve the long-term sustainability of Canada's universally accessibly, publicly funded health care system.

Front 8

Medicare

Back 8

Government-funded health insurance within Canada's health care system. Delivered by hospitals and physicians, the funding for medicare is available to all Canadian provinces and territories as long as they meet the five principles of medicare: public administration, comprehensiveness, universality, portability, and accessibility.

Front 9

Public Administration

Back 9

One of five principles of medicare in Canada. Each province must provide a health insurance plan that is administered and operated on a non-profit basis by a public authority, responsible to the provincial government, and be subject to audit of its accounts and financial transactions.

Front 10

Comprehensiveness

Back 10

One of five principles of medicare in Canada. Each province's plan must cover all medically necessary services provided by hospitals, medical practitioners, or dentists, and, where permitted, cover services rendered by other health care practitioners.

Front 11

Universality

Back 11

One of five principles of medicare in Canada. Requires that 100 percent of the insured persons of a province be entitled to insurance on uniform terms and conditions.

Front 12

Portability

Back 12

One of five principles of medicare in Canada. Allows residents moving to another province to be covered for insured health services by the home province during any minimum waiting period imposed by the new province.

Front 13

Accessibility

Back 13

One of five principles of medicare in Canada. Each province is required to provide health care with reasonable access, both financially and geographically. This applies to ward care in a hospital, free choice of a physician, reasonable compensation to physicians, and adequate payments to hospitals.

Front 14

Privatization

Back 14

The use of the private sector to provide social welfare services, often in addition to or instead of existing public services.

Front 15

Contracting Out

Back 15

The practice of hiring private for-profit companies to implement specified public social welfare activities and deliver certain services in return for payment from public funds.

Front 16

Community Health Centres (CHC's)

Back 16

Centres that provide primary care, health promotion, and prevention services using salaried primary health care professionals. Studies have found that CHC's provide better primary care, decrease the costs of patient care, and decrease hospitalization rates.

Front 17

Medical Social Work Practice

Back 17

Medical social workers typically work in a hospital, skilled nursing facility or hospice, have a graduate degree in the field, and work with patients and their families in need of psychosocial help. Medical social workers assess the psychosocial functioning of patients and families and intervene as necessary. Interventions may include connecting patients and families to necessary resources and supports in the community; providing psychotherapy, supportive counseling, or grief counseling; or helping a patient to expand and strengthen their network of social supports.

Front 18

Hospice or Palliative Care

Back 18

Health care that is provided to individuals who are living with a terminal illness. It is typically provided when the illness is at an advanced stage; its purpose is to provide relief and comfort and to maintain the highest possible quality of live for as long as the person is still alive.

Front 19

HIV/AIDS

Back 19

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a sexually transmitted and blood-borne retrovirus that undermines a person's immune system.
AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is the stage of HIV in which the immune system is destroyed.

Front 20

Mental Illness

Back 20

A general term referring to psychological, emotional, or behavioural disorders, as well to the view that these disorders are diseases of the mind.

Front 21

Addiction

Back 21

A compulsive need for, or persistent use of , as substance known to be harmful; also refers to behaviours that can be harmful, such as gambling.

Front 22

Harm-reduction Approach

Back 22

An approach to addictions treatment that seeks to minimize or reduce the adverse consequences of drug use.

Front 23

Holistic Approaches to Health and Healing

Back 23

The holistic approach involves examining the whole of the person and their situation before acting or pursuing treatment. A common concept in Aboriginal cultures, the holistic approach is now being applied to Western-based health care, addressing the social, cultural, mental, and spiritual aspects of the person.