The Development of Progressive Health Care System in Canada

Health care in Canada has improved drastically from the 16th to the 21st century, but how much has improved just in the past 100 years? Health care in Canada includes not only medicine and how well hospitals can treat patients but also medical education, and how much money goes into this type of facilitated care. From the early 1900’s healthcare was becoming better and more accessible to Canadian citizens through Canadian hospitals. At first, it was covered mostly by private individuals, which allowed immigrants and the poor to have the fees to be cut down. [1] At around the same time, the government supported and encouraged studies and research institutes in medical innovation.[2] This all led up to now where Canadian health care is quite popular worldwide and the citizens of Canada are also happy with it. When asked about the quality of health care, Canadian citizens were more satisfied than U.S., and Great Britain citizens as well in a survey based on 1000 adults from each country. [3] Health care in the past was good but now, with all the medical advancements, schools, and funding from the government, it has gotten better over the years. As stated previously, health care was getting better allowing for more Canadians to receive care but many people that lived in rural areas didn’t have access to quality medical care. That meant that the quality of health was poor for the people living on the outskirts of cities where doctors and hospitals were less likely to be found. In 1922, Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and J.J.R. Macleod discovered the medical application of insulin. One would say that this was the tipping point for advances in medical research from then till now.[4] The real crisis for Canadians was when The Great Depression hit. Many doctors were hoping for the government to create a proper system and funding for health care because many people needed it at that time. Unfortunately for the Canadian government, they did not have the money for such plans at the time. [5] The lack of funding for health care also included medical schools, seeing as there were only a handful back in the day. Canadian health care has gotten much better in terms of access, medical education, and funding.

The funds for health care is handled at both the provincial and federal levels. Most of the money comes from Canadians’ taxes like income tax. [6] There is also a secondary charge based on how much income a person makes, but is not required for people who make under a specific amount. [7] Another example of much health care has progressed is due to the amount of people who have access to it. Health cards are assigned to Canadians who apply for it, and once they receive one they use it whenever they go for an appointment with a doctor and it allows the doctors to pull up medical files and history for that specific patient based upon their health card number.[8] Lastly, medical education in Canada has also grown exponentially, currently there are 17 medical schools, spread out fairly well throughout Canada. And all are financially supported by the government as well as through tuition fees.[9] From 1975 – present time, there has been a positive correlation between the amount of candidates that apply for Ontario medical schools and the number of registered applicants every year.[10] It goes to show how more people now try to get a career in the medical field and the amount of students who actually get in compared to previous years. A few reasons why Canada’s healthcare system changed over the years is mostly due Tommy Douglas who is commonly seen as one of Canada’s greatest historical figures based on his effort and success regarding a proper health care plan that benefited Canada on a national level.