40. Practicing Medicine in Canada: Promises and Realities

What’s the professional life of Canadian doctors really like? Does the safety and stability of a single-payer system free them from business concerns and allow them to concentrate on patient care? Or do the realities of central planning produce unexpected uncertainty and stress for patients and doctors alike?

To help us gain a realistic understanding of the Canadian system, we have as our guest Dr. Shawn Whatley who currently runs a primary care practice in Ontario, Canada. Prior to this position, Dr. Whatley worked for many years as an emergency physician and he is the author of No More Lethal Waits: 10 Steps to Transform Canada’s Emergency Departments.

Dr. Whatley is past-president of the Ontario Medical Association and he is a senior fellow at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute for Public Policy in Toronto. He also publishes a highly trafficked blog where he shares insightful and humorous comments about healthcare in Ontario. In other words, he is the perfect guest to inform us about the realities of healthcare in Canada.

The Accad and Koka Report podcast, hosted by two MDs, focuses on free-market approaches to medicine and health. Subscribe on iTunes, Android, Stitcher, or via RSS.