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As far as hospitals are concerned, I suspect the surgeon selected would probably only have privileges in one hospital.
That depends on the nature of the specialty and the surgical suite equipment.
I have attended specialist clinics in my local hospital and would have had him perform the surgery required at that hospital but surgical theater times were fully booked for a few days and as pain was a factor I simply went to the hospital with an open time period for one of their theaters that he also had privileges at in the region.
Surgical specialists often have privileges at many hospitals and routinely hold clinics in those hospitals for the purpose of diagnosing referred patients from that immediate area.
I've never heard of anyone picking their surgeon. I've had knee surgery, which obviously isn't emergency surgery and I was simply referred by my GP.
It is actually quite a common practice. If a friend/relative had already undergone a similar procedure you require by a particular specialist and were pleased at the results; you had merely to ask your GP if he could refer you to him et-voila.
Prior knowledge is of course a boon regarding this.
Should you have occasion to have moved requiring a new G/P and being happy with your knee job, and suddenly requiring the other done, you would be completely free to request a referral from the new G/P to your previous specialist and travel there as required to see him/her.
You mean you can't get stats on individual hospitals and practitioners?
If that's the case I find that surprising.
Before getting a procedure done in the US I check out the medical facility/hospital to see how they rank, both overall and within the area. I also check out the surgeon doing the procedure, for his/her educational background, board certification, # of procedures done (not always available but sometimes are), any disciplinary action and so on.
Assuming I needed non-emergency care, how would someone in Canada go about selecting the person doing their surgery? Or the hospital to do it in? I may have an excellent cardiologist but he/she might not be the one doing the surgery.
Yep; we have similar problems regarding medical errors:
Mark if you are suggesting that the U.S. shares a special niche whereas transparency and reportage are concerned as well as an advantage as to the ability to research your doctor hospital ahead of time.....howcome.........:
Mark if you are suggesting that the U.S. shares a special niche whereas transparency and reportage are concerned as well as an advantage as to the ability to research your doctor hospital ahead of time.....howcome.........:
No assumptions or suggestions at all with respect to medical mistakes, just transparency. As you've pointed out the information is also available in Canada. That's good, and consumers should always be educated in these things - it's their health after all.
It's because of the links you've shown that people are wary, and want to find the best "A" hospital for their type of procedure.
My other point was that I think there is more of a natural distrust in the US of the medical system, because of its challenges. Therefore people are more likely to question it, their doctors, their hospitals and so on. It might also be an American vs. Canadian thing. Or not.
No assumptions or suggestions at all with respect to medical mistakes, just transparency. As you've pointed out the information is also available in Canada. That's good, and consumers should always be educated in these things - it's their health after all.
It's because of the links you've shown that people are wary, and want to find the best "A" hospital for their type of procedure.
My other point was that I think there is more of a natural distrust in the US of the medical system, because of its challenges. Therefore people are more likely to question it, their doctors, their hospitals and so on. It might also be an American vs. Canadian thing. Or not.
I think you are quite correct that "mistrust" of the medical establishment is higher in the U.S. but that we are, as in most things related to the U.S. catching up.
Many trends common to both countries are in my opinion only separated by a disparity of 5 to 10 years. This crosses many spectrums from fashion to entertainment. What becomes the norm in the U.S. will almost certainly, due to inundation of north flowing information, become the norm in Canada.
Those issues that don't are of the societal, moral and ethically "viewed" such as firearms proliferation, healthcare delivery, and the political process. These too are in a state of transition and will gradually morph due to the inexorable influence of over 300 million folks and an unlimited advertising and MSM budget.
I think you are quite correct that "mistrust" of the medical establishment is higher in the U.S. but that we are, as in most things related to the U.S. catching up.
Many trends common to both countries are in my opinion only separated by a disparity of 5 to 10 years. This crosses many spectrums from fashion to entertainment. What becomes the norm in the U.S. will almost certainly, due to inundation of north flowing information, become the norm in Canada.
Those issues that don't are of the societal, moral and ethically "viewed" such as firearms proliferation, healthcare delivery, and the political process. These too are in a state of transition and will gradually morph due to the inexorable influence of over 300 million folks and an unlimited advertising and MSM budget.
I agree with this. Over the years I've seen such influences from the US, most of it subtle, some not so much.
It wasn't a surgeon, but I got to choose a medical professional, one that a friend recommended. They just said OK.
I suppose that unless I took a dislike to someone or had a previous bad experience with a doctor, it wouldn't occur to me to ask for a different one than whomever was recommended by my GP. I don't know anyone who has had such a bad outcome as to warrant it. And I have a lot of faith in my GP.
I know from some things my doctor has said is that specialists/surgeons are sometimes chosen by him on the basis of who is available the soonest. When I tore the something or the other under my kneecap, I hobbled around on crutches for two months before I was able to have surgery and it was VERY painful. There is a long waiting list due to an aging population for some things and certain orthopedics is one area I think you would be waiting a long time for surgery, if you were going to be particular about the surgeon.
I had reason to see a dermatologist a couple of years ago and I did strongly dislike that dermatologist who seemed more interested in the patients who were paying out of pocket for some kind of hair-growing treatment he was pitching to bald guys than my condition which was covered under Medicare. And should I ever have a reason to see another dermatologist, I would definitely ask my doctor to refer me to someone else.
It's been there before and we lived through it then, as we will do so now. Instead of Callaway Duo Core Long Softs at 34 US a dozen, which translates with exchange to $4 bucks a ball Canadian; I'm back to buying TopFlites at $9.99 US for 18.......no biggie. I can lose more of them without major sulking.
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