shawn whatley md

Our Medical System Needs Choice to Survive – National Post

This must read, 700 word editorial from the National Post sums up the issues with Canadian healthcare and the BC Supreme Court case.

Read the original article here, or in the full text below.

Our Medical System Needs Choice to Survive

– National Post, Sept 7, 2016

Defenders of public health care in Canada should welcome Dr. Brian Day’s constitutional challenge to Canada’s health-care system, which has finally reached British Columbia’s Supreme Court. The system needs choice to survive.

Day’s critics clearly don’t see it that way. Predictably, they warn that a victory for the former Canadian Medical Association president will sentence Canadians to “U.S.-style health care” and an inevitable decline in standards or access. The claim suggests a curious myopia. First, there is no reason to assume the only alternative to our current system is 100 per cent private medicine Continue reading “Our Medical System Needs Choice to Survive – National Post”

Doctors Need a Common Enemy

My son’s hockey team kept losing, even though they had one outstanding player. They got an early win when their superstar was away. The team started passing, worked together and won.

Team unity beats divided talent every time.

The OMA presented a contract to the doctors of Ontario in July. Even at first glance, people could see that it would divide doctors.

We should not fear dangerous ideas. But ideas must come out at the right time, in the right place.

Tackling divisive issues in a tentative contract is like starting a team brawl in the locker room, just before a game. You will lose.

Divide and Conquer works well. Politicians know that.

Government is Not the Enemy

Doctors need government. Teams cannot play without goal posts and referees. Doctors cannot provide care without government to enforce contracts and maintain order.

As much as many of us hate to admit it, we need a little government bureaucracy.

But sometimes, government is the enemy. Continue reading “Doctors Need a Common Enemy”

Identity Crisis – Whose Side are We On?

Whether in war or the Super Bowl, anyone who tries to cheer for two opponents gets called a traitor by both.

Serious opponents wrestle over fundamental differences. Dreamy relativists dismiss debate and sing, “Why can’t we be friends.”

Although peace costs less than war, sometimes you must pick a side and fight. Peace-brokers risk becoming irrelevant to both sides, after the war ends. Those too eager for peace could incite civil war in their own ranks.

That’s not to say we should never call a truce. Calling a truce means, by definition, that there are two sides. You cannot deny differences and hope to win favour with both opponents.

Identity Crisis

Doctors are not on the same team as government. Politicians are on their own team. As soon as their interests do not align with ours, doctors often lose. Continue reading “Identity Crisis – Whose Side are We On?”