Dr. appointment

I need to set up Hyrum's 9-month appointment. It would be fitting considering he's coming up for his 10-month birthday in the next week and a half.  Ooops.  I used to really look forward to our doctor appointments.  I liked hearing the doctor say that my little guy was growing exceptionally well.  I liked the assurance that everything was okay.  And I liked having someone knowledgeable to talk to about my baby's growth and development.

But now I feel a lot more comfortable with my ability to know my child and I don't feel as much of a need to go to the doctor to have them tell me everything is all right.  That, or I just don't like waiting in the waiting room.  One or the other.

Since moving to Canada, I haven't had a ton of experience with the health care system, seeing as we're all pretty healthy.  However, with a kiddo, you're going to see the inside of a doctor's office at least once in a while and we've had a few appointments here, even one hospital visit after Hyrum fell and got a good ol' scrape on his head.  Through my limited experience I've realized there are things I like, and things I dislike, about the Alberta health care system.  While I know my experience is limited, I think it's the experience of the majority (both in Canada and the US)--the occasional doctor's appointment with most health care decisions being made on the personal level.

Here are things I haven't loved:

• Finding a family doctor: Calgary has increased in population remarkably quickly due to the discovery of oil in Alberta.  The population has increased so quickly that there is currently a shortage of doctors here and therefore, finding a family doctor was a bit of a challenge.
• Referrals: You have to have a family doctor here to get a referral for any other health care services including an ob/gyn, paediatrician, etc.  I know this is similar to many PPO programs in the States so I don't think it's necessarily a unique flaw or anything, just a little frustrating.  I had planned on just forgoing the family doctor but then was told that I would need one to be referred to a midwife when we have our next baby.  See point above.
• Setting: This one is really silly but I just don't like the waiting rooms.  You know how waiting rooms in many of the doctor's offices in the States are comfy, brightly lit, and usually don some aquarium, TV, etc?  Yeah, not so much the case here.  The waiting rooms in the hospitals are like that but not in the general practice doctors offices. It's just chairs in rows.  It's functional, just not pretty, and really not very important.

Things I have loved:

• Doctors are doctors: I find that doctors here are much better about delivering medical advice rather than personal advice and I, personally, appreciate that.  Our doctors in the States were known to give us parenting advice, personal advice, and even sexual positioning advice while I was pregnant.  Yeah, not really needed, thank you.  I find that because of this, doctors here are much more professional and I really appreciate that.
• Cost: I know it gets paid for with our taxes (which are actually only marginally higher than our taxes in Utah...seriously) but I really appreciate that I'm not held back from going to the doctor because of cost.  When Hyrum bonked his head, I didn't even have to think twice about taking him to the hospital.  The health link nurse suggested it, so I took him.  End of story.  It didn't cost me $250 to have the doctor tell me that everything was all right and I really appreciated that.
• Health Link nurses: Once upon a time I was having a potential medical emergency and due to the cost of going to the ER, I decided to call the hospital nurse to see if I needed to be seen or not.  Well, they couldn't tell me over the phone if I needed to be seen or not because they cannot be held responsible for phone consultations (because of the fact that hospitals, your health care provider, and insurance all operate separately).  Because the health care system is run by the state here, if I have a question, I need only to ask it, any time, any day.  What mom wouldn't appreciate that sort of assurance?
• Assurance: I know that as long as we live here, we have health coverage.  No budget cuts at my husband's work could possibly land us without insurance.  No health insurance can refuse us due to a pre-existing condition.  If we stay here for many years, our college-aged children will not be without insurance.  When I was at Western Washington University, I was without health care due to the fact that my parents weren't paying for my college education and at the time the laws did not require my father's company to keep me covered.  As such, one trip to the ER for a couple of stitches and I was remarkably broke and in financial turmoil for the duration of that school year.  

Now, I know that everyone out there has different thoughts about health care in the US and most people claim that Canadians hate their health care as a reason to not adopt such a program in the US.  Well my friends, at least in my experience talking to people here, most Canadians see that the health care system isn't perfect, but they don't hate it.  In fact, I've heard very few complaints.  Most people seem to appreciate it.  Want to know who has talked to me specifically about how much they like it?  A paediatric doctor.  For all of the talk about doctors being hurt by universal health care, he certainly didn't seem to think so.  He ranted and raved about how the US should adopt such a program.  Doesn't sound like he's hurting much to me.  Then again, he's probably not getting filthy rich, but he appreciates that people (especially children) are able to get the help and the care they need, no matter the financial cost.

How do I feel?  I'm still not 100% sure.  I do miss being able to be a bit more choosey about my doctor and I miss the fish aquariums but I'm not sure that I miss them enough to say that I think privatized health care is better.  From one American to another, it really isn't as bad as the dooms-dayers say it is.  Just sayin'.