Canadian Doctors for Medicare

Canadian Doctors for Medicare is an advocacy group committed to the preservation and enhancement of Canada's universal public health care system. The organization was founded in 2006 by a group of physicians concerned with growing trends in privatization and for-profit delivery, as well as the possibility for these trends to produce a two-tier system that would allow the wealthy to purchase care in the "upper" tier, while the "lower" public tier is left depleted of resources.
The organization is run by a board of practicing and retired physicians, as well as medical students and residents, and functions as an outlet for physicians and concerned Canadians across the country to advocate for measures that strengthen and improve Canadian Medicare. Relying on evidence-based research, the group points to four essential categories that health care models should conform to in order to meet founding principles established in the Canada Health Act:
1. Equitable access:
Health care should be free of financial barriers, such as payment at the point of service for medically necessary treatment. It should also be free from those barriers associated with race, gender, age, health, and so forth.
2. High-quality care:
Any transformation of Canadian health care must meet or exceed the current level of quality on display in the current system. If, for instance, a change in policy results in a reduced pool of skilled professionals or questionable referral practices, that change should be challenged.
3. Effective, clinically indicated services:
Services offered in the system should be 'clinically indicated,' meaning they are deemed medically necessary and supported by credible evidence. Practices that do not met this standard, such as physician self-referral, should be avoided.
4. Effective integration and system stewardship:
Health care models should promote collaboration, not competition, through a continuum of care. Accountability and transparency in service of this collaboration are essential.
The group openly acknowledges problems in Canadian Medicare that require innovative reform, but insists that any new innovation must meet the standards prescribed by these four categories.
Canadian Doctors for Medicare is made possible by the thousands of Canadians who support the organization and insist on the right to high-quality and appropriate health care for all, regardless of income or status.

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