Better Medicine

Donner Prize-winning author Dr. David Gratzer (Code Blue, ECW Press) edits and
introduces this collection of twelve essays on health care reform in Canada,
advocating an open-minded approach to such concepts as privatization, two-tier
health care, and user fees. Gratzer has assembled a stellar list of authors
who invite Canadians to question their confidence in government-managed public
health. Contributors include Order of Canada member and University of Toronto
professor Michael Bliss, who argues that our current problems are the result
of increasingly aggressive government measures to control patients and health-
care providers. Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente offers vignettes that
address the day-to-day problems of health care: queue jumping, excessive
waits, provider burnout, aging equipment, and the politicization of health
administration.  And, Vancouver-based health analyst Cynthia Ramsey places
Canada's health care system in an international context. Her findings are
unsettling. Other contributors include McGill economist and National Post
contributor William Watson, former Quebec Medical Association president Dr.
Edwin Coffey, former Ontario Medical Association president Dr. William Orovan,
and Urban Futures Institute executive Director David Baxter. All Canadians
concerned about the state of health care in Canada should read this
informative and intelligent collection.