Canada’s health system is one of the best in the world, but its doctors, nurses, technicians and others cannot provide all of the answers. It is up to all of us, as individuals and patients, to take a more active role in our own health.
That means taking the steps now to increase our health in the future. And it also means making our voices heard in a system often dominated by the interests of those who work within it and governments, not patients.
Much of our health-care system is designed to deal with crises and immediate health needs. If you have a pressing, identifiable illness or injury, the system works well. If you are looking for information that will help you well into the future, that’s something else.
That is one of the theories behind the creation of a new organization, the Patients’ Association of Canada, which is designed to give a stronger collective voice to individuals and patients and help them to speak for themselves.
As the association notes, the perspective of the patient is often presented by disease-based organizations, health-care professionals, researchers and policy makers — but they all have points of view that might not be the same as those of patients themselves.
One of the association organizers is Dr. Sholom Glouberman, the philosopher in residence at the Baycrest Hospital in Toronto, who spent time in hospital six years ago for the removal of part of his large intestine. He became convinced that the relationship between the patient and the health provider was one-sided.
That’s something many people have experienced — the sense that their own needs were being ignored and that the system itself was the priority. Glouberman kept a personal record of what he experienced, and then compared it with the official document. The difference was remarkable.
He notes that we are conditioned to defer to medical staff members, even when we believe they are wrong. We have become used to the notion that our voice does not matter.
That is true in many cases; if you need acute care, the doctor usually does know best. But if we are coping with chronic medical concerns or preventive health ideas, we need to become more informed, and develop a stronger voice.
Glouberman followed his hospital stay by becoming part of a patient-centred hospital committee. That led to the creation of the Patients’ Association of Canada, as well as a book, My Operation: A Health Insider Becomes a Patient.
It will be difficult for the association to speak for every patient. But if it helps remind members of the medical community that the focus of the system should be the patients rather than the people who provide care, that would be a good thing.
Much of this philosophy will depend on individuals taking responsibility for their own health. Too many of us are eating and drinking too much and exercising too little. We depend on our doctors to remind us of the need for tests, acting as mere observers of our own bodies.
If we expect the health-care system to revolve around patient care, then we need to be more involved ourselves. We can’t expect the system to change unless our attitudes do as well.
What can we gain? Better health, lower health-care costs and a stronger, more trusting relationship with everyone who helps provide us with health care. It’s worth a try.
This article was originally posted here.