Settling questions relating to health and work

[canuck78]

It's reassuring to know that. My husband has his doctor in his city but when I move up there we will relocate and both be without doctors. I did tell him do not leave the doctors practice without first having a new one in place wherever we live. I work in healthcare in the states and have a lot of experience behind the scenes, and we can get in to see a specialist doctor pretty quickly. Dermatology and endocrinology seem to have the most wait, around 3 months. Women do not need a referral to see an obgyn. Some emergency depts are just dumb as I speak from experience as a patient where I kept coming back days and weeks after my wedding because no one knew what was wrong with me. Turns out eventually after seeing a GI, and 4 procedures/tests later my esophagus and stomach were lined with ulcers. Great way to start married life (sarcasm). I am hoping we can actually find a family doctor because I need one for my conditions and I do want to get pregnant at some point where I would need to be monitored monthly, and it would be unsafe for me to be up there without any care or not have anyone write my medication that I need to take daily the rest of my life to stay alive.

Healthcare system works a bit different in Canada. Most specialists will want your GP to do a lot of the monitoring and even prescribing depending on the situation. The wait times for GIs are pretty ridiculous. Waited 6 months to see one and have been waiting for 8 months to see another without an appointment. I needed some good and senior GI specialists but there seems to be wait times at every GI specialist since my doctors were concerned and tried to get me seen earlier. Wait times are just normal in Canada and come to expect them. Dermatology is another one. Some things GPs deal with and there are some NP or GPs have specialty dermatology practices that try to deal with simpler excisions and stuff like that. Most immigrants are expecting the same level of access as to private systems where if you are willing to pay you get seen fast. Still feel very lucky to have the Canadian system but you must have realistic expectations. If someone has a serious chronic condition that needs some monitoring you really need a GP.

 

[MustLoveCats]

Healthcare system works a bit different in Canada. Most specialists will want your GP to do a lot of the monitoring and even prescribing depending on the situation. The wait times for GIs are pretty ridiculous. Waited 6 months to see one and have been waiting for 8 months to see another without an appointment. I needed some good and senior GI specialists but there seems to be wait times at every GI specialist since my doctors were concerned and tried to get me seen earlier. Wait times are just normal in Canada and come to expect them. Dermatology is another one. Some things GPs deal with and there are some NP or GPs have specialty dermatology practices that try to deal with simpler excisions and stuff like that. Most immigrants are expecting the same level of access as to private systems where if you are willing to pay you get seen fast. Still feel very lucky to have the Canadian system but you must have realistic expectations. If someone has a serious chronic condition that needs some monitoring you really need a GP.

I heard some stories that some people die waiting for care. That really scares me. In the states if a person has stable levels with minor issues the primary care physician can monitor but if someone is like me the PCP will send the patient to a specialist where the care will be taken over. That's really scary. I was able to see mine within 2 weeks. I was already losing 20 lbs in less than 3 weeks and my husband thought I was dying and was down visiting me practically every weekend. I mean I probably would have died if it wasn't for my GI and being so quick to run every test he could to cancel conditions out. The wait time of 6-8 months seems to be excessive. I hope you are okay now and have been seen and treated. My stepmother is a pediatrician and one of her best friends from med school is my dermatologist. I'm sure she would still see me if need be and write a script since I already brought up before. One of the specialty practices I worked at was pain management and neurology. We had a lot of Canadian patients come and make the trip and pay out of pocket. I have made it clear to my husband it will be absolutely unsafe for me to be there without a PCP/GP to care for me. What are the chances of me getting one though? And how? Should I really attempt to go to a walk-in? Maybe I should travel to Toronto and look for doctors there?

 

[canuck78]

I heard some stories that some people die waiting for care. That really scares me. In the states if a person has stable levels with minor issues the primary care physician can monitor but if someone is like me the PCP will send the patient to a specialist where the care will be taken over. That's really scary. I was able to see mine within 2 weeks. I was already losing 20 lbs in less than 3 weeks and my husband thought I was dying and was down visiting me practically every weekend. I mean I probably would have died if it wasn't for my GI and being so quick to run every test he could to cancel conditions out. The wait time of 6-8 months seems to be excessive. I hope you are okay now and have been seen and treated. My stepmother is a pediatrician and one of her best friends from med school is my dermatologist. I'm sure she would still see me if need be and write a script since I already brought up before. One of the specialty practices I worked at was pain management and neurology. We had a lot of Canadian patients come and make the trip and pay out of pocket. I have made it clear to my husband it will be absolutely unsafe for me to be there without a PCP/GP to care for me. What are the chances of me getting one though? And how? Should I really attempt to go to a walk-in? Maybe I should travel to Toronto and look for doctors there?

You need to call around and ask if a GP is accepting new patients. Late summer or early fall is a good time since new graduates are often setting up practices and looking to build their practice. The Niagara and St catherine’s area has an aging population so not a ton of doctors are attracted to the area. Hamilton has seen a resurgence so there are quite a few more medical resources there than before. Yes good pain clinic can take a year or more to get into. There are some doctors or clinics that sometimes you can get into but I need somewhat competent doctors that aren’t just going to write scripts and not try to solve problems. Most walk-in clinics aren’t comfortable taking care of complex cases. In regions where there are huge shortages of GPs they have to do it but Ontario is definitely not as bad as it used to be except in some more rural or a northern locations. If you are willing to drive, if necessary, 30+ minutes, I assume you should be able to find a GP. There used to be a line you could call that would let you know who was accepting patients. Not sure if it still exists. Best option is to call around and ask if practices are taking new patients and,if not, whether they know of new practices. If you lose a significant amount of weight quickly (10% of your body weight in a month or two) you tend to be fast tracked because that is a sign of cancer. In Canada you would go to your GP and they would probably send you for imaging and blood tests. There is some prioritizing in the system if there are huge warning signs but the system works differently than in the US. For example in the best pain clinic in Toronto you have the doctors, a nurse and medical secretaries. No other administration staff.

Most adults with chronic conditions, except cancer, are used left to manage and organize a lot of their care especially if multiple specialists are involved. Sounds like you are knowledgeable enough to do this and have doctors in your family to guide you or help out but I worry about others who are not able to do this. I am trying to paint a realistic picture but am still grateful to have a system that allows you to go to the hospital or doctor without worrying about bankrupting your family. The common feedback we hear from people new to Canada is that they expected no wait times and to be seen immediately if they went to the ER but to save money because healthcare was “free” in Canada. All sorts of immigrants are sold on Canada because of the “free” healthcare and schooling for their children but neglect to research why it is “free” and then complain/are surprised about the tax rate If you arrive in the ER and it is actually a life and death situation you get seen quickly. Some are used to getting help if they know someone or are willing to pay a bit more and are not used to being told to wait even if they are sick and uncomfortable. In the US people are used to wait times in the ER but getting into a specialist or getting booked for nonemergency surgery is much faster in Canada.

 

[starnaenae]

You need to physically live in ontario for x amount of days after landing as a PR before you qualify for ohip - if not, youre paying out of pocket. As youve beeb told a couple times now unless you have cancer or a rapidly progressing terminal illness you will NOT be seen as a priority and be expedited through seeing specialists. I too had a very large ulcer that was diagnosed after a surgery i had. I had to wait 10 hours in er just to see a doc then 4 hours more to see the specialist for my surgery then tests. They gave me meds... and i was on my way with a follow up to get a scope done. It sucked before being diagnosed as i was sick but definitely was NOT a priority. Make sure you do your research about ohip qualification before visiting any doctors or you will end up with a hefty bill