Let me begin today by saying that I believe most Canadians are fairly pleased with their government-sponsored health care system. Everybody is covered and you are guaranteed medical attention when you need it. That’s not to say, however, that there aren’t problems.

For example, remember the good old days when you could sit down with your family doctor and discuss your medical condition for a good fifteen to twenty minutes. This was a real bonus if you have a tendency towards hypochondria, as I do. At the same time, you probably had to wait for an hour-and-a-half to two hours in the doctor’s waiting room beforehand.

Now, however, it’s all about volume. You’re lucky if you get to see the doctor for five minutes in one of these new family medical clinics. There’s only one way the doctor could give you less personal attention and that would be to see patients in groups.

I can hear the nurse now. “Flu sufferers gather together on my left. Heart trouble assemble on the right. Social diseases, move to the back of the room. Now everybody strip and the doctor will be with you shortly.”

I call this the S.I.U. system of health care, where the initials stand for “Suck It Up”. Maybe it’s an explanation for why so many people get involved in a variety of alternative-care programs. Think about how many people you know who have their own yoga instructor, naturopath, dietician, life-skills coach or psychoanalyst.

In my own case, I’m finding that the therapist appointed by the courts is suiting me just fine.

Alex Carrick

Find Canadian construction-related economic articles in Canadian Construction Market News and in the Economic Outlook section of Daily Commercial News.

For CanaData’s latest housing starts forecasts, see Market Insights story dated August 25, 2008.

For CanaData’s latest put-in-place investment forecasts, see Market Insights story dated August 11, 2008.

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