Health care will go the way of the car manufacturers within the next 30 years...

Unless the beaurocratic waste within the system is addressed. Unfortunately, the direction we've taken health care has become such a juggernaut that the only way to fix the system now is to take it apart, root and limb, and begin anew. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 46% of the overall province's budget is directed to health care. But how much of that money do we see on the ground? In the physio clinic in Goose Bay, NL, there is a mould infestation on the walls. It has been covered with plastic and taped off for a year. In the meantime, they are doing additional renovations to the 2 year old administration building next door. For a hospital with only 28 beds, there are over 200 administrators who have a building of equal square-footage as the hospital itself.

On the front lines, doctors are weighed down by paperwork that prevents them from engaging in patient care. Yesterday, for one carpal tunnel release surgery, we had to fill out over 12 pages of forms. I think that if they just consolidated all that paperwork into 3 pages - not only would the physician be able to see more patients in a day but they would also save on stationary, let alone assist in helping the environment by not cutting down so many trees!

My preceptor is very frank about the matter. He is continually frustrated by the waste of resources, the lack of understanding by administration about what is needed and why, and the fact that the system feels too big to change. He also admits, however, that it's the physicians fault. We don't show up to board meetings. We complain and complain but we rarely walk next door and up to the desk of the administrator and say, "Here's what I think."

Socrates pointed out that the only people fit to be Philosopher Kings were the people who would never want the job. Thus, as much as many of us abhor politics and business and red tape, I truly believe that the only way to make a change is to actively engage in the system. Otherwise, you'll surely be in for a career of frustration and disappointment.