US Healthcare vs. Canada Healthcare

Any problems and factors influence and decide healthcare system consistency, understanding, and attitude. Furthermore, apart from patients' opinions and attitudes toward specific issues of concern, some factors such as the experience of healthcare professionals may play an important role in defining and shaping a country's healthcare system. The three literature reviews that follow aim to demonstrate the differences between Canada and the United States in terms of physician experience, patient safety concerns, and family physicians' attitudes toward their healthcare systems. In a research article by Hayes, Hayes, and Dykstra (1993), three specific questions were asked to guide the study. First, how would the physicians rate the level of their satisfaction based on experience, compensation, and quality of medicine they have been able to practice? Second, what were the impacts of cost containment measures and how different are they comparing between Canada and United States? Third, what were the reasons for the experienced doctors to leave their first country of practice? (p.12). The focus of the study was on determining the exceptional perfectives of the physicians who have practiced in both the US and Canada. The sample consisted of 347 physicians from the United States who had graduated from Canadian medical schools and 355 Canadian doctors who had graduated from United States medical schools (Hayes, Hayes, and Dykstra, p.11). It is hypothesized that most physicians would leave Canada for the US due to better medical facilities and resources. The result in this study supported the hypothesis that most physicians would prefer working in the United States compared to Canada due to a high level of satisfaction with the healthcare system in the US. The study found that there were a significant number of physicians who had left Canada to the US than their US counterparts to express dissatisfaction with the level of the healthcare system.
Next, on the topic of consumer concern for healthcare privacy on their information is addressed according to customer_x0092_s choice and consumption of a service. In a research conducted by Laric, Pitta, and Katsanis (2009), two questions were addressed. First, does the level of consumer_x0092_s concern for healthcare information privacy change due to the healthcare condition? Second, does the level of consumer's interest for the privacy of information on health care change due to the individual's characteristics such as race, gender, national origin, and age? (p.102). The focus of the study was to determine the extent to which privacy policies on the medical history of an individual can affect the choice of the service provider.
A sample of 225 students from both a Canadian university and a US university was involved. Out of the 225 students, 45 were from Canadian University and 180 from US University. The result indicated that insurance coverage did not play a significant role in matters of healthcare privacy in both Canada and US. Moreover, in both Canada and US, the age difference was a significant factor in determining how healthcare privacy is perceived. The older individuals were more concerned with the privacy of their healthcare information than young individuals. The finding confirmed the hypothesis that older people are more experienced with healthcare and are aware of the associated risks compared to the youth. Moreover, on a perspective of racial difference, both in the US and Canada, minority group were more concerned about their healthcare privacy compared to the majority group.
Finally, on the topic of family physician attitude towards the healthcare system, the study was examined using cross-sectional survey design. In the research article by Scanlan et al. (1996), a cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate how family physicians in Canada and the US evaluate their healthcare systems. Nine items were included in the questionnaire. The questions were as follows; Are there too many controls on the medical profession that may interfere you from taking care of the patients? Are the income of the physicians at primary care level too low and that of sub-special level too high? Is abuse of healthcare system a problem? Does the system in place work well? Is strike an appropriate action to champion your interest? Has the quality of care delivered been hurt due to the efforts to contain health cost? Should the government play a central role? Is the plan to centralize system being efficient in the distribution of medical resources? (p.839). The sample of the survey included 300 family physicians in the U.S and a separate 300 physicians in Canada who were contacted through email (Scanlan et al., p.836). The result of the study indicated that both Canadian and U.S family physicians experience high levels of satisfaction in most of their aspects of work. Moreover, the findings suggest that both U.S and Canadian family physicians are equally satisfied with the level of personal fulfillment, prestige, and ability to spend time with their patients. Both U.S and Canadian family physicians had a standard view on the fact that outside forces were interfering with their patients. Moreover, the U.S family physicians are likely to agree that sub-special unit receives high income that primary level.Works Cited
Hayes, GJ, SC Hayes, and T Dykstra. "Physicians Who Have Practiced in Both the United States and Canada Compare the Systems." American Journal of Public Health. 83.11 (1993): 1544-8. Print.
Laric, M.V, D.A Pitta, and L.P Katsanis. "Consumer Concerns for Healthcare Information Privacy: a Comparison of Us and Canadian Perspectives." Research in Healthcare Financial Management. 12.1 (2009): 93-111. Print.
Scanlan, A, SJ Zyzanski, SA Flocke, KC Stange, and I Grava-Gubins. "A Comparison of Us and Canadian Family Physician Attitudes toward Their Respective Health-Care Systems." Medical Care. 34.8 (1996): 837-44. Print.