Ethical Issues In Canadian Health Care

Words: 1068
Pages: 5

The Canadian Government has long sparked the ongoing debate within the domain of allocating the means and modes of general health care. Though Canada is proud of its involvement in the ability to provide “free” healthcare for Canadians, there is an intricate balance in the involvement of private practices as well as the allocation of resources that shapes the discourse of Canadian health care policies. The majority of the regulations, solutions, and abilities of practitioners are regulated by ethical considerations and guidelines that aim at safeguarding patient welfare and promoting accessibility to their practices. These guidelines are exemplified by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The CFIA is in place to ensure public safety …show more content…
Ultimately, the diagnostic and treatment recommendations that doctors provide can influence the outcome of a patient's well-being. The decision is clearly up to the patient's discretion; however, factors such as economic status, time, education, and efficiency are also included in the final decision. In terms of economic status, the health professionals advocating for consumer safety within CFIA may bar potential additives proven harmful regardless of brand or price, protecting those at lower incomes; however, as previously stated, companies will always find a way to maximize profit through lower-income individuals via substituting ingredients for unhealthy yet approved ingredients or additives. With this in mind, I would like to draw attention to my next topic in regards to consumer income affecting the quality of the health care they receive, discussing the differentiating quality achieved and levels of demand in healthcare due to a person's income. With free healthcare comes regulations to prevent profit, such as the illegal sale and purchase of organs within …show more content…
Of that number, 741 were removed from the list, resulting in 39% of Canadians who waited for organ transplants removed from that list within 2022 dying. Those who are on these lists or are found in need of a transplant may find the mortality rate too much of a risk to rely on Canada’s free healthcare and would prefer to seek other means, as according to National Geographic, enough Canadians have opted to fly out of the country in search of purchasing an organ abroad, coining a term called “Organ Tourists”. These patients, desperate out of fear of passing away waiting for a transplant within Canada, continue to ignore rates shown by St Michael’s Hospital in Toronto that those who receive these transplants are 3–4 times more likely to die from complications with the sterility of the tools used and the unknown ‘donors’ medical history, along with the moral questionability of wondering if the donor even consented or was a victim of organ