Question

4. Define levels of care and describe the exchange of health information between the levels. [B8]

a. Define each level of care in Canada

b. Provide an example of an organization within each level mentioned above.

Answer 1

a.)  Medical professionals also speak about the quality of treatment. These are divided into groups of primary care, secondary care, tertiary care and quaternary care. Each degree is connected to the severity of the medical cases being handled, as well as the expertise and specialties of the providers.  

Primary Health Care Services

Primary care professionals (PCPs) can be physicians, nurse practitioners, or medical assistants. There are also several specialties of primary care. For example, OB-GYNs, geriatricians, and pediatricians are all primary care physicians; they just happen to specialize in caring for a specific group of people. Also, primary care is typically responsible for coordinating your care among specialists and other levels of care.

Secondary Services

Secondary care simply means you will be taken care of by someone who has more specific expertise in what is ailing you. Secondary care is where most people end up when they have a medical problem that can not be managed at the level of primary care. Your insurance plan can allow you to get a referral from your PCP rather than go directly to a specialist.

Additional (Supplementary) Services

The provinces and territories provide coverage to certain people (e.g., seniors, children and low-income residents) for health services that are not generally covered under the publicly funded health care system. These supplementary health benefits often include prescription drugs outside hospitals, dental care, vision care, medical equipment and appliances (prostheses, wheelchairs, etc.), and the services of other health professionals such as physiotherapists. The level of coverage varies across the country.  When a patient is admitted and needs a higher level of hospital specialty treatment, he or she may be referred to tertiary treatment. Highly specialized equipment and skills are required for tertiary treatment. Around this stage, procedures such as coronary artery bypass surgery, renal or hemodialysis, and some plastic surgery or neurosurgery may be found. It also requires extreme burn rehabilitation and some other very complicated therapies or procedures. A tiny, local hospital may not be able to offer such services, and you may need to be referred to a medical center that offers highly specialized tertiary-level services. Studies have shown that it is still necessary for the primary care provider to be involved in the management of such chronic conditions, such as diabetes and chronic kidney disease, when a patient reaches tertiary care. The involvement of the PCP can enhance long-term patient self-management.

b.)  Health Care Organizations are the companies that provide offerings to clinical authorities like nurses, doctors, pharmacists, etc. Their fundamental purpose is to provide well being services at lower price and in better amount so that these may also be made on hand to a tremendous number of members. A health system, also sometimes referred to as health care system or healthcare organization, is the organization of people, institutions, and resources that deliver health care services to meet the health needs of target populations. Canada has a predominantly publicly financed, privately delivered health care system that is best described as an interlocking set of ten provincial and two territorial health insurance schemes.

There are periods when specialty care problems are emerging. You could have been referred to the wrong kind of specialist for one cause. For example, the initial symptoms can suggest one thing when, in fact, another condition needs a different specialist. You can also encounter complications when seeing more than one doctor if each person is treating a different condition. In these situations, the treatment may not be completely organized. Specialists will collaborate with the primary health care team to ensure that everyone knows what others are suggesting. The organizational structure of the Canadian health care system is largely a function of the constitutional division of power between orders of government established at the time of the country's creation in 1867. Reflecting the policies of the time, the provinces were granted most responsibility for social services, including health care, but had restricted powers of taxation. Nevertheless, in the post-World War II period, the federal government gained substantial taxation powers, which resulted in spending power. The federal government has been able to create a national legislative structure for the health system through cost-sharing and later block financial transfer funding arrangements.

This framework is embodied in the Canada Health Act which establishes the principles upon which the health system must be based in order for provincial governments to receive full federal transfers. These principles are: · universality requires that the plan must entitle 100% of the insured population to insured services on uniform terms and conditions; · comprehensiveness requires that all insured health services provided by hospitals and medical practitioners be covered by the plan; · accessibility means that health services must be provided without barriers, including additional charges to insured patients for insured services; · portability ensures health coverage for insured persons when they move within Canada or when they travel within Canada or abroad; · public administration requires that the plan must be administered and operated on a nonprofit basis by an accountable public authority appointed or designated by the provincial government. This framework has ensured a national health system which, while composed of ten provincial and two territorial health insurance programmes, exhibits the same fundamental characteristics across the country and yet also reflects provincial priorities. A defining characteristic of most health care in Canada is that it is publicly financed, but privately delivered. I