Guest guest Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Hi! How is the healthcare in Canada? Is it socialized medicine? Have you any of you used the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto? Have you seen or heard anything about Dr. Ingrid Tein? I know she has done research into carnitine transporter gene defect and FOD's. I think she maybe even found the OCTN2 gene. Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Thanks for your insight and honest opinions Keely. My urologist is a canadian citizen. He came and started a practice here 7 yrs ago. He was talking yesterday about going back to visit his family in Canda,etc. Anyways..as the conversation evolved he was encouraging me to go and see this Dr. Tein at the Hospital for Sick Children. He said that that hospital was one of the best and he actually worked there as an intern for awhile. He said the country is beautiful and that if I'm not getting answers here to go. So that led me to ask some of you who actually live there and deal with mito to see what you thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 Im in Manitoba Canada... The healthcare issue is a big debate up here, but the fact remains that if i lived in the USA, there would be NO WAY we could afford the care our son is recieving (never mind the care I have recieved)... As an adult I have had to put up with some pretty crazy waiting lists (last summer I was told I needed an MRI but it would take 9-12 months to get... we ended up going to the Mayo Clinic in MN to get all my testing done). However with my son, I have been completely amazed. His MRI was scheduled within a month, that was June, and since then he has had loads of testing, and his muscle biopsy will be done next week (3 weeks after his initial appointment with the surgeon). I am so beyond thankful for our health care. Any Canadian citizen is entitled to full and free health care, the result is that we have to wait, but in cases where waiting is not ideal (serious illness, emergencys, etc) the care we recieve is immidiate... patients are prioritized based on the care they need. I guess you could call it socialized medicine, we pay higher taxes on the whole than the average American does, however we dont have to pay for medical insurance or coverage... nobody is ever turned away for health care for any reason if they are a citizen. It's easy to knock the system (and many do, i have complained about it as much as the next guy) but in the end, we all get world class care, and we dont ever have to worry about being turned away for a lack of insurance... it really is a blessing. Sick Kids in Toronto is supposed to be the best of the best in Canada... I have never been there, but if ever ends up in a pickle, we would be there in a heartbeat. (thats not totally true, we have a very reputable childrens hospital here in Winnipeg, and I trust them immensly with my baby, but if they couldnt help him, we would be off the Sick Kids). I dont know anything about the doctor you mentioned though, sorry! Why do you ask? Keely > Hi! > > How is the healthcare in Canada? Is it socialized medicine? > > Have you any of you used the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto? Have you > seen or heard anything about Dr. Ingrid Tein? I know she has done research > into carnitine transporter gene defect and FOD's. I think she maybe even found > the OCTN2 gene. > > Any thoughts appreciated. > > Thanks! > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 29, 2004 Report Share Posted September 29, 2004 For something like Mito, it may be well worth it, as the mito docs (for obvious reasons) would probably have a lighter patient load, and therefor a shorter waiting list... but you will have to pay for the services (if you have insurance it may cover it, hard to know for sure, you would have to ask)... tests (particularily MRI's, CT's, and U/S's) can take a long time to schedule in Canada, although im not sure what the wait would be like in Toronto, only in Winnipeg where I am... I found Dr. Teins 'Sick Kids' website... its just an overview of her work and such... http://www.sickkids.ca/hscDirectory/personalprofile.asp? pID=2244&s=Medical+Specialties&sID=13&ss=Neurology&ssID=153&sss=&sssI D= Theres contact information on how to talk to someone in the department about visiting, they would be able to give you a better idea of wait times, and costs and such... Keely > Thanks for your insight and honest opinions Keely. My urologist is a > canadian citizen. He came and started a practice here 7 yrs ago. He was talking > yesterday about going back to visit his family in Canda,etc. Anyways..as the > conversation evolved he was encouraging me to go and see this Dr. Tein at the > Hospital for Sick Children. He said that that hospital was one of the best and > he actually worked there as an intern for awhile. He said the country is > beautiful and that if I'm not getting answers here to go. So that led me to ask > some of you who actually live there and deal with mito to see what you thought. > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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