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Jan. 20, 2006
Controversial health solution
Learn from private clinic, Copeman urges political parties.
PAT JOHNSON
Don Copeman, the Vancouver businessman whose private health clinic
operates as a direct challenge to the public health-care system,
says political parties should take lessons from his facility instead
of condemning it.
Copeman Health is a primary care provider that charges about $2,500
a year for comprehensive medical care that includes diagnostic services
and extensive consultation that he said is not available in the
public system because doctors are forced to accept too many patients.
"The motivation for the centre in the first place is a response
to what I see with the Canadian public system," said Copeman.
His clinic offers "unhurried" medical care that allows
patients to be more proactive in taking care of themselves: "This
is what keeps people out of hospital," he said.
Copeman said public opinion polls indicate that 20 to 30 per cent
of Canadians are prepared to pay out of pocket for the kinds of
services his company offers.
Health care is a major issue in this election campaign, but Copeman
thinks politicians are barking up the wrong tree.
"This is a problem that just can't be managed by money alone,"
said Copeman, whose background is in medical equipment sales, and
who is not a doctor.
Copeman blames a shortage of family doctors and a fee scale that
demands doctors see overwhelmingly large numbers of patients for
the state of primary medical care in the public system. Doctors
are so short of time, he said, that they are often unable to do
anything more than treat already existing problems.
"All we're doing is fixing people who are really sick,"
he said.
Copeman's doctors – there are four full-time physicians at
his Vancouver facility and he is about to open three more clinics
in Ontario – have a maximum patient load about one quarter
that of the average public system doctor. He said that allows his
physicians to dedicate the time to talking to patients about preventive
care: lifestyle choices that impact health and nutrition. Patients
also receive annual screenings that are more comprehensive than
the public system can afford or has time for. This means that health
problems in his patients are diagnosed early and managed more effectively,
said Copeman. Also, he said, with a less hurried schedule, his doctors
can consult more with colleagues and do more extensive case research.
His services can also reduce waitlist times for patients, Copeman
said, noting that many diagnostic services can be done right in
his facility, eliminating the delays that can keep patients waiting
weeks, months or years for results.
While most Canadians say health care is a top political concern,
Copeman said the issue has not received the attention it deserves.
"There hasn't been nearly enough talk about health care in
this election."
Party promises to guarantee timely medical services ring hollow,
he said, because there are simply not enough doctors, not enough
surgical capacity, nurses or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machines.
Copeman is particularly irked by some of the proposals being debated,
such as sending patients to other jurisdictions for care. Not only
does the idea mean health-care dollars could be flowing out of Canada,
but it can also be dangerous for some patients to fly shortly after
surgery, said Copeman. Nobody seems to be consulting doctors before
inventing political policies, he said.
Copeman said he is not specifically marketing to the Jewish community,
but does think Jewish Vancouverites may be more conscious of health
issues and therefore will appreciate the benefits he offers.
"The Jewish community is a community that's an enlightened
community," Copeman said. "We think it's a group that
pays a little more attention to medical issues."
Copeman is not Jewish, but his director of operations, Noah Shilkin,
is. Shilkin said there may be a misconception that private medical
care is unaffordable to most Canadians.
"The myth is that we're some elitist, Cadillac-type of thing,"
Shilkin said. True, he added, people have to pay about $200 a month
to access the clinic, but some people may choose to invest in their
health care instead of buying, say, a flat-screen TV.
Moreover, based on the assumption that people who receive regular
medical care and prompt diagnostic services are healthier, membership
fees decline five per cent a year for 10 years, until the annual
fee is half the original amount. A $1,200 initiation fee is payable.
Some services, such as MRIs, cost extra.
Traditionally, Canadians have had a deep commitment to public health
care, priding ourselves on the affordability of our system compared
with our American neighbors. But Shilkin said any reticence among
Canadians to access private facilities is not evident based on his
clinic's experience.
"I think the market's lining up," said Shilkin. "The
response has been overwhelming."
Pat Johnson is editor of MVOX Multicultural Digest, www.mvox.ca.
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