Main description:

There is not, and has never been, a single Canadian health system. Part of a series on the health systems of Canada's provinces and territories, Newfoundland and Labrador: A Health System Profile provides a critical analysis of how the single-payer health care system has been implemented in the country's youngest province.

Examining the way the province's health services are organized, funded, and delivered, the authors focus on the challenges involved in providing effective health care in a setting characterized by a large, decentralized territory; a small population, much of which is widely distributed in a large number of rural communities and small towns; and comparatively limited fiscal capacity and health human resources. Drawing on maps, figures, and collected data, this book documents the hesitant and limited ways in which Newfoundland and Labrador has sought to deal with the challenges and difficulties that the system has experienced in responding to recent changes in demography, economics, and medical technology.

Contents:

Series Editor's Foreword

List of Acronyms

1. Introduction and overview
1.1 Geography and socio-demography
1.2 Political context
1.3 Economic context
1.4 Health status of the population
1.5 Summary

2. Organization and regulation
2.1 History
2.2 Current organization of the provincial health system
2.3 Health system planning
2.4 Coverage and benefits
2.5 Regulation
2.6 Patients
2.7 Summary

3. Health spending and financing
3.1 Expenditures and trends
3.2 Public revenue
3.3 Private revenue
3.4 Public financial flows
3.5 Summary

4. Physical infrastructure
4.1 Hospitals and rehabilitation facilities
4.2 Long-term care facilities and personal care homes
4.3 Medical and diagnostic facilities
4.4 Public health services
4.5 Information and communications technology infrastructure
4.6 Research and evaluation infrastructure
4.7 Summary

5. Health human resources
5.1 Main workforce challenges
5.2 Physicians
5.3 Nurses
5.4 Other health professionals
5.5 Health workforce planning, education and training
5.6 Summary

6. Services and Programs
6.1 Public and population health services
6.2 Primary Care
6.3 Acute care
6.4 Long-term care
6.5 Public Prescription Drug Program
6.6 Workers' compensation programs
6.7 Rehabilitation care
6.8 Mental health care
6.9 Dental health care
6.10 Complementary and alternative medicine
6.11 Targeted services
6.12 Palliative care
6.13 Summary

7. Reforms
7.1 Regional health system restructuring
7.2 Some incremental changes
7.3 Future prospects
7.4 Analysis

8. Assessment of the health system
8.1 Stated objectives of the health system
8.2 Financial protection and equity in financing
8.3 Equity of access
8.4 Outcomes
8.5 User experience and satisfaction
8.6 Efficiency
8.7 Transparency and accountability
8.8 Summary

9. Conclusion

References