Private Medical Services
Canadians are privileged to have universal access to physician and hospital services. Most employers supplement the government program with medical and dental plans. Some employers pay special attention to the health of their executives by providing early treatment intervention, co-ordinated patient management and immediate care through a private health service plan.
It takes an average of 5 weeks to see a specialist and 16 weeks to actually receive treatment. Funding decreases are making the waiting lists even longer. As a result, Canadians travel to the USA for immediate treatment rather than waiting for months in a Canadian queue.
Organizations can't afford key people to be unproductive for months while they worry whether they are ill and when they will be treated. They certainly don’t want them traveling to a foreign country for diagnosis and treatment that could be performed here.
In many provinces, employers may purchase medical services for their staff that the employees are prevented from purchasing themselves. These employers contract with private medical clinics to provide healthcare to their key employees and their families. The cost of these services is a bargain compared to the lost productivity of highly paid staff.
As part of building a healthy, motivated and productive management team, some companies provide an Executive Health Program to provide:
- comprehensive annual diagnostic medical examination
- personal health audit and lifestyle evaluation
- advice for appropriate treatment strategies
- coordination and facilitation if abnormalities materialize
- rapid referrals (within 4 days) to leading specialists
- treatment abroad if the wait is too long in Canada