IndexContext: essay on the healthcare systemAnalysisExpand primary careHome careIncrease LTC bedsRecommendationContext: essay on the healthcare systemThe Canadian healthcare system is the topic of this essay. Canada's health care system finances medically necessary health care, including care provided in hospitals or by a doctor. Canadians covered by a provincial insurance plan, such as the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), will receive care upon arrival at an acute care hospital. Wait times across the healthcare system have increased year after year. In hospitals, bed occupancy rates are considered safe as high as 85%, however in 2015/2016, 60% of medical wards in Ontario community hospitals had an unsafe occupancy rate greater than 85% . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As the population ages, the number of hospitals with unsafe occupancy rates continues to increase. One reason includes an increase in Ontario's elderly population as the baby boom generation, born between 1946 and 1965, ages. The use of health services increases with age, meaning that older people often require more visits to the GP, more hospital admissions, longer hospital stays and take more prescription drugs than their younger counterparts. Additionally, approximately 25% of ICU beds are occupied by people considered alternative level of care (ALC) patients whose needs could be better met elsewhere and who are often waiting for care to be available. long-term care (LTC). As beds are occupied by ALC patients, acute care hospitals are losing capacity to care for acutely ill patients. The patient flow that involves moving patients from acute care inpatient units to post-acute care hospitals, with many beds occupied by ALC patients, can result in overcrowding and ultimately patients being cared for in corridors and in other ad hoc spaces. This demonstrates how system capacity is not optimally configured to meet the current needs of the ALC population, particularly for the complex elderly patients who make up a large portion of the ALC population. In addition to system capacity, current legislation also creates challenges for these patients. The Canada Health Act outlines the conditions that provincial and territorial health insurance programs must comply with to receive federal transfer payments. OHIP does not cover home and community-based care for all Ontarians, which creates a barrier to accessing care for vulnerable people and their caregivers in the community. This may lead to an increase in acute care for older adults. Overcrowding in hospitals impacts a number of stakeholders, including: patient experience and quality of care; the experience of the caregiver and family members; doctors who may experience burnout, stress or harassment. ;hospital administrators who aim to satisfy the aforementioned stakeholders;local health integration networks (LHINs) who govern specific areas;home care organizations such as Community Care Access Centers (CCACs);government who is the main source of funding for hospitals. In addition to these stakeholders, there are a number of non-governmental organizations with an active interest in this issue, including: organizations that govern the health professions, such as the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Ontario Medical Association,the Ontario Nurses Association; organizations with a focus on better care, such as Health Quality Ontario; and more. These stakeholders need to be considered when exploring solutions to overcrowding in hospitals. Analysis There are numerous policy options to reduce hospital overcrowding and the potential role of LTC in reducing it. Three solutions are suggested below, with pros and cons. Expand primary care The first option is to expand primary care to ensure all Ontarians have access to a family doctor, including seniors who live at home or are homebound. This approach involves ensuring that doctors are trained to identify geriatric, memory or dementia problems and chronic diseases, as well as improving screening processes. Field experience shows that clinics like these avoid unnecessary hospitalizations. This option will facilitate regular points of contact with a family doctor who builds a relationship and facilitates conversations about the patient's health and potential health issues. The relationship between patient and doctor is the foundation for navigating the healthcare system and ensuring that the patient feels supported in all aspects of their life. their health and home life. It has been noted that some patients express to providers the challenges they face living at home, but the provider may not suggest a necessary change in environment when it might have been appropriate. Rather, a consistent relationship with the patient and doctor will help the doctor identify and suggest options to care for the patient when times are appropriate. This option is challenging as it involves tremendous training for doctors and a change in workload to ensure that the doctor can spend adequate time with the patient on a regular basis. This could include using a clinical model such as the Geriatric Assessment Clinic model which is currently in a pilot phase to ensure primary care practices can support geriatric patients. This would involve identifying appropriate key performance indicators to ensure that comprehensive care is provided. One of the main problems with this solution is that it is preventative and does not address the current crisis. In order for this model to be implemented, legislative change would be needed to facilitate the increase of primary care physicians, provide incentives for physicians to spend more time working and understanding patient needs, provide incentives for using a model such as the geriatric assessment clinic model and encourage clinicians to work with LHINs to understand the current social services available to patients. Home care This option focuses on ensuring that patients can live at home for as long as they want and that they can receive community support to meet their needs. Studies have shown that 37% of ALC patients awaiting LTC placement have care needs that are no more urgent or complex than those of people cared for at home awaiting long-term care. This leads to the ability of Ontario seniors to age in place, which plays an important role in the health and well-being of seniors. Meanwhile, keeping seniors at home will reduce the number of LTC beds needed. This option may require greater investment to build and sustain the capacity of community-based providers and programs. Enhanced and sustained investment in CCACs and other support services is essential to supporting older adults in the community. LHINs and CCACs must work collaboratively to develop and improve programs, such as the Homes First philosophy.