Better Now: Six Big Ideas to Improve Health Care for all Canadians

Martin, a doctor who teaches family medicine and health care policy at the University of Toronto, thinks big in this smart and highly readable prescription for a better Canadian health care system. Stretching from health care policy to broader social policy, these are her six ideas: focus on effective relationship-based care; include prescription medication as part of standard health coverage; reduce unnecessary exams and interventions; reorganize health care to do more with less; implement a basic income guarantee; and advance regional and provincial successes to be pan-Canadian. Readers need not fear a tough, dry read of jargon and policy; Martin is a good writer who discusses the six ideas in interesting and careful detail. The first chapter includes a fascinating account of her experience explaining the Canadian system to a U.S. Senate subcommittee on health care in 2014 at the invitation of Sen. Bernie Sanders. She writes stirring narratives about her own patients (protecting their privacy with aliases) and her firsthand observations of the health care system. This is a recommended read for health care providers and the public in Canada and beyond. (Jan.)