But what really gets me down is that it all seems so unnecessary. We’re all willing to help our loved ones. I just don’t see why the faulty communication in Ontario’s health care system is our problem to solve. There’s no reason family members should have their lives steadily eroded by constant phone calls to tell Dr. X what Dr. Y said in the last appointment, or make sure that Specialist 1 got a report from Specialist 2. And I shudder to think what happens to the people who have no family willing or able to step into that switchboard role.
I respect and admire all the doctors and the health care staff we interact with, and I know they’re frustrated too. They’re talented and compassionate people, and they’re dealing with incredible added stress right now. The problem is that the system, if you can even call it that, is a mess. It’s been 20 years since Ontario started trying to develop electronic health records, and here I am calling people to beg them to check the fax machine one more time so my loved one can access urgent treatments. It’s ludicrous and shameful, and an indictment of every government that has fallen down on this task over the last two decades.
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