In Kill or Cure?, Dr. Carolyn Bennett issues a call to arms for Canadians to come out and fight for their health care system. A practising family physician until 1995, now federal MP for a Toronto riding, Bennett is fiercely proud of the publicly funded system, which she says is fairer, cheaper, and more efficient than private systems, and denounces the idea of a two-tier system. The arguments aren’t always convincing, though. Her description of Australia’s health system – similar to Canada’s but increasingly two-tier, with affluent patients “jumping the queue” – shows its growing inequity, but will fail to sway many readers who uphold the financial merit of such an approach.
With a brief history of Canadian health care, Bennett pinpoints where it began to flounder. Attacking governments for cutting costs is hardly a new approach. But the book takes a fresh slant with plans for replacing the fee-for-service system, improving communication through information technology, and encouraging accountability, all with minimal cost increases after an initial one-time investment.
Bennett’s style is chatty; she mentions colleagues and former patients, whom she credits with teaching her about being a good doctor. This is no idle prattle, however. Bennett is an experienced doctor and politician working to build trust – and she inspires confidence as she outlines her plan for reform. Her health care model, featuring informed patients linked to a group practice where a doctor is always on call, seems surprisingly simple and achievable. Bennett envisions a team, with the patient as captain, the family practitioner as coach, and the specialist as assistant coach offering specific expertise. However, while she admits that doctors must help patients prepare for taking a leadership role in their own health care, she hardly considers how to overcome the inevitable reluctance of some to assume such responsibility.
Kill or Cure? will undoubtedly ruffle a few feathers among specialists and even general practitioners. Bennett’s proposals are ambitious, almost Utopian. Yet even skeptics may find them tempting.