Primary care is in dire need of reorganization. My wife just had surgery, and after a few days she was in serious pain and quite worried. Trouble was, it was now Friday afternoon. Her GP office always closes at noon. The specialist surgeon could not be found and his staff showed zero care or concern. The walk-in clinic is full by 10 a.m. and closes at 1:00. So in an Ontario city with over 100,000 people, we're left with...surprise...the hospital emerg department. Crowded, full of infectious disease, s-l-o-w, and uncomfortable. Especially tough when she couldn't sit at all. This is what's available because primary care is still broken after billions in new spending and no improvement in performance or quality.

Instead of using patients as pawns, it would be nice if physicians and our governments could walk the talk on patient- (not provider-) centred care. We've seeded the system with enough money; it's time it earned our support.