FCPP Publications :: Dr. Mark Godley, Founder, Maples Surgical Clinic, Winnipeg

It is all about choice QJ
FCPP Publications :: Dr. Mark Godley, Founder, Maples Surgical Clinic, Winnipeg: "Frontier Centre: In Manitoba and beyond, you have become a symbol for the idea that we should expand healthcare choices for consumers. Was that planned or an accident?
Dr. Mark Godley: Initially our plan for the opening the Maples Surgical Centre in Winnipeg was built on the backbone of a contract with the Worker�s Compensation Board, back in 2001. Subsequently, we had no intention of leaving once we had set up our facility here. We have always felt that we had a role to play in the delivery of healthcare to all Manitobans.
FC: Why do you think we have such long waiting lists for healthcare procedures?
MG: Like the problems with any monopoly, like the Soviet Union and other Communist-bloc countries had, when you take away competition, you take away innovation and efficiency and creativity. When you combine all that together, you have a system that has a recipe for a lack of productivity. Only when we see the delivery of healthcare being provided through a competitive, free marketplace will we see the patient coming to the top of the pyramid.
FC: Did we make a crucial structural error in public policy when the parameters for the Canada Health Act were written?
MG: I think the Canada Health Act is very noble. But I believe there isn�t a government in Canada today that follows it at every level of functioning. I believe we could strive towards the principles and the values of the Canada Health Act only by changing our current system.
FC: Have you followed what happened in Sweden when they split the purchaser of healthcare from the provider?
MG: I haven�t followed the Swedish model very carefully. I do know that it was initially a success, and I do know that in other OECD countries such as Switzerland where there is a split betwee"