of the border. Evidence of the physician brain drain in Canada is plentiful. Data from the Canadian Institute for health information (CIHI) shows that there has been a 130per cent increase, which is more than double, the net loss of doctors that went to work abroad from 1991-1996, mostly going to the states. In 1996 alone, 513 Canadian physicians (net) that left Canada represent the annual output of approximately five Canadian medical schools (Buske 158). The loss of each single physician represents a loss of a major Canadian investment in a highly educated, skilled practitioner who otherwise could have contributed to the overall health and well being of Canadians in their respective communities, and whose future research could have proved to serve the country as a whole. But with much higher salaries and larger funding for research, it is hardly the doctors' fault.The brain drain is not confined to physicians. Doctors represent only one quarter of health workers who made the move to the states in 1996, with nurses making up the majority (Buske 158).It is clear that Canada's health care needs more funding at all levels, and the only way to accomplish this goal is to open new money streams into the system to counter the impact of diminishing funding. One answer to the problem is to have a privately funded health care system, which would let Canada keep doctor salaries competitive and provide additional resources to the system, including selling our services to U.S. patients.Although privatization of health care scares many citizens, especially those with little to no income, a publicly funded system with a private tier could alleviate their worries and benefit all Canadians. With an added source of revenue, the economics behind this model is simple: as the price of salaries goes up, the population of doctors and nurses in Canada rises as well. If the demand for doctors in Canada rises, which seems to be the case, then the governmen...
