Brian Day
Encyclopedia
Brian Day, MRCP
(UK), FRCS
(Eng), FRCS (C), (born c.
1947) is a physician
in Canada
and was the 2007-2008 president of the Canadian Medical Association
. He is known as Dr. Profit by opponents and Dr. Prophet by supporters for his advocacy of a role for private health care. He is the first orthopaedic surgeon in the 141 year history of the CMA to be elected president.
, England
. He was one of five children in a family with strong Labour
views. Both his mother and father were socialists.
The area could be tough. He has a permanent scar on a finger from a knife fight when he was 10 years old. His father, a pharmacist
, was killed in the mid-80s by a hooligans looking for drugs.
He was one of very few students from his elementary school who went to university.
Day attended the Liverpool Institute, the same high school as Paul McCartney
and George Harrison
.
in Vancouver
, Canada
.
In 1979, Day received the Canadian Orthopaedic Association's Edouard Samson Award, for outstanding orthopaedic research in Canada. Following a fellowship in traumatology, in Basel
, Switzerland
, Oxford
, and Los Angeles
, he began practice at the Vancouver General Hospital
. After starting in trauma, he developed an interest and expertise in orthopaedic sports medicine and arthroscopy
.
As an orthopedic surgeon, he earned an international reputation for performing arthroscopic surgery on knees, shoulders, hips and elbows. Day is regarded as being instrumental in the introduction of arthroscopic joint surgery in Canada. His patients have included many famous world class athlestes and many well known celebrities.
In 1997, Day founded Cambie Surgery Centre, a for-profit Vancouver hospital. Day is the facility's medical director and is one of over 40 shareholders.
The centre operates outside Canada's publicly-funded health care system and sees about 5,000 patients a year. It caters mainly to people who have third-party insurance for their operations and has also been controversial for allowing patients waiting for surgeries in the public system to "jump the queue."
Day decided to set up the Cambie Surgery Centre, which is non-union, after government funding decreases in the mid-90s cut his operating time at UBC from 22 hours a week to about five, and he had 295 patients on his hospital wait list.
Dr. Day has argued many Canadians are being hypocritical towards private healthcare. Stating 70% of Canadians buy healthcare insurance but largely oppose private healthcare, neglecting the other 30% of Canadians who cannot afford the extra healthcare insurance.
He believes the Canada Health Act of 1984 is responsible for rationing of care that has resulted in over a million Canadians suffering on wait lists, and to more than 5 million without a doctor. He supports the end of block funding for hospitals and a change to "Patient Focused Funding" where revenue follows the patient. He advocates a patient centered system with a greater role for competition in Canadian healthcare as a means to reduce waiting times for all Canadians and save the Government money by treating people before their condition worsens. He is a frequent spokesman for the topic with news media and submits position papers with government. For instance, his submission to Roy Romanow
's Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada made 10 recommendations:
In 2003, Maclean's Magazine named Day one its top 50 Canadians "to watch", describing him as "an iconoclast
, whose time is now."
In August 2006, Day was elected president of the Canadian Medical Association for the 2007/08 term, despite a challenge from the convention floor regarding Day's views.
During his term as CMA President he promoted a national debate on the health system and its failings. He pointed out that politicians, including those publicly supporting the government monopoly in funding and delivery, were often hypocritical (seeking private options) when it came to their own and their families' care. His efforts have led to the introduction progressive changes, including "Patient Focused Funding" as a replacement for global block funding of hospitals. He also promoted the introduction of a hybrid "European" approach to funding and delivery of care.
Day has six children and currently lives in Vancouver. His wife is also a physician.
From 1970 to 2008, Day wrote more than 150 scientific articles or book chapters, in areas of orthopaedics and arthroscopic surgery / sports medicine, and on the topic of health policy.
that argues against Obama's healthcare reform plan.
Day appeared on the television network BNN on May 11, 2009 stating that he has issued a letter dissociating himself from the ad, and that the sentences were extracted from a 40 minute interview from what he understood was going to be a longer documentary.
In a Washingtom Times article (May 2009)[missing citation], Day explained that he actually supports a government role in health care funding and delivery, and supports Obama's efforts to provide access to necessary health care for all currently under insured US citizens. He has always been a supporter of access for all that is not based on ability to pay but, unlike some of his detractors, he does not support a state monopoly in the delivery or funding of care.
His main issue with the health system in Canada is that it has enacted laws (unique among the 34 memeber OECD countries)that restrict the rights of Canadians suffering on wait lists to choose options outside of the government system. In 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada declared that Canadians are suffering and dying on wait lists, and quashed Quebec laws that restrict the right to purchase private health insurance. Other provinces have not changed their laws in response to that ruling. Litigation is in progress in 3 provinces to force those changes.
Day has pointed out the paradox that the Obama health plan would be considered an extreme right wing approach if it were applied to the Canadian health scene.
Membership of the Royal College of Physicians
Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians is a postgraduate medical diploma. The examinations are run by the Federation of the Medical Royal Colleges of the United Kingdom – the Royal College of Physicians of London, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the Royal College...
(UK), FRCS
Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons
Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons is a professional qualification to practise as a surgeon in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland...
(Eng), FRCS (C), (born c.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1947) is a physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and was the 2007-2008 president of the Canadian Medical Association
Canadian Medical Association
The Canadian Medical Association , with more than 70,000 members, is the largest association of doctors in Canada and works to represent their interests nationally. It formed in 1867, three months after Confederation...
. He is known as Dr. Profit by opponents and Dr. Prophet by supporters for his advocacy of a role for private health care. He is the first orthopaedic surgeon in the 141 year history of the CMA to be elected president.
Early life
Day was raised in Toxteth, a working-class area, of post-war LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was one of five children in a family with strong Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
views. Both his mother and father were socialists.
The area could be tough. He has a permanent scar on a finger from a knife fight when he was 10 years old. His father, a pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
, was killed in the mid-80s by a hooligans looking for drugs.
He was one of very few students from his elementary school who went to university.
Day attended the Liverpool Institute, the same high school as Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
.
Early medical career
He obtained post-graduate qualifications in Britain, in both internal medicine and general surgery, and in 1978 completed his training and a M.Sc. degree at the University of British ColumbiaUniversity of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
In 1979, Day received the Canadian Orthopaedic Association's Edouard Samson Award, for outstanding orthopaedic research in Canada. Following a fellowship in traumatology, in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, he began practice at the Vancouver General Hospital
Vancouver General Hospital
Vancouver General Hospital is a medical facility located in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is the largest facility in the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre group of medical facilities...
. After starting in trauma, he developed an interest and expertise in orthopaedic sports medicine and arthroscopy
Arthroscopy
Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage of the interior of a joint is performed using an arthroscope, a type of endoscope that is inserted into the joint through a small incision...
.
As an orthopedic surgeon, he earned an international reputation for performing arthroscopic surgery on knees, shoulders, hips and elbows. Day is regarded as being instrumental in the introduction of arthroscopic joint surgery in Canada. His patients have included many famous world class athlestes and many well known celebrities.
In 1997, Day founded Cambie Surgery Centre, a for-profit Vancouver hospital. Day is the facility's medical director and is one of over 40 shareholders.
The centre operates outside Canada's publicly-funded health care system and sees about 5,000 patients a year. It caters mainly to people who have third-party insurance for their operations and has also been controversial for allowing patients waiting for surgeries in the public system to "jump the queue."
Day decided to set up the Cambie Surgery Centre, which is non-union, after government funding decreases in the mid-90s cut his operating time at UBC from 22 hours a week to about five, and he had 295 patients on his hospital wait list.
Dr. Day has argued many Canadians are being hypocritical towards private healthcare. Stating 70% of Canadians buy healthcare insurance but largely oppose private healthcare, neglecting the other 30% of Canadians who cannot afford the extra healthcare insurance.
He believes the Canada Health Act of 1984 is responsible for rationing of care that has resulted in over a million Canadians suffering on wait lists, and to more than 5 million without a doctor. He supports the end of block funding for hospitals and a change to "Patient Focused Funding" where revenue follows the patient. He advocates a patient centered system with a greater role for competition in Canadian healthcare as a means to reduce waiting times for all Canadians and save the Government money by treating people before their condition worsens. He is a frequent spokesman for the topic with news media and submits position papers with government. For instance, his submission to Roy Romanow
Roy Romanow
Roy John Romanow, PC, OC, QC, SOM is a Canadian politician and the 12th Premier of Saskatchewan ....
's Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada made 10 recommendations:
- De-politicize the debate
- Repeal the Canada Health ActCanada Health ActThe Canada Health Act is a piece of Canadian federal legislation, adopted in 1984, which specifies the conditions and criteria with which the provincial and territorial health insurance programs must conform in order to receive federal transfer payments under the Canada Health Transfer...
- Eliminate global budgets and reward productivity
- Incorporate business methods
- Increase privatization and contracting out
- Introduce competition, choice and accountability
- Massively reduce bureaucracy
- Reduce influence of public sector health unions
- Accept economic reality, and introduce user feesUser feesPeople pay user fees for the use of many public services and facilities. At the federal level in the US, there is a charge for walking to the top of the Statue of Liberty, to drive into many National parks, and to use particular services of the Library of Congress.States may charge tolls for...
- Rank “core services” and deinsure unnecessary services
In 2003, Maclean's Magazine named Day one its top 50 Canadians "to watch", describing him as "an iconoclast
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...
, whose time is now."
In August 2006, Day was elected president of the Canadian Medical Association for the 2007/08 term, despite a challenge from the convention floor regarding Day's views.
During his term as CMA President he promoted a national debate on the health system and its failings. He pointed out that politicians, including those publicly supporting the government monopoly in funding and delivery, were often hypocritical (seeking private options) when it came to their own and their families' care. His efforts have led to the introduction progressive changes, including "Patient Focused Funding" as a replacement for global block funding of hospitals. He also promoted the introduction of a hybrid "European" approach to funding and delivery of care.
Day has six children and currently lives in Vancouver. His wife is also a physician.
Other medical accomplishments
Day is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.From 1970 to 2008, Day wrote more than 150 scientific articles or book chapters, in areas of orthopaedics and arthroscopic surgery / sports medicine, and on the topic of health policy.
- 1979 - Edouard Samson Award, for outstanding orthopaedic research in Canada
- 1989 - 2003 - Vice President Canadian orthopaedic Foundation
- 1989 - 1994 - Chairman, Examination Test Committee (Orthopaedics), Royal College of Surgeons of Canada
- 1993 - 2001 - Associate Editor, Journal of Arthroscopic Surgery
- 2001 - 80th Annual Osler Lecturer, Vancouver Medical Association
- 2003 - 2004 - President, Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA)
- 2004 - Honorary Member, Cuban Orthopaedic Association
- 2004 - Member, Board of Trustees, Journal of Arthroscopy
- 2005 - 2006 - President, Canadian Independent Medical Clinics Association (CIMCA)
- 2007 - 2008 - President Canadian Medical Association
Issues in United States Health Reform
In May 2009, Day drew fire from critics by appearing in a television ad for a US lobby group called Conservatives for Patients' RightsConservatives for Patients' Rights
Conservatives for Patients' Rights is a health care pressure group founded by Rick Scott in February 2009. Scott has stated that CPR has an intention of putting pressure on U.S. Democrats to enact health care legislation based on free-market principles...
that argues against Obama's healthcare reform plan.
Day appeared on the television network BNN on May 11, 2009 stating that he has issued a letter dissociating himself from the ad, and that the sentences were extracted from a 40 minute interview from what he understood was going to be a longer documentary.
In a Washingtom Times article (May 2009)[missing citation], Day explained that he actually supports a government role in health care funding and delivery, and supports Obama's efforts to provide access to necessary health care for all currently under insured US citizens. He has always been a supporter of access for all that is not based on ability to pay but, unlike some of his detractors, he does not support a state monopoly in the delivery or funding of care.
His main issue with the health system in Canada is that it has enacted laws (unique among the 34 memeber OECD countries)that restrict the rights of Canadians suffering on wait lists to choose options outside of the government system. In 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada declared that Canadians are suffering and dying on wait lists, and quashed Quebec laws that restrict the right to purchase private health insurance. Other provinces have not changed their laws in response to that ruling. Litigation is in progress in 3 provinces to force those changes.
Day has pointed out the paradox that the Obama health plan would be considered an extreme right wing approach if it were applied to the Canadian health scene.
External links
- BrianDay.ca - Official site