CALGARY- A private clinic has come up with a new way to try and work through the backlog of patients looking to see a back specialist, but there are concerns their efforts are just another form of queue jumping.
Caleo Health specializes in spine care, and has physiotherapists, chiropractors and orthopedic surgeons on staff.
“We have a huge demand,” says Dr. Jacques Bouchard, spine surgeon at Caleo Health. “Most surgeons…have waiting lists that vary a year and a half to two years to see people.”
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As a surgeon, he’s only able to help patients requiring an operation-and many people with back problems don’t. To change that, Caleo Health began offering spinal assessments.
The problem is, Alberta Health doesn’t cover the $200 cost of seeing specialists at the clinic, and many patients can’t afford it on their own.
“The question is, is the access to the insured service of the surgeon contingent upon paying for the uninsured service?” questions Alberta Liberal leader Raj Sherman. He says such wait list management techniques need to be investigated, but Caleo Health maintains their assessments are not a form of queue jumping.
“There’s just one queue, and there just happens to be within that queue the patients that go through that triage evaluation get a little bit more done before they see the surgeon,” Bouchard explains.
A family doctor agrees that getting in to see back specialists has become nearly impossible.
“What we’ve been seeing in real life is that when I refer to a spinal surgeon, more often than not my referral is completely ignored,” says Dr. John Fernandes. “When the process goes through Caleo Health, at least there is a response.”
With files from Heather Yourex
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