Healthcare System?
We often talk about ‘healthcare’ and the ‘healthcare system.’ But if you think about it, most of the time, we’re really talking about sickness—treating diseases, injuries, and other health problems. So it’s more like a ‘sick care’ system rather than one that focuses on keeping us healthy.
First, let’s define what a ‘system’ is. The Oxford Dictionary describes it as “a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnected network.” Wikipedia defines it as “a group of interacting or interrelated elements that follow a set of rules to form a unified whole.” When people complain about the ‘healthcare system,’ they’re likely frustrated with a disorganized, reactive non-system that mainly treats sickness rather than preventing it.
The Body as a System
Think of a human cell—it’s a small system where different parts work together to keep it alive. A collection of cells forms organs like the brain, liver, or skin. Those organs then work together to create the human body, which is a complex and constantly adapting system. Just like in nature, these systems rely on each other to function properly.
How Healthcare Became Focused on Disease
200 years ago, medical specialists started emerging. It made sense—studying specific diseases in-depth helped doctors develop better tests and treatments. But over time, this focus on illness shifted nearly all attention and funding toward hospitals and advanced treatments for disease. This is called secondary, tertiary, and quaternary care—what happens inside hospitals.
The Problem with Our Current Non-System
Hospitals are now massive, highly specialized services that are often disconnected from each other. Disease care is hard to navigate, frustrating for patients, and difficult to manage. Many amazing healthcare professionals work in this non-system, but as a whole, it’s a complicated and inefficient mess.
Meanwhile, in Canada and other advanced economies, chronic diseases like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer have become more common due to modern society including ultra-processed foods, little physical activity, stress, etc. This has increased demand for hospital care, further minimizing the role, and the funding for, effective primary care.
So, where are the professionals who help people stay healthy? Who provides true healthCARE?
The Role of Primary Care
Traditionally, this was the job of the General Practitioner (GP), now called a Family Physician. However, as chronic diseases have become more complex, family doctors have had to take on more and more responsibilities. But many of these health problems aren’t just medical—they’re influenced by social factors known as the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH).
SDoH include things like poverty, unstable housing, low-paying jobs, childhood trauma, discrimination, and others. These factors have a huge impact on health, but doctors aren’t trained to solve them. How can a physician, trained in medical science, also help a patient struggling with homelessness or food insecurity? A pill cannot treat these issues.
Mental health and addiction—both closely linked to SDoH—are also on the rise.
Then there’s the everyday struggle of making healthy choices. Food labels are confusing, groceries are expensive, and healthy eating feels out of reach. Exercise recommendations seem impossible to follow. And sleep? Many people joke, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” but ignoring sleep can shorten our lives.
A Better Approach: The Health Home
This is where the Health Home model comes in. It’s an accessible, patient-centered team of different healthcare professionals—working with YOU. It’s a true healthcare ecosystem.
Imagine this:
A Social Worker helps navigate social services, housing support, addictions, and justice issues.
A Dietitian helps you figure out what nutrition your body needs and works with the Social Worker to keep it affordable. They also collaborate with doctors to ensure dietary changes don’t interfere with medications.
A Clinical Exercise Physiologist or Physiotherapist helps you set achievable fitness, mobility, and balance goals and adjust them as needed.
An Occupational Therapist assesses your home for safety hazards and suggests ways to improve daily living, including mental health support.
Nurses, Nurse Practitioners (NPs), and Doctors ensure you receive the best evidence-based tests and treatments, while also coordinating care with specialists when necessary.
Everyone on the team uses a shared electronic health record, so you don’t have to repeat the same information over and over.
A Healthier Future
Does this sound impossible? Well, Mentor Clinic is making it happen. And other clinics are adopting the Health Home model too.
Is it perfect yet? No. Is it challenging? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.
A key part of this approach is helping people take ownership of their own health. The more we understand how our bodies work and experience and learn about the ‘system’ that we need to support our well-being, the clearer we can be when talking to system managers, policy people and politicians and holding them accountable.
Let’s move forward—together!
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