OFAC takes pride in leading the way in foot and ankle education and training. We are currently preparing for the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society’s summer academic meeting. In addition to giving lectures and moderating panels of experts, we will be presenting several abstracts and academic posters on various foot and ankle problems. This is a focus of our team all year long and allows us to raise the bar of what the foot and ankle specialty can provide. Check back often as we will continue to post updates on our latest research and publications.

I keep wondering when President Obama is going to call to solicit my advice on the health care crisis occupying our leaders in Washington. I am somewhat of an expert having experienced health care on both sides of the 49th parallel as both a patient and orthopedic surgeon. The issues are many including the value of time.

Life as a patient in Canada means excellent health care unless you are sick. Although the quality of care delivered is similar to that experienced in the USA there is a big difference in the perception of urgency.

It is this sense of control that will define if the population of the United States can ever accept a universal care model. Emergency care will be prioritized and may be delivered within accepted standards of care and time. Elective care will be rationed in a socialistic model with the care being delivered when time allows and when the budget allows.

The burden on society to support a socialistic model is a tax system much different from what we currently support. There is no such thing as free medical care, – nothing is FREE – only medical care administered by a government body instead of the free market system. There may be a better safety net for our population but the safety net will come at an expense: tax increases, and population goals driving medical policy not innovation, and mostly not convenience.

We need to be careful as we modify our existing health care structure, learning lessons from others that have experienced a socialistic health care model. The social approach to health care is not as good as it looks on a superficial layer. If the system is sacrificed to a government body, control is gone along with promises for a timely delivery of quality medical services.

Time and choice do have a value.