Reviewed by Erica Carr

This is a straight forward guide to using the health care system in Canada, written by a former Deputy Minister of Health for Ontario and economist (Decter) and a former Director of Policy to the Minster of Health and Long-Term Care for the Province of Ontario (Grosso), both of whom worked to establish the Health Council of Canada (and both of whom are the offspring of physicians). The authors steer you through health care needs from having a baby to palliative care, with personal examples and recommendations on how to maintain optimum health at different life stages. Much of the first part of the book is pretty basic, and may not be of much interest for those of us who do not have and do not plan to have children, but as I ventured into the "Middle Years' section, tips on "navigating your benefits plans' and "claiming medical expenses on your tax return' peaked my interest. I found tips on managing chronic disease (including mental health), managing your health care (including medications), financial support info, and the list of resources at the end of each chapter particularly helpful. As someone who is both a consumer and deliverer of health care services, the tips on demeanour and attitude while navigating the system were particularly refreshing - squeaky wheels get the grease, not squawky ones. An interesting aspect of this book is that there is an accompanying website (www.navigatingcanadashealthcare.ca) that links you to many of the resources mentioned and where you can contribute your own experiences, tips, and questions for a possible follow-up text in the future. Some of the info may seem simplistic and laden with middle class assumptions (with regards to financial ability, knowledge, culture, language, etc.), but I still think the book is useful. It's a good resource to have on hand for anyone who has to "navigate Canada 's Health Care System'.