Health Care Systems in Transition: Canada (original) (raw)
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Health systems in transition: Canada
2006
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies or any of its partners concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Where the designation "country or area" appears in the headings of tables, it covers countries, territories, cities, or areas. Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies does not warrant that the information contained in this publication is complete and correct and shall not be liable for any damages incurred as a result of its use. The views expressed by authors or editors do not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated policy of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies or any of its partners.
Health Systems’ Performance Roundtables - Canada. Canada Health System Data
Romanian Journal of Psychiatry, 2013
Strengths Canadians consider access to health care benefits part of citizens’ rights. Universal health insurance covers everyone including immigrants and refugees. The 1984 Canada Health Act defines the principles of health care delivery: Public administration of health insurance by an accountable nonprofit agency: This has kept costs far below those of the United States Comprehensiveness: All insured services must be covered. Universality: All citizens living within a province are covered. Portability: Insurance is portable across Canada. Accessibility: Access time to necessary services should be reasonable. It covers all of the population with access to medical services and hospitalization. Health care is financed through income taxes. Major investment in public health care since the mid-1990s, including capital infrastructure. Health care costs have been maintained at sustainable levels (except for pharmaceuticals). The Federal government has focused on improving the timeliness, quality and safety of health care. Lower costs and time spent in administrative tasks, not having to select patients or justify treatment planning. Psychiatric care is largely based in hospital and other institutions and group practices and emphasizes an interdisciplinary, team-based approach. Mental health services begin with primary care which is increasingly responsible for first response and follow-through care. Growing emphasis on outpatient and community care. The Canadian health care system provides similar services as the US model with significantly lower costs. Strong planning relationships among medical and other professional faculties, provincial government health agencies, and medical, psychiatric and other professionals orders and colleges. Telemedicine for long-distance learning and medical consultations is increasing. Growing acceptance of best practices and evidence-based medicine. Weaknesses The Federal government covers only 26% of health care costs which means that although it defines and monitors principles, the major financing and all of the delivery of health care services is the responsibility of the 10 provinces and 3 northern territories, which it cannot easily ensure. The Federal government has not established clear national standards for health care delivery. Pharmaceutical costs have increased disproportionately compared to other health care costs. Services such as dentistry, optometry and medications are not covered for outpatients who must pay personally or through employee benefit plans. There is a lack of a national “pharmacare” strategy to reduce costs. Workloads increase with the burden to respond to all needs. Private-practice psychiatry and as a result psychodynamic psychotherapy are waning. Waiting lists for care versus quality of care. Inpatient services are subject to increasing pressure due to the aging population and greater emphasis on outpatient and community care. Use of IT services, digital charts and telemedicine is not being optimized. Opportunities The shift to primary care means a re-visioning of health care services with a growing emphasis on shared care between primary care providers and specialists. Telemedicine and IT services Threats Rising pharmaceutical costs Increasing private practice clinics with surcharges for uninsured services to ensure privileged access to care The lack of political will to define and enforce national standards. Bibliography: 1. Jeste, Dilip (2013). Canadian Psychiatry and Health Care System. Psychiatric News, January 4, 2013, 48(1): 6. 2. Marchildon, Gregory P. (2013). Canada: Health Systems Review 2013. Health Systems in Transition, 15(1):1-179.
International Encyclopedia of Public Health, Volume 1, edited by Kris Heggenhougen and Stella Quah, pp. 381-391, 2008
Health Systems in Transition, Vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 1-179, 2013
Canada is a high-income country with a population of 33 million people. Its economic performance has been solid despite the recession that began in 2008. Life expectancy in Canada continues to rise and is high compared with most OECD countries; however, infant and maternal mortality rates tend to be worse than in countries such as Australia, France and Sweden. About 70% of total health expenditure comes from the general tax revenues of the federal, provincial and territorial governments. Most public revenues for health are used to provide universal medicare (medically necessary hospital and physician services that are free at the point of service for residents) and to subsidise the costs of outpatient prescription drugs and long-term care. Health care costs continue to grow at a faster rate than the economy and government revenue, largely driven by spending on prescription drugs. In the last five years, however, growth rates in pharmaceutical spending have been matched by hospital spending and overtaken by physician spending, mainly due to increased provider remuneration. The governance, organization and delivery of health services is highly decentralized, with the provinces and territories responsible for administering medicare and planning health services. In the last ten years there have been no major pan-Canadian health reform initiatives but individual provinces and territories have focused on reorganizing or fine tuning their regional health systems and improving the quality, timeliness and patient experience of primary, acute and chronic care. The medicare system has been effective in providing Canadians with financial protection against hospital and physician costs. However, the narrow scope of services covered under medicare has produced important gaps in coverage and equitable access may be a challenge in these areas.
Health System of Canada: Introduction
Reference Module in Biomedical Sciencies, 2014
With a population of 35 million people spread over a vast area, Canada is a highly decentralized federation. Provincial governments have most of the responsibility for the governance, organization and delivery of health services although the Government of Canada has an important role in maintaining high level standards for universal health coverage through the Canada Health Act as well as pharmaceutical regulation, health research and data collection. With 70% of total health spending financed by federal, provincial and territorial governments, most are used to provide universal access to hospital and physicians services as well as more targeted coverage for prescription drugs and long-term care. In the last decade, provincial and territorial governments have focused on reorganizing their regional delivery systems and improving the quality, timeliness and patient experience with acute, chronic care and primary care medical services. While Canada's system of universal coverage for Medicare has been effective in providing deep financial protection, the narrow scope of coverage has resulted in gaps in coverage and equitable access.
The International Encyclopedia of Public Health, 2017
A review of the Canadian health system with some emphasis on public health stewardship at the national level of government.
2015
The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies or any of its partners concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Where the designation "country or area" appears in the headings of tables, it covers countries, territories, cities, or areas. Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specific companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies does not warrant that the information contained in this publication is complete and correct and shall not be liable for any damages incurred as a result of its use.
Health care systems in eight countries: trends and challenges
2002
The views expressed in this publication are those of the editors and contributors and do not necessarily represent the decisions or the stated policy of the participating organisations of the European Observatory on Health Care Systems. All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any other information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.