Medical technologies are an important component of medical care and can provide significant positive benefits to patients. Medical technologies can advance the identification and treatment of disease, can provide for more comfortable treatment regimes and reduce pain, offer new treatment options for ill individuals where none previously existed, and can provide a safer environment for both patients and providers fortunate enough to have access to them. In many cases, medical technologies can accomplish these improvements cost effectively, and in some cases can reduce costs while improving outcomes. So how good is Canada’s health care system at ensuring that patients have high-tech health care available to them?

This study measures the quality and quantity of Canada’s stock of advanced medical technologies relative to what is available and being delivered in other developed nations. The study begins with a discussion of the benefits and cost savings that can result from investments in medical technologies. Section 2 reviews various international and national studies to evaluate Canada’s relative availability of medical technologies. Section 3 analyzes data produced by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) to measure both the age and sophistication of this country’s medical technologies. Section 4 discusses a survey undertaken for this research paper that measures the stock of cutting-edge medical technologies in Canada’s five largest cities. The final section discusses the findings reported in the previous sections and offers policy recommendations that would improve access to advanced medical technologies for Canadians. A conclusion follows.