Study
| EST. READ TIME 2 MIN.Canada has fewer doctors, hospital beds, MRIs and among longest wait times than other countries with universal health care
Comparing Performance of Universal Health Care Countries, 2024
- Among 31 high-income universal healthcare countries, Canada ranks among the top third of spenders but receives average to poor value in return.
- After adjusting for differences in age between countries, Canada ranked fourth highest for spending as a percentage of GDP and ninth highest for spending per person in 2022 (the most recent year of comparable data).
- Across over 40 indictors measured, Canada’s performance for availability and timely access to medical resources was generally below that of the average OECD country.
- In 2022, Canada ranked 28th (of 30) for the relative availability of doctors and 25th (of 30) for hospital beds dedicated to physical care. The same year, Canada ranked 27th (of 31) for the relative availability of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines, and 28th (of 31) for CT scanners.
- Canada ranked last (or close to last) on three of four indicators of timeliness of care; and ranked sixth (of nine) on the indicator measuring the percentage of patients who reported that cost was a barrier to access.
- Notably, among the nine countries that measure wait times, Canada ranked eighth worst for the percentage of patients who waited more than one month to see a specialist (65%), and reported the highest percentage of patients (58%) who waited two months or more for non-emergency surgery.
- Canada’s performance for use of resources and quality and clinical performance was mixed.
- Clearly, there is an imbalance between the value Canadians receive and the relatively high amount of money they spend on their health-care system.
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Mackenzie Moir
Senior Policy Analyst, Fraser InstituteMackenzie Moir is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Fraser Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing fromYork University and a Master of Science in Health Policy and Research from the University of Alberta. Mr Moir has previous clinical experience and has provided direct care in general medicine, palliative care, cardiology, oncology, and neurology settings. In addition to several academic publications, his commentaries have appeared in University Affairs, the Financial Post, and Globe and Mail. His research focuses on the performance of health-care systems, patient choice, and health-related quality of life.… Read more Read Less… -
Bacchus Barua
Director, Health Policy Studies, Fraser Institute
Bacchus Barua is Director of the Fraser Institute’s Centre for Health Policy Studies. He completed his BA (Honours) in Economicsat the University of Delhi (Ramjas College) and received an MA in Economics from Simon Fraser University. Mr. Barua has conducted research on a range of key health-care topics including hospital performance, access to new pharmaceuticals, the sustainability of health-care spending, the impact of aging on health-care expenditures, and international comparisons of health-care systems. He also designed the Provincial Healthcare Index (2013), co-led the creation of Comparing Performance of Universal Health Care Countries (2016) and co-authored the Fraser Institute’s annual survey of wait times, Waiting Your Turn, for over a decade (2010–2022). In 2022, Bacchus was invited to provide testimony as part of a panel of witnesses for the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA). Mr. Barua is a frequent commentator on radio and television, and his articles have appeared in well-known news outlets including the National Post, Wall Street Journal, Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, and forbes.com.… Read more Read Less…
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