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Canada’s Ailing Healthcare System Lags Most International Peers
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Page Title: | Canada’s Ailing Healthcare System Lags Most International Peers – C.D. Howe Institute |
Article Title: | Canada’s Ailing Healthcare System Lags Most International Peers |
URL: | https://cdhowe.org/publication/canadas-ailing-healthcare-system-lags-most-international-peers/ |
Published Date: | January 14, 2025 |
Accessed Date: | February 11, 2025 |
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January 14, 2025 – Canadians across the country are facing persistent challenges accessing healthcare due to long wait times and limited availability of care, according to a review of international data by the C.D. Howe Institute that finds Canada’s once-celebrated healthcare system ranks 9th out of 10 peer countries.
The study also finds some provinces and territories are doing better than others at meeting patient needs, with some healthcare systems climbing up in performance and others sliding down.
In “Troubling Diagnosis: Comparing Canada’s Healthcare with International Peers,” Tingting Zhang uses the widely respected Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy surveys to determine how Canada’s healthcare system and its provinces and territories compare to those in other countries – and to each other.
Canada fared poorly compared to its peer countries in various measures, such as affordability, administrative efficiency and equity and ranked worst (10th out of 10 countries) in timeliness. However, for those who can access to care, the quality of care is relatively high.
The country performs above the average in the care-process category, reflecting strengths in preventative care and safe care across most provinces. Common challenges include access to timely care, attaining after-hours care, and long wait times – issues that seem nearly universal in Canada.
All provinces and territories fall below the international average for overall healthcare performance, with Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut showing the weakest outcomes.
The top performing provinces were PEI, Quebec and Ontario.
Using a restricted set of measures from the most recent survey to compare it to a similar study in 2018, Quebec saw the biggest improvement in its healthcare system: It jumped from 7th among Canadian jurisdictions in 2018 to 1st in the newest study. Meanwhile, Alberta saw the biggest drop, going from 1st to 5th today.
The performance gap between the top-performing Canadian jurisdictions and those lagging behind highlights the potential for interprovincial knowledge sharing to improve healthcare delivery across the country. However, domestic solutions alone may not be enough. Drawing insights from countries like the Netherlands and Germany could provide Canadian jurisdictions with actionable strategies to achieve better healthcare outcomes.
The study concludes that enhancing Canada’s healthcare outcomes hinges on improving patients’ attachment to care and after-hours care availability, expanding drug and dental access and improving the affordability of mental health and homecare.
“The road to a high-performing healthcare system is long. Improving Canada’s healthcare presents a complex challenge that requires the implementation of targeted and comprehensive strategies,” Zhang writes. Nevertheless, she argues Canada has the potential to significantly enhance its healthcare system performance by leveraging its existing strengths and learning from both international and interprovincial examples.
For more information contact: Tingting Zhang, Junior Policy Analyst, C.D. Howe Institute; and Daniel Kitts, Communications Officer, C.D. Howe Institute, 416-220-8470, dkitts@cdhowe.org
The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. Widely considered to be Canada's most influential think tank, the Institute is a trusted source of essential policy intelligence, distinguished by research that is nonpartisan, evidence-based and subject to definitive expert review.
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