How do we stack up within the OECD?
CMAJ 1997;157:1644
© 1997 Canadian Medical Association
This summer, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its Health Data series, which compares health indicators for its 29 member countries. Of the 17 countries for which data were available, the 1995 Canadian total of $2069 ranked it 5th in terms of per capita spending on health care, based on US dollars and comparable purchasing power. Canada also ranked 5th in terms of expenditures as a percentage of GDP, and 19th in terms of the amount of money spent by the public sector on health care. Today, 71.4% of Canada's health care bills are paid from the public purse. This includes all direct spending by municipal, provincial and federal governments, as well as transfer payments.
What results does the money get us? According to Health Data, Canada had an infant mortality rate of 6.0/1000 live births in 1995. Norway and Finland led the list with 4.0 deaths/1000 live births, and 13 other OECD countries also recorded better rates than Canada. The US rate was 8.0 deaths/1000 live births, while Turkey had the worst record, 45 deaths/1000 live births. In terms of life expectancy at birth for both men and women, Canada compared much more favourably with other OECD countries than it did for infant mortality rates. The latest OECD data placed Canadian life expectancy at 75.3 years for men and 81.3 years for women. Only Iceland, Japan and Sweden, at 76.5, 76.4 and 76.2 years respectively, had better life-expectancy rates for males. Japan (82.8), France (81.9), Switzerland (81.7) and Sweden (81.5) had higher life-expectancy rates for females. -- Lynda Buske
|
Infant mortality — rate per 1000 live births |
| Country |
Rate |
Country |
Rate |
Country |
Rate |
| Norway |
4.0 |
Netherlands |
5.5 |
Portugal |
7.4 |
| Finland |
4.0 |
Spain |
5.5 |
Czech Republic |
7.7 |
| Sweden |
4.1 |
Australia |
5.7 |
United States |
8.0 |
| Japan |
4.3 |
Canada |
6.0 |
Greece |
8.0 |
| France |
5.0 |
United Kingdom |
6.0 |
Korea |
9.0 |
| Luxembourg |
5.0 |
Iceland |
6.1 |
Hungary |
11.0 |
| Switzerland |
5.0 |
Italy |
6.2 |
Poland |
13.6 |
| Germany |
5.3 |
Ireland |
6.3 |
Mexico |
16.5 |
| Austria |
5.4 |
Belgium |
7.0 |
Turkey |
45.0 |
| Denmark |
5.5 |
New Zealand |
7.0 |
|
|
This column was written by Lynda Buske, chief, physician resources information planning, CMA. Readers may send potential research topics to Patrick Sullivan (sullip@cma.ca; 800 663-7336, x2126; fax 613 523-0937).
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