Pulse: Drug costs surpass spending on physicians

CMAJ 2000;162:405

The Canadian Institute for Health Information reports that drug costs have grown from 8.4% of total expenditures in the late 1970s to 14.5% in 1997. Meanwhile, spending for physician services decreased from a high of 15.6% of the total in 1987 to 14.2% a decade later. Drug costs now rank behind only hospital expenditures in terms of share of health care spending.

Source: Canadian Institute for Health Information

Canadians spent $78-billion on health care in 1997, up from $76-billion in 1996, with per capita spending increasing from $2548 to $2598. Ontario and British Columbia had the highest rates of per capita spending, $2746 and $2728 respectively.

The share of health spending funded by governments fell from 70.4% in 1996 to 69.4% in 1997, but is expected to rebound slightly in 1998. The reversal would counter the long-term pattern of a decreasing public share in health spending that began in 1991, when the publicly funded portion stood at 75.8%. The private share now exceeds 30%, compared with 25% a decade ago.

Health care spending as a percentage of the gross domestic product stood at 8.9% in 1997, the lowest it has been since 1989. This places Canada fourth among the G-7 industrialized countries, behind the U.S. (13.9%), Germany (10.7%) and France (9.6%).

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 613 565-2382).

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