STRATCOM Health Care in Canada

The following is a review of developments affecting health care in Canada

The information is updated the first week of every month - so ... make this a regular stop in your information gathering activities.

The following information has been compiled from publicly available sources, StratCom does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or the authenticity of the information and StratCom cannot be held liable for errors.

Healthcare in Canada - December 2001

The Quebec government is planning to initiate a smart card medical program in 2003. Quebecers will be issued smart medicare cards programmed with personal information such as name, birth date and identification number. These personal cards, in combination with smart cards issued to doctors and medical professionals, will allow access to a patient's medical information, stored in computerized data bases. The estimated cost of the program is $150 million. Public hearings on the bill will begin on Feb. 19, 2002 and it is expected the bill will become law by June. Information stored on the cards could include medication being taken, names of people to be contacted, allergies and intolerances, vaccines, previous diagnoses, medical and surgical records, lab-test results, and blood type. It is anticipated that the cards will help curb about $45 million a year in fraud, such as when ineligible people get medical services using someone else's card.

The BC government has taken steps to make adjustments for its $400 million overrun on its $9.5-billion healthcare budget by delisting services or drugs from the Medical Services Plan (MSP) and the province's drug plan, Pharmacare. Among the adjustments is coverage of blood glucose monitoring strips - Pharmacare's second largest single expenditure - has been brought in line with that of drugs. Standardized rates have been set for reimbursing pharmacies, protecting the province from higher retail costs. Pharmacy dispensing fees for the strips will now be included in the $200 total annual dispensing fees seniors must pay before Pharmacare covers them.

Saskatchewan is taking its first steps in reorganizing the provinces healthcare system. The 32 health districts will be reorganized into 12 regional authorities within the next two years, developing a new Northern Health Strategy. Saskatchewan's 74 existing health centres will continue in that form but the province's 68 hospitals will be split into five categories (five provincial, six regional, nine district, four northern, and 44 community) with minimum standards for each category. Health research funding will be increased by 40% ($2 million) in 2002/03 and $3 million will be added to train more health providers and offer bursary programs.

The Federal government's new budget has committed an additional $2.8 billion to provincial governments for health in 2002, rising to $3.6 billion next year and more than $4 billion in 2003. The budget also included an additional $75 million per year for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), boosting its 2002/03 appropriation to $561 million—or double its 1999 startup funding. The Canada Foundation for Innovation, set up in 1997 to support university, college and hospital research, will provide more than $480 million in health, environment, engineering and other grants next year, a 60% jump from 2001.

The following is a review of developments affecting health care in Canada

Healthcare in Canada - December 2001

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Send mail to stratcom@pagebleu.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Concept and Design Blue Page Productions
Copyright © 1996-2002 STRATCOM
Last modified: January 01, 2002