Comparison of Healthcare Systems in USA and Canada Essay Example

some analyses to the WHO criteria for the ranking. While infant mortality and life expectancy are common parameters used in the comparison of nationwide healthcare, they are actually subject to many factors other than just the quality of a nation’s healthcare system which includes individual behavior and the population makeup. The Congressional Research Service report of 2007 does summarize the issues facing international comparisons carefully.

Basic Health Outcomes

Recalling from the introduction, WHO ranked the US 37th and Canada 30th among 191 countries in the 2000 healthcare system rankings. The overall health of the Americans was ranked 72nd and that of Canadians 35th. In spite of this, there was broad debate and criticism on the efficiency on how health systems translate expenditure to health.

Several researchers caution against having an inference of the quality of healthcare just from some form of health statistics. Infant mortality and life expectancy are poor measures of efficacy of a health system because they themselves are influenced by a myriad of factors which are completely unrelated to the quality provision and accessibility of medical care. Some of these factors could be social-cultural or just mere human behavior. According to Gordon Guyatt et al, the available studies do suggest that health outcomes could be superior in patients who are cared for in Canada than in the US, but there is no consistency in the differences. 38 studies were identified addressing certain conditions like surgical procedures, cancer, chronic medical illnesses, and coronary artery diseases. Of 10 studies having the strongest statistical validity, five favored Canada, two the US, and three were mixed or equivalent. Among the 28 weaker studies, nine favored Canada, three the US,

and sixteen were mixed or equivalent. The overall results for mortality did favor Canada having a 5% advantage; however, the results were varied and weak. The only pattern that had consistency was Kidney failure where Canadian patients did fare better.

In population health, the life expectancy in 2006 in Canada was about 2.5 years longer than in the United States. Infant and child mortality are also lower in Canada than in the US. Some of the comparisons do suggest that American system underperforms the Canada’s system and other industrialized nations. In an international comparison of twenty one more specific quality parameters that were conducted by the commonwealth Fund, the results were somewhat more divided. One indicator was a tie and the three others had no data available in one country or the other. Canada health system performed better on eleven indicators like colorectal carcinoma survival rate, childhood hematological malignancies, and liver and kidney transplants. The United States did better on cervical and breast cancer, avoidance of measles and pertussis in children for instance.

All in all, according to statistics and some researches, the health system in Canada seems to favor patient care better than that in the United States of America.

Strength and Weaknesses of Both Healthcare Systems

Both the Canadian and the US healthcare systems have strengths and weaknesses just like any other system. Both Canada and the US have somehow limited programs for the provision of prescription drugs to those who are needy. One weakness in the US is the high cost of healthcare. There is relatively a higher amount of money spent on drugs in the US than in Canada. The US has majorly privatized medical

care and this makes it a bit costly. Strength in the Canadian system is that most of the medical care is public and provided by the government and this makes it cheaper and more affordable.

Both the US and Canada have a well set out technology infrastructure in the medical world with the US having the upper hand. Advancement in technology has had a huge impact on medicine and health and the life expectancy has gone up. Another weakness in the United States is the rising cases of malpractices with a huge number of patients now filing cases against medical professionals than it is in Canada. The total amount spent per person in Canada on litigation of medical malpractices is higher than that in the US by about 10%.
The United State enjoys more doctors per capita than in Canada. This is a weakness on the Canadian part and doctors are generally paid higher in the US than in Canada. New and cutting-edge specialties and subspecialties are more in the US than Canada.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Both countries have rules against substance abuse but there is a generally increased rate of substance abuse in the United States than in Canada. Some drugs of abuse such as marijuana and cocaine are abused illegally in both nations. In the US some states have legalized the use of marijuana and this has led to the increased use of this drug.

The Canada health Act does cover services of psychiatrists but who are medical doctors but not psychologists or psychotherapists. In the Unites States, Affordable Care Act includes early intervention, prevention, and therapy of mental or substance abuse as essential health benefit

which should be covered by health plans in health insurance Marketplace.

Healthcare Workforce

The US has more doctors and other medical professionals per person than Canada. The medical professionals in the US also have a generally bigger average income than the Canadian medical professionals.

References

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