An Overview of the Canadian Health Care System

The Canadian health care system is a publicly financed system administered by ten provincial and three territorial governments. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the universal health care system in Canada, including its history, the health status of Canadians, health care funding and spending, and health research and data collection. Health care spending in Canada amounts to 11.6% of the country’s gross domestic product and is estimated to have been $200.5 billion Canadian dollars in 2011. Hospitals account for the largest source of health care spending (29%), followed by drugs (16%) and physician spending (14%). Of the total health care spending, 70% is paid for by the public system. Due to the Canadian population being covered by the universal health care system, health data are being collected and can be used to monitor the health care system and inform evidence-based medicine.