November 11, 2005 – Canadians are spending more and more on prescription drugs.
According to the most recent Statistics Canada study on the subject, personal expenditure on prescription drugs increased by 71% from 1992 to 2002, bringing to ten the number of prescriptions dispensed to every man, woman and child living in the country. This equates to 300 million prescriptions in 20021.
In all, the 7.8 million households that reported expenditures spent an average of $ 378 in 2002, up from $ 222 ten years earlier. Among households with at least one person aged 65 or over, spending on drugs was $ 518.
According to the 2005 and 2006 forecasts of the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the consumption of prescription drugs will monopolize 9.1% of public health expenditure. This proportion was only 3.8% 20 years ago2.
Health Canada attributes this increase primarily to the aging of the population and the rising costs of new drugs.
Public and private pharmaceutical expenditure, per capita (2003)
Among the heaviest consumers of drugs
Canadians are among the largest consumers of pharmaceuticals in the world, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2003, Canada was third among OECD countries, with spending (public and private) of 602 Canadian dollars (507 US dollars) per person. The United States ranks first (US $ 728), followed by France (US $ 606)3.
In OECD countries as a whole, 60% of pharmaceutical expenditure is financed by the state, the rest being covered either by private insurance companies or by the patients themselves. In Canada, the proportion assumed by the public authorities is of the order of 40%.
Martin LaSalle – PasseportSanté.net
1. Statistics Canada, Study: Personal expenditure on prescription drugs- 1992 to 2002. The press release, issued September 23, 2005, is available at www.statcan.ca/Daily/Francais/050923/q050923a.htm [Consulté le 9 novembre 2005].
2. Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), Preliminary Estimates of Provincial and Territorial Government Health Expenditures 1974-1975 to 2005-2006, November 2, 2005. The report is available at the following address: http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/dispPage.jsp?cw_page=media_02nov2005_f [Consulté le 10 novembre].
3. OECD, OECD Health Data 2005: Statistics and Indicators for 30 countries. The report can be ordered from the following address: www.oecd.org [Consulté le 10 novembre 2005].
