Healthcare Delivery in Canada and the United States: Are There Relevant Differences in Healthcare Outcomes?

Almost four decades ago, Canada and the United States had very similar healthcare systems. Now, the Canadian system is primarily publicly funded and the American system is predominantly privately funded. The question of whether the health outcomes of patients  in the two systems are equivalent is investigated in this report through a systematic review of 18 relevant studies.

As Canada’s current healthcare environment is impacted by resource constraints, restructuring of health services and an aging population, this investigation focuses on potential implications for future healthcare programming and policy at the individual and population levels.