[An analysis of the rise of health care costs in institutions in Canada and Quebec].
The author compares increases in institutional care costs in Quebec with the rest of Canada revealing the following: The 14 per cent annual increase reported by federal health minister Marc Lalonde is well above the increase in the Canadian population of 4 per cent. The 12 per cent rise in costs of Quebec health services is far above the increase in the population of 15 per cent. Therefore, population is not a major factor in cost increase. The rate of cost increase in Quebec is below the national rate, 12 per cent against 14 per cent. Cost of institutional care in dollars per capita is appreciably lower in Quebec than in the rest of Canada. The average increase in health care costs in Canada between 1970 and 1973 is actually above the average deseasonized increase rate of the gross national product (GNP). The average cost increase of institutional care remained, however, below the increase of the GNP in Canada. The increase in the number of patients admitted is far above the increase in population, in both Quebec and the other provinces, the difference being more important in Quebec than in the rest of Canada. Utilization has partly been possible through decrease in the average length of stay in both Quebec and the other provinces. The decrease in average length of stay is higher in other Canadian provinces than it is in Quebec. However, it is lower in Quebec for a day. The occupancy rate has consistantly been rising in Quebec while it remained stable in other provinces. The number of patients admitted per 1,000 population has remained much lower in Quebec as compared to the rest of Canda. The difference tends, however, to decrease. The number of institutional care facilities remains higher in other Canadian provinces than in Quebec in proportion to the population The number of visits in emergency units per 1,000 population has doubled in Quebec, as compared to the rest of Canada with half that increase. It would be interesting to establish the trend in institutional care for outpatient departments other than emergency units; complete data about this not as yet availble.
D002170:Canada; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006296:Health Services; D006760:Hospitalization; D007902:Length of Stay; D011792:Quebec
Considérations analytiques sur i'augmentation des coûts des soins en éstablissement au Québec et au Canada