Drug :: Prescribed drug spending growing faster in Canada

Spending on prescribed drugs in Canada is estimated to have reached $21.1 billion in 2006, an increase of $1.4 billion over the previous year, according to figures released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) in its annual report on drug spending.

While total health spending grew by an estimated 5.8% in 2006, the projected annual growth rate for prescribed drugs was 6.9%. In comparison, spending on prescribed drugs increased on average by 11.2% per year from 1997 to 2004.

?Prescribed drugs have been one of the fastest-growing components of total health spending over the past two decades and continue to outpace most other health sectors, including spending on hospitals,? says Michael Hunt, Manager of Pharmaceutical Programs at CIHI. ?For the first time in recent years, spending on prescribed drugs now appears to be slowing down, and is expected to show its smallest growth in a decade.?

Provincial variations in prescribed drug spending

CIHI?s report shows important differences in both the level and growth of prescribed drug expenditure across the provinces. Spending on prescribed drugs was highest in Quebec, at an estimated $699 per person, followed by Ontario ($675) and Nova Scotia ($660), compared with the national average of $648 per person. Spending was lowest in Prince Edward Island ($559) and British Columbia ($567). When measuring growth, B.C. and Alberta had the highest estimated yearly increases in prescribed drug spending in 2006 (13.1% and 9.6%, respectively), while P.E.I. (3.9%) and Ontario (4.7%) had the lowest estimated annual growth rates.

There is also significant variation among the provinces in the public sector?s share of total prescribed drug expenditure, ranging from 37% in both P.E.I. and New Brunswick to 54% in Manitoba. On average across Canada, 46% of the total prescribed drug bill is publicly financed. Among provinces, public-sector spending per person on prescribed drugs ranged from highs in Quebec ($348) and Manitoba ($312) to lows in P.E.I. ($204), New Brunswick ($235) and B.C. ($238). In 2006, public-sector spending on prescribed drugs is expected to have grown in every province and territory except Ontario, which is projected to have experienced a slight (0.4%) decline.

?These variations are influenced by a number of factors, including differences in federal, provincial and territorial drug subsidy programs, variations in the age distributions and disease patterns across jurisdictions, as well as differences in health care delivery,? says Hunt.


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