The Canadian health care system: past, present, and future.

This review offers American radiologists the information required to understand the Canadian health care system. It includes a brief history of the Canadian system and describes the relationship between health care and the Canadian constitution. A comprehensive appraisal of current conditions addresses the performance of the Canadian system and provides an overview of policy and planning responsibilities for health care across Canada. It includes not only the roles and responsibilities of the federal government and of the provincial and territorial governments in health care, but also those of professional organizations. In this context, significant differences between Canada and the United States are discussed, including: the development of professional fees; billing mechanisms and audits; and medicolegal and turf issues, such as self-referral and imaging by nonradiologists. A description of professional organizations includes the central responsibility of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for professional training and development, and of national and provincial medical organizations. There are descriptions of medical schools and research organizations as well as federal organizations responsible for health information and technology assessment. Problems encountered in recent years because of the curtailment of health care spending are addressed. The future of Canadian health care is considered in light of a recent report titled Building on Values: The Future of Health Care in Canada. Issues of particular interest to radiologists are emphasized.