Friday, June 25, 2004

From the Washington Times:
Canadians spend more on drugs than doctors
Canadians' drug purchases comprised 16.2 percent of the country's total health expenditures for 2003, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

Of the estimated $16 billion spent on prescribed drugs in Canada in 2003, 47.2 percent was paid for with public funds. In 1998 the public share of prescription-drug costs was 42.5 percent.

CIHI's fourth annual Drug Expenditure in Canada report released Tuesday shows total drug spending reached $19.6 billion in 2003, up 17 percent from 2001. Prescribed drugs are believed to represent 82 percent of all drug spending nationwide.

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