HIGHLIGHTS
Spending on medical devices declined -12 percent from 2013 to 2017 after accounting for changes in population, currency exchange rates and inflation. Measured in constant 2013 US$ per capita, spending on medical devices in 2017 was $174, down from $198 in 2013.
Sales of medical devices have accounted for less than 1 percent of GDP in Canada for the last 5 years. Spending on medical devices has remained virtually unchanged from 0.38 percent of GDP in 2013 to 0.40 percent in 2017.
At C$8.8 billion, total sales of medical devices accounted for only 3.6 percent of the C$242 billion reported by CIHI for total healthcare spending in Canada in 2017. Medical devices accounted for roughly the same percentage of total healthcare spending in Canada in 2017 (3.6 percent) as in 2013 (3.4 percent).
Averaged over the period 2013 to 2017 and compared against 75 countries for which data were available, Canada ranked 13th for medical device spending per capita, 28th as a percentage of GDP, and 56th as a percentage of total healthcare spending.
Over the period from 2013 to 2017, Canada ranked below the average of its peers in the 25 wealthiest OECD countries for medical device spending per capita, as a percentage of GDP, and as a percentage of total healthcare spending. Of the 25 OECD countries examined, Canada ranked 13th for medical device spending per capita, 15th as a percentage of GDP and 22nd as a percentage of total healthcare spending.
