The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) estimates that Canadians will spend $33.7 billion on prescription medications this year. The 4.2% increase in drug spend outstrips cost increases for hospitals (4%) and doctors (3.1%). CIHI says the public portion of the total drug spend will be a shade under 43% this year, at $14.4 billion. The classes of drugs that account for the highest proportion of spending this year will be anti-inflammatory biologics (8.2%) and antivirals for hepatitis-C (5%).
Related:
Les dépenses en médicaments du Canada augmentent plus rapidement que celles consacrées aux hôpitaux ou aux médecins - ICIS
L’Alberta dépense plus en santé que les autres provinces - Radio-Canada
Alberta spends the most per person of any province on healthcare - CBC