Australian & Canadian Healthcare Systems

This question is very voluminous for discussions. It’s hard to make a prompt and clear comparison because we have to take a lot of things into consideration. General healthcare in the country often has nothing to do with the official governmental healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations.

Basically speaking, the systems are almost the same in matters of the patient experience. Nevertheless, the following differences should not be surprising to you. Due to the low prices for the medications and pharmaceutical equipment, the Canadian healthcare system is highly popular over-the-border. Unfortunately, this regularly results in long queues to general practitioners. Canadian medical specialists and pharmacists spend a lot of time on consultations. That’s the reason why the Australians enjoy communication with their physicians a lot more than the Canadians do.

Provincial Control

It’s one of the key characteristics of the Canadian healthcare system. The government does its best to pay more attention to the development of the pharmaceutical business and public health organizations in the provinces. National Canadian healthcare program places greater emphasis on funding. This is carried out via the so-called transfer payments.

  • The amount of transfer payments is different in the provinces;
  • Official regulations and laws concerning the amount of taxes are also different.

This results in different rates of reimbursement and monthly income of the doctors in the Canadian provinces.

Canada Health Act

That’s a governmental regulation that helps the provinces partially control the number of transfer payments through taxes. This fiscal tool turns out to be very helpful and all provinces accept it enjoying one of the most accessible and satisfying healthcare systems.

Canada Health Act implies the following:

  • Every citizen of the country has the right to get proper medical help;
  • Anyone in the country should be paid for the necessary additional medicinal help;
  • Every citizen can get medical help in any of the provinces in the country.

Public Administration

In addition to its universal, comprehensive, and accessible nature, Canadian medical care is more public. In comparison to the Australian hospitals and medical centers, most of them in Canada are almost all public. The point is that a highly developed and accessible medicine in the Canadian provinces limits the activity of private medical institutions. The health of the citizens is protected by public insurances and no one has the right to make a Canadian pay for a service that is already included in the list.

As well as in all countries in the world, both the Australians and the Canadians have to invest in certain drugs that are not covered by the insurance. This is the only acceptable way to get private insurance from a for-profit healthcare institution.

Private vs. Public

Australian public health services are not controlled by the government as much as the Canadian ones. The Australian Medicare system only partially covers the medical expenses of the citizens, and the amount of medical services the doctors have to offer is usually more significant. They have to ask for additional payments and fees. That’s the reason why there’s a big number of private healthcare institutions in the country. Nevertheless, the insufficient financial support of the government does not affect the quality of the service in general. The Australians are completely satisfied with the medical support provided in the country.

Bottom Line

Australian and Canadian medical services are top-notch. Both systems are under meticulous governmental control and completely safe for the clients. The most impressive difference is that due to the funding provided by sensible fiscal regulation allows Canadians to get cheaper professional help in all provinces. Unfortunately, it results in a lack of professional communication with the physicians: they simply don’t have enough time to get in touch with all those who need help. Australian medical service gives room for a greater amount of private institutions, which makes treatments and consultations more expensive, but prompt at the same time. Canada helps its citizens cut a lot on their well-being without compromising their health.