According to a recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) [1], which examined 2.4 million recorded hospital stays (outside of Quebec), an average patient stay in Canada costs almost $7,000. The study focused on the cost of treating those patients admitted to hospital for at least one night and does not include the cost of emergency care, day surgery, long-term care, hospital clinics or fee-for-service payments to physicians.

The study also concluded that underlying chronic conditions or their complications account for almost 30% of money spent on inpatient care in Canadian acute care hospitals. Some examples of underlying chronic conditions include diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and pneumonia.

An overview of the intellectual property protection environment for pharmaceuticals, with a focus on opponents to patent protection and highlights of some of the key players and their activities.

Recently released mid-year intellectual property rights seizure statistics reveal that the value of counterfeit pharmaceuticals seized has increased by 660 percent in the past year. While China was the source of over 80 percent of U.S. Customs and Border Protection product seizure last year, the other top 5 leading sources of seized products are Pakistan, Egypt, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

According to a recent report comparing Canadian and European healthcare systems, Canada ranked 23rd out of 30 countries. When the quality of care delivered was compared with the cost of providing that care, Canada fell to the very bottom of the list in terms of value for money.