A comparative study of the health care systems of Canada and Saudi arabia: Lessons and insights

Introduction: Understanding the structure of a health care system is essential in improving public health policies and health outcomes. Objectives: To describe and compare the health care systems of Canada and Saudi Arabia; to discuss possible lessons that could be learned from both for policy-making purposes. Methods: A comprehensive method was used to describe the national health care systems of both countries. For each country, the system is described by: context, ownership, delivery, financing, organisational structure, target groups, and comprehensiveness of services. Results: In Canada, the Medicare system provides comprehensive medical services except for dental, optometric, chiropractic, pharmacologic and home care services. The dental care system is financed privately (94%) and is owned and delivered by private for-profit dental practitioners. In Saudi Arabia, the government sector is owned, delivered, and financed by the government - and provides free comprehensive medical and dental services. The same services are provided by the private sector, but under governmental supervision. Among the relevant lessons: access to care, accountability, quality assurance, mix and reimbursement of providers. Conclusions: Canada can learn about different approaches to socialising the dental care system. Saudi Arabia can improve the implementation of quality assurance practices and management.