Maclean's rankings of health care indices in Canadian communities, 2000: Comparisons and statistical contrivance

A critical perspective is presented in regard to the 2000 regional rankings of Canadian health care indices by Maclen's magazine, June 5, 2000. This p erspective is related in format to previous analyses of the Maclean's ranki ngs of Canadian universities. Several pitfalls in the health ca-re ranking procedures are summarized. The Maclean's data and general criteria appear c onceptually reasonable, but their inconsistencies and limited range, togeth er with problems in interpretation of rank data, do not allow them to be lo gically or empirically useful in the matter of health care evaluation, that is, in the manner portrayed for readers of Maclean. Using a particular set of parameters defined as health "indicators," the rank data show gratuitou sly that communities better endowed with certain health services, such as t hose with medical schools, tend to provide higher levels of care.