MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY IN THE UNITED-STATES AND CANADA - WHERE ARE WE GOING

U.S. and Canadian policies concerning medical technology acquisition a nd diffusion are compared. Healthcare resources are allocated primaril y through insurance incentives in the U.S. and through budget controls in Canada. Technological acquisitions, a small component of healthcar e expenditures, are influenced by industry competition in the U.S., an d by U.S. marketing in Canada. Healthcare utilization a large componen t of expenditures, has caused similar resource allocation issues in bo th countries. Both countries are becoming more similar in their health care policies. Canada is becoming more privatized in financing healthc are services, and the U.S. is moving toward more conservative medicine . Both countries face similar challenges in technological acquisition and diffusion. Care must be taken that administrative hurdles do not a lter the stream of returns to technology so that the R&D of beneficial technologies will be encouraged. Also, evaluation methods must object ively measure the economic costs and benefits of technological service s so that technologies that yield net benefits to society will be prom oted.