Program directory · Health Canada
Responsive Health Care Systems
- Department
- Health Canada
- Program code
- BVG21 (H)
- Core responsibility
- Health Care Systems
- In Departmental Plans
- 2023-24 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The delivery of health care services is primarily a provincial and territorial government responsibility, which can result in varied health care services. To promote equitable quality, affordability and availability of health care services across Canada, Health Canada assumes a unique national leadership role by monitoring the implementation of provincial/territorial health plans and compliance with legislation and regulatory requirements, providing policy direction to departmental senior officials, and supporting stakeholders to undertake health care system improvements. Health Canada convenes and works with governments and partner organizations to develop and implement national approaches on shared health priorities and evidence-based practices. Health Canada also builds capacity for health care providers in targeted areas of emerging priority or gaps, through funding, training, sharing knowledge products, and exchanging knowledge. The initiatives under the Responsive Health Care Systems Program aim to improve the access to responsive health care services for people across Canada, including diverse communities. These initiatives under the Responsive Health Care Systems Program also support the implementation of systemic health care improvements to maintain or improve the health of people across Canada.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2023-24. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Care Systems Analysis and Policy | Earlier program (name match, medium confidence) | 2018-19 – 2024-25 | $912M |
| Promoting Minority Official Languages in the Health Care Systems | Earlier program (name match, low confidence) | 2018-19 – 2024-25 | $195M |
| Responsive Health Care Systems | This program | 2023-24 – 2028-29 | $9.67B |
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | Appears to combine earlier programs: Health Care Systems Analysis and Policy; Promoting Minority Official Languages in the Health Care Systems | Canada Spends name match across plans (an inference) |
| 2024-25 | Employees (FTEs) 78, against 107 in 2023-24 (−27%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Indicators added: Percentage of family health service professionals and specialists that can electronically exchange information outside their practice; Percentage of patented drugs priced above the median for comparator countries | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of patented drugs priced above the international median; Percentage of primary care physicians who can electronically exchange records with institutions and providers outside their practice | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Planned employees (FTEs) 105, against 78 in 2024-25 (+35%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Indicators added: Projected number of new cancer cases per 100,000 people | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of Canadians screened within guidelines for colorectal cancer; Percentage of patented drugs priced above the median for comparator countries; Percentage of total deaths in Canada attributable to medical assistance in dying | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: Ratio of Canadian patented medicine prices to prices in comparable countries | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of family health service professionals and specialists that can electronically exchange information outside their practice; Percentage of patients on waiting lists in Canada who received a transplant | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2027-28 | Planned spending $4.18B, against $5.76B in 2026-27 (−27%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | TBD | 2024 | 9 days As a result of recent changes in Patented Medicine Prices Review Board guidelines and comparator countries, baseline or comparable data from previous years are not yet available to set a target. Data was collected in 2022-23 and released in Fall 2023. Starting with reporting year 2023-24, results are presented based on the publication date as opposed to the timing of data collection. | No result reported |
| 2024-25 | — | — | 8 days A target has not been set by the federal / provincial / territorial indicator development committee. | No result reported |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | ≥ 50% | 2024 | 50% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 50% | 2025 | 66.7% | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | ≥ 80% | 2024 | 92% | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 70% | 2025 | 90% | Met |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | ≥ 65 | 2024 | 100 The current calculation does not account for all patients on the waiting list for a transplant. Health Canada is working with the Canadian Institute for Health Information to improve data quality and availability through a federally funded Organ Donation and Transplantation data and performance reporting system. | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 65 | 2025 | — Data not available. Health Canada is working with the Canadian Institute for Health Information to improve data quality and availability through a federally funded Organ Donation and Transplantation data and performance reporting system. | No result reported |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 1% – 4% | 2024 | — Data was not available at the time of reporting, due to changes in data collection and analysis. Data will be available when the fifth annual report on Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada (2023) is published. | No result reported |
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | — | 2024 | 58% As a result of recent changes in Patented Medicine Prices Review Board guidelines and comparator countries, baseline or comparable data from previous years are not yet available to set a target. Data was collected in 2022 and published in 2024 by the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. The data was collected using a new methodology that makes previously reported results incomparable. | No result reported |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Target not specified | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 50% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 70% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≤ 1.18 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≤ 523.9 | 2029 | — | Planned |
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | $2.43B | $4.57B |
| 2024-25 | $5.03B | $5.09B |
| 2025-26 | $5.53B | — |
| 2026-27 | $5.76B | — |
| 2027-28 | $4.18B* | — |
| 2028-29 | $3.58B* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 133 | 107 |
| 2024-25 | 101 | 78 |
| 2025-26 | 105 | — |
| 2026-27 | 104 | — |
| 2027-28 | 85* | — |
| 2028-29 | 72* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 plan | $2,426,347,012 | $2,413,485,011 | $1,919,136,412 | |||
| 2024-25 plan | $5,029,877,511 | $5,010,616,513 | $4,450,321,031 | |||
| 2025-26 plan | $5,534,946,299 | $5,715,789,333 | $4,136,957,980 | |||
| 2026-27 plan | $5,762,714,119 | $4,183,029,044 | $3,581,147,706 | |||
| Actual | $4,572,046,490 | $5,093,982,578 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
