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Who administers? Who cares? Medical administrative and clinical employment in the United States and Canada.

D U Himmelstein, J P Lewontin and S Woolhandler

Department of Medicine, Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School, MA 02139, USA.

OBJECTIVES. We compared US and Canadian health administration costs using national medical care employment data for both countries. METHODS. Data from census surveys on hospital, nursing home, and outpatient employment in the United States (1968 to 1993) and Canada (1971 and 1986) were analyzed. RESULTS. Between 1968 and 1993, US medical care employment grew from 3.976 to 10.308 million full-time equivalents. Administration grew from 0.719 to 2.792 million full-time equivalents, or from 18.1% to 27.1% of the total employment. In 1986, the United States deployed 33,666 health care full-time equivalent personnel per million population, and Canada deployed 31,529. The US excess was all administrative; Canada employed more clinical personnel, especially registered nurses. Between 1971 and 1986, hospital employment per capita grew 29% in the United States (mostly because of administrative growth) and fell 14% in Canada. In 1986, Canadian hospitals still employed more clinical staff per million. Outpatient employment was larger and grew faster in the United States. Per capita nursing home employment was substantially higher in Canada. CONCLUSIONS. If US hospitals and outpatient facilities adopted Canada's staffing patterns, 1,407,000 fewer managers and clerks would be necessary. Despite lower medical spending, Canadians receive slightly more nursing and other clinical care than Americans, as measured by labor inputs.

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