Some people fancy all health care debates to be a case of Canadian Health Care vs. American. Not so. According to the World Health Organization’s ranking of the world’s health systems, neither Canada nor the USA ranks in the top.

Improving the Canadian Healthcare System does not mean we must emulate the American system, but it may mean that perhaps we can learn from countries that rank better than both Canada and the USA at keeping their citizens healthy.

France became No 1 country in terms of WHO ranking of health systems. Famed for the quality of its health services, it is not surprising to see France ranked as a top of the pile. The country’s average life expectancy is 82.

The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks the health systems of its 191 member states in every year. It provides a framework and measurement approach to examine and compare aspects of health system around the world. It develops a series of performance indicators to assess the overall level and distribution of health in the populations, and the responsiveness and financing of health care services.