ABSTRACT

A brief description of RRT services in Canada is appropriate before looking at comparative outcomes between different RRT modalities. In Canada, health care is administered on a provincial basis within the constraints of the guiding principles of the Canada Health Act, which mandates universal coverage and access as well as predominantly public funding and administration. Almost all RRT is delivered via a relatively small number of large, publicly funded hospitals, the majority of which are affiliated with universities. These RRT programs are funded out of hospital global budgets although in some provinces supplemental direct dedicated funding is made available for chronic dialysis because of the high cost and life-sustaining nature of

Fig. 1 Changes with time in percentage of Canadian prevalent chronic dialysis patients being maintained on PD. (Adapted from Ref. 1.)

the treatment and because of the apparent relentless growth in demand for it.