ABSTRACT
The health care system in Canada has been influenced by the following trends of the 1950s and 1960s which have affected health care in most industrialized countries:
The explosion of medical knowledge.
The rapid expansion of hospital beds and the construction of new hospitals.
The development of medical specialties.
The relative decline of general practitioners, particularly in the 1950s.
Increased costs in health services.
Fragmentation and depersonalization of health services.
The growing consumer concern for improved availability and access to medical care.
Expansion of medical education programs.
The increase in medical technology.
The increase in chronic care needs.
Increased government expenditures in research training programs and health care services.
