Survey of Health Care Clinics in Canada

Data are collected under the authority of the Statistics Act, Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, Chapter S-19.

By law, Statistics Canada is prohibited from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent, or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this survey for statistical purposes only.

To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this survey with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.

Section 11 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with provincial and territorial statistical agencies that meet certain conditions. These agencies must have the legislative authority to collect the same information, on a mandatory basis, and the legislation must provide substantially the same provisions for confidentiality and penalties for disclosure of confidential information as the Statistics Act. Because these agencies have the legal authority to compel businesses to provide the same information, consent is not requested and businesses may not object to the sharing of the data.

For this survey, there are Section 11 agreements with the provincial and territorial statistical agencies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Yukon. The shared data will be limited to information pertaining to business establishments located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory. Section 12 of the Statistics Act provides for the sharing of information with federal, provincial or territorial government organizations. Under Section 12, you may refuse to share your information with any of these organizations by writing a letter of objection to the Chief Statistician, specifying the organizations with which you do not want Statistics Canada to share your data, and mailing it to the following address:

Chief Statistician of Canada
Statistics Canada
Attention of Director, Centre for Population Health Division
150 Tunney's Pasture Driveway
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0T6

You may also contact us by email at infostats@statcan.gc.ca or by fax at 1-514-496-4879.

For this survey, there are Section 12 agreements with the statistical agencies of Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

For agreements with provincial and territorial government organizations, the shared data will be limited to information pertaining to entities located within the jurisdiction of the respective province or territory.

The questions focus on the number of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) scans and ultrasounds performed in the past fiscal year, and whether these scans were charged directly to patients insured under a provincial or territorial health care insurance plan. The survey also collects information on the total amount charged directly to patients for these services.

Statistics Canada publishes the results of its surveys in many formats. To find all the documents related to this survey, follow the links below and type the name of the survey in the search engine located at the left of your screen to filter the results.

Data: You will find tables, profiles of a community or region, thematic maps, public use microdata files, and data visualization tools.

Analysis: You will have direct access to Stats in brief (e.g., releases from The Daily, fact sheets), articles and reports, and journals and periodicals.

• What is the Survey of Health Care Clinics in Canada?
• What are the objectives of this survey?
• Will Health Canada see the data?
• Why should I participate?

What is the Survey of Health Care Clinics in Canada?

This survey collects information on private clinics in Canada with Cycle 1 of the survey focusing on medical and diagnostic clinics. The questions focus on the number of MRIs, CT scans and ultrasounds performed in the past fiscal year, and whether these scans were charged directly to patients insured under a provincial or territorial health care insurance plan. The survey also collects information on the total amount charged directly to patients for these services.

What are the objectives of this survey?

The Survey on Health Care Clinics in Canada aims at better understanding patients access to care in Canada. The survey will inform Canadians on the number of medically necessary diagnostic services performed at medical and diagnostic clinics. This survey will also provide Health Canada with useful information for assessing access to medically necessary services offered through private clinics.

Will Health Canada see the data?

As with all Statistics Canada surveys, any information provided will remain confidential pursuant to the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada takes the privacy of Canadians very seriously. Published data can never identify you or your facility. Due to the sensitive mature of this survey, there is no plan to link or share individual answers from this survey. Health Canada will have access to publicly available aggregated data tables only. To find out more about the measures in place to safeguard the confidentiality of your information, visit Statistics Canada's Trust Centre.

Why should I participate?

The Canadian health care system has increasingly come to rely on private clinics to provide care to Canadians. Given the pivotal role private clinics play, there is a need to better understand the landscape of private clinics across Canada as they interface with the public health care system. The results of the survey will help provide Health Canada with useful information for assessing access to medically necessary services offered through private clinics.