Nation-leading hospital efficiency freed up billions for Ontario for years, but further gains are unrealistic

Cision Canada

23-07-2025

TORONTO, July 23, 2025 /CNW/ - The Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) today released the third edition of Ontario Hospitals – Leaders in Efficiency, a report detailing the nation-leading efficiency of Ontario's hospitals. Unfortunately, further gains using traditional approaches are no longer realistic due to enormous demand for services from a growing and aging population and, like all other parts of the economy, rising pressures on costs.
"When it comes to efficiency, Ontario's hospitals continue to lead the country. Ontario spends $1,935 per person on hospitals, the lowest in Canada, while ensuring access to high quality services for millions of patients every year," said Anthony Dale, President and CEO of the OHA. "While the degree of efficiency achieved over the years has been remarkable, it's clear that addressing the challenges of the future will require further capacity planning and long-term investments in technological and clinical innovation, rather than relying on traditional ideas and approaches."
As reflected in this year's annual efficiency dividend, if Ontario spent the average rate per capita on hospitals as all other provinces, the additional cost to the province would be $4.4 billion. Ontario is unique in Canada – only here do independent boards, made of local volunteer community leaders, have accountability for hospital governance and oversight. This local governance and prudent stewardship enabled hospitals to remain resilient for many years by focusing on cost containment while serving their local communities and regions, despite capacity challenges within the hospital sector and across the health services continuum. For years, this freed up billions of dollars each year for the provincial government to invest in other public services and programs that benefit Ontarians.
However, Ontario hospitals are facing very significant financial challenges today and the underlying financial position of the sector is under considerable pressure. Demand for health care is rising. Not only has Canada's population rapidly grown in recent years, but as confirmed in last year's release of the Patterns of Illness Report by the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Ontarians will live longer with chronic disease. Many people will have multiple illnesses and there are rising rates of illness across all age groups.
"Hospitals today are doing everything they can to ensure that the taxpayers' dollars are spent effectively. But we're looking at rising demands, various cost pressures, aging infrastructure and changing population demographics that are expected to intensify in the coming years," Dale said. "Just as we're adapting our economy in the face of trade conflicts and a changing world, we need to prioritize health care as one of our competitive advantages. Technical and clinical innovation within health care will also become increasingly important.
Continuous improvement efforts have resulted in Ontario achieving the second lowest hospitalization rate, the lowest average length of stay in acute care hospitals, and the lowest cost of an inpatient stay among all provinces. Building on this track record of operational excellence will require thoughtful planning to expand hospital capacity where needed, ongoing investment in broader system capacity and innovative approaches that shape the future of health care in Ontario.
Ontario Hospital Association
Established in 1924, the OHA serves as the voice of the province's public hospitals, supporting them through advocacy, knowledge translation and member engagement, labour relations, and data and analytics with the goal of helping hospitals build a better health system. The OHA is also attuned to the broader strategic questions facing the future of the province's health care system and we work to ensure Ontario's hospitals have a voice in shaping this longer-term vision.