Health Systems Profiles
National Health Systems Profiles
A structured analysis of each health system within each country.
The Health System Profile of Canada was prepared for the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies as part of its Health Systems in Transition (HiT) series. The latest published version of the health systems in transition profile (HiT) for Canada written by Gregory Marchildon, Sara Allin, and Sherry Merkur.
Past Health System Reviews:
- Health Systems in Transition: Canada – Health system review, 2013 – [PDF]
- Systèmes de santé en transition: Canada – Examen du système de santé, 2013 – [PDF]
- Canada online HiT profile with modifications since publication of printed version
The Health System Profile of the United States of America was prepared for the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies as part of its Health Systems in Transition (HiT) series. The latest published version of the health systems in transition profile (HiT) for the United States of America written by Thomas Rice, Pauline Rosenau, Lynn Y. Unruh, and Andrew J. Barnes.
Past Health System Reviews:
- Health Systems in Transition: United States of America – Health system review, 2013 – [PDF]
- United States of America online HiT profile with modifications since publication of printed version
The Health System Profile of Mexico was prepared for the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies as part of its Health Systems in Transition (HiT) series. The latest published version of the health systems in transition profile (HiT) for Mexico was written by Miguel Á González Block, Hortensia Reyes Morales, Lucero Cahuana Hurtado, Alejandra Balandrán, and Edna Méndez.
Other Health System Reviews of Mexico include:
- OECD Reviews of Health Systems: Mexico 2016This Health System Review was prepared for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as part of the OECD Reviews of Health Systems series of country reports. The lead author of the second edition was Ian Forde. The other authors of this report were Jon Cylus, Rodrigo Moreno-Serra, Geronimo Salomón Holmer, Alejandro Posada, Caroline Berchet and Emily Hewlett.
- Profile of the Health Services System Mexico, 2002This Health System Review was prepared on behalf of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as part of its Health Systems Country Profiles section. The second edition of this profile was a collaborative effort that involved more than 12 professionals and staff members from the Secretariat of Health of Mexico and the PAHO/WHO Representative Office in that country.
Subnational Health Systems Profiles
A structured analysis of each health system within each province, territory, or state.
This series of provincial and territorial health system profiles is sponsored and directed by the North American Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, a collaborative partnership of academic researchers, governments, and health organizations promoting evidence-informed health policy decision-making.

Nova Scotia: A Health System Profile (2018)
By Katherine Fierlbeck
University of Toronto Press
Amazon (preview first chapter)
Despite notable variation in health care policy from province to province, most scholarship published on the health care system in Canada uses a broad national perspective. Focusing on the health care systems of individual Canadian provinces and territories, our new series, Health System Profiles, examines the social, political, economic, and epidemiological context of health care policy in each Canadian province.
Turning a critical eye to the health care system in Nova Scotia, author Katherine Fierlbeck outlines the organizational and regulatory frameworks structuring provincial health care, while providing a detailed assessment of Nova Scotia’s health financing, physical infrastructure, service provision, and the efficacy of technological resources used in data tracking and health quality assessments. Structured for ease of comparison, Nova Scotia: A Health System Profile will, along with other volumes in the series, help scholars draw analytic evidence-based policy conclusions about the health system of Nova Scotia and other Canadian provinces and territories.