According to a projection released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information expects health-care spending in Canada to top $183-billion for 2009 i. e. $500-million a day or $5,452 per capita health expenditure.

Payments to doctors will witness the largest growth rate, swelling to 8.8% in 2009 over last year.

While, it is important for doctors to be well paid, the health system also needs to ensure that they are performing high-skilled jobs they have been trained for, and not spending time on routine procedures like taking blood pressure, a task that other health workers can easily handle.

As well, hospitals are also expected to account for the largest proportion of health-care spending at 27.8% or $51 billion this year, while spending on drugs will make up the second largest proportion of health spending.