Thank you very much, Chairperson.
First of all, thank you very much to the director general for coming today. Many of us are new on the health committee, so it's really helpful to get this kind of overview and snapshot of what you're doing. I really appreciate it, and I feel as if you've spoken very frankly to us and given us a lot of information.
I think my questions and comments are going to focus not so much on the chronic diseases and conditions themselves but on what goes on around them. I was very struck by your figure of $190 billion annually for medical treatment and the impact on the Canadian economy. I know that a number of us met last week with the Neurological Health Charities of Canada and had some very good discussions, and the thing that really struck me when we're talking about these chronic conditions, to take Alzheimer's for an example, is just the impact on caregivers.
So much of our attention is focused on the acute care situation, it seems to me, like the hospital costs and all of that, but these other costs and what we're not doing is just so significant. So it's very alarming to hear that figure of $190 billion. But when you think of what you call informal caregiving, like family members who are having to give up work to provide care to aging parents—the so-called sandwich generation—it's a huge issue in our society. I just wonder, as part of this longitudinal study you're talking about, whether or not there are any particular elements that actually look at this question. What are these associated costs in terms of our not having adequate long-term care, our not having adequate drug coverage, and our being so focused on the acute care situation? What is that actually costing us?
I know that the outgoing president of the Canadian Medical Association, who's here at the Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Turnbull, made a very stark comparison of the cost of an acute care bed and a long-term-care bed—not even a senior at home any more, but someone who's needing to go into a facility.
I'm interested in whether that longitudinal study is looking at that. How often does it report out? If it's over 20 years, there must be regular report-outs. When can we expect the next one?
The other thing I would raise with you is do you have an example of a country that you think is doing a pretty good job on chronic diseases, that you look to and say, wow, that's where we should be trying to get to?