Canadians are likely getting more value from the health-care system than Statistics Canada's figures suggest, says an Ottawa-based think-tank in a report criticizing the agency for shoddy estimates.

In the report released Thursday and obtained by the Canadian Press, the Centre for the Study of Living Standards says Statistics Canada "may seriously underestimate" the health-care system's true economic effectiveness.

It also says the agency "should devote more effort to develop better estimates of output and productivity."

"The true contribution of the health-care sector to the well-being of the Canadian population … is not being captured in current estimates of health-care output and productivity," the report says.

Statistics Canada estimates productivity in the health-care and social assistance industry fell 0.69 per cent per year from 1987-2006, the report says. It says that's in opposition to a 1.14 per cent increase in overall productivity in Canada during the same 20-year period.

"It is widely recognized, including by Statistics Canada officials, that these numbers may seriously underestimate the true contribution of the health-care sector to real output, and more importantly, to the economic well-being of Canadians," it says.

Andrew Sharpe, one of the authors of the report and the executive director of the centre, said the statistics agency's measurement system is flawed. "It's an input-based measure that doesn't give you a true measure of the output of the sector," he said. "So, there's a massive downward biased output in the health-care sector in the official numbers."

The report notes several European countries and the United States are starting to measure actual output of their health-care systems, and suggests Canada adopt this framework.

It suggests Statistics Canada's measurements might not fully account for improvements in the quality of health care. It notes life expectancy in Canada rose by 5.3 years from 1979 to 2004.

There will be "very different" policy implications depending on whether increased health spending stems from higher prices or improving quality, the report says.