By Danielle Martin and Steve Morgan Canada, Canadian health care, Health system, Pharmacare, Pharmaceutical policy, Prescription drug coverage, Prescription Drug Crisis, prescription drugs, universal pharmacare
Health Ministers from across Canada will gather in Banff to discuss issues of common interest and explore opportunities to work together. Pharmacare — a program that would see all prescription drug costs covered through a publicly funded system instead of out-of-pocket — will almost certainly be on the agenda.
By Marc-André Gagnon cost of drugs, drug plan, national drug plan, Pharmacare, Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical policies in Canada, prescription drugs, Private health benefits, universal pharmacare
Canadians pay among the highest costs per capita among OECD countries for prescription drugs, with one Canadian out of 10 unable to fill their prescriptions because of financial reasons.
By David Juurlink addiction, overdose, oxycodone, pain treatment, Pharmaceutical industry, Pharmaceutical policy, prescription drug abuse, prescription drugs, Prescription opioid crisis, prescription painkillers
In my first career as a pharmacist, I worked in more than 30 pharmacies across Nova Scotia, filling more than 100,000 prescriptions between 1990 and 1995. Some of these were for strong painkillers called opioids — drugs like morphine and oxycodone, which are chemically and biologically very similar to heroin.
By Harvey Lazar access to health care, Canadian health care, Canadian medicare, chronic care, health care policy, Kirby report, medicare, prescription drugs, provincial medical associations, Romanow report, unions
Almost continuously since the second half of the 1990s, Canadians have pointed to health care as their largest national concern and the issue that should receive the greatest attention from Canada’s leaders. Polls taken over the last decade or so have found that health care is typically the highest priority among voters.
By Martin Offringa and Terry P. Klassen children, children's health, drug efficacy, drug safety, medication, prescription drugs
The development of new therapies has provided our health care system with enormous advances, such as insulin for diabetes, antibiotics for infections or chemotherapy for many cancers. Yet these therapies may also cause potential harm, even death, so the benefits have to be carefully weighed against the risks.
By Canada, copayments, cost of drugs, costs of pharmaceuticals, drug price, generic drugs, Health Canada, Health care costs and spending, insurance coverage, Pharmaceutical advertising, Pharmaceutical policy, prescription drugs
Pharmaceutical costs have been rising dramatically over the past three decades, both in real terms and as a component of health care spending. In 2012, Canadians spent $947 per capita a year on pharmaceuticals, up from $147 per capita in 1985.