Increased drug spending and the arrival of new, high-cost medications require innovative approaches to drive better decisions by plan members, according to John Herbert, director of strategy, product development and clinical services for Express Scripts Canada. As recent data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows, prescription drug spending in the private sector in Canada […]
Earlier this month, Health Canada did some substantial editing to its website, removing all references to a planned regulatory framework for orphan drugs. Orphan drugs are medications that treat rare diseases. The framework was an effort to help increase their availability for patients and foster their development by companies and researchers. Currently, Canada is one of the […]
In late June, the Quebec government revealed plans to issue tenders for generic drugs in order to lower costs incurred by the provincial prescription drug insurance plan. The province hoped to elicit bids from manufacturers and grant those offering the lowest prices a three-year contract as the exclusive supplier to the government. The Canadian Generic […]
Aon Canada is forming an alliance with the Reformulary Group that pairs its health and benefits consulting experience with the Toronto-based formulary management company’s specialist drug expertise. Through the partnership, the Reformulary Group will be Aon’s partner in formulary design, and both organizations will integrate their analytics to create better health and financial outcomes, according […]
A universal pharmacare program could represent savings of $4.2 billion, according to a new report published by the parliamentary budget officer. The report, which followed a request by the House of Commons’ standing committee on health, estimated the level of savings that would result from a national program covering drugs included on Quebec’s public formulary. Of […]
Quebecers now have more details about the costs of their drugs when they fill a prescription at a pharmacy. As of Friday, new provincial rules require invoices from pharmacies to itemize the price of the drug itself, the wholesaler’s margin and the pharmacist’s fee. The latter is the only cost that varies between pharmacies in Quebec for […]
Amidst all of the innovation that’s occurring in the drug industry, pharmacists have a role to play in helping employers navigate the changes, a speaker told participants at the Healthy Outcomes conference in June. “We can expect new medications to come onto the market in the next few years,” said Mark Rolnick, vice-president of payor […]
During the Healthy Outcomes conference in June, participants discussed ways to better understand the impact of drug plan offerings on employee health. Four groups of conference participants — moderated by Joe Farago, executive director of health-care innovation at Innovative Medicines Canada; Kirsten Garces, senior manager for value and access at Amgen Canada Inc.; Carmen Hogan, […]
While flexible benefits plans are a clear trend among Canadian employers, the range of choices can be daunting for employees. So how much choice is too much? That was a question Pitney Bowes Inc. considered when it redesigned its benefits plan in 2015. As part of the changes, the company trimmed its menu of mix-and-match […]
Ontario is joining Alberta and New Brunswick in making abortion pill Mifegymiso available at no cost to the public. The abortion pill first became available in Canada in January 2017 at a cost of about $300. This spring, the common drug review recommended public drug coverage for Mifegymiso. “We continue to make important progress helping women across […]