It’s hard enough for plan members to understand how they can best use their benefits plans, particularly when they’re unaware of the details of the fees charged by service providers. Consider drug claims at a pharmacy. Many plan members aren’t aware that the cost includes an amount for the drug itself, a markup by the […]
More than 2,500 Canadians died from opioid-related overdoses in 2016, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The situation is particularly grave in the West. This year, British Columbia alone is on track to see 1,400 deaths due to opioids. The province declared a state of emergency in April 2016, and Alberta followed suit […]
The Reformulary Group Inc. has launched an app for its DrugFinder service that allows all Canadians to search the company’s curated list of medications. Previously only available to employees whose companies subscribed to the company’s formulary, the service allows users to find the cost, level of reimbursement and availability of any suitable alternative drugs. Read: Reformulary […]
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 […]