While insomnia is a disorder, it’s just as commonly a symptom, which most people and physicians don’t grasp, said Dr. Atul Khullar, medical director at the Northern Alberta Sleep Clinic. A lot of times, not sleeping is essentially the body breaking down because of a separate disorder, risk factor or residual symptom of a mental-health […]
On Dec. 3, the 2019 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum featured sessions on rare disease, the pharmaceutical industry’s point of view, legal obligations in drug plan management and a deeper dive into drug programs. Capping coverage for plan members with rare diseases poses an ethical dilemma While high-cost specialty medications represent about 30 […]
Pharmaceutical companies and private payers can interact in different ways to ensure the right drugs are getting to the right patients, according to Kathy Sotirakos, senior manager of market access and private insurance at Amgen. Real world evidence will help inform better decision-making from a predictability and outcomes perspective, she said during a panel at […]
As the landscape of Canadian drug plan management continues to evolve, several programs are being implemented by insurers and pharmacy benefits managers to help plan sponsors manage costs. Speaking on a panel at Benefits Canada’s 2019 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum on Dec. 3 in Toronto, Ned Pojskic, leader of pharmacy and health provider […]
The Patented Medicine Prices Review Board has published draft guidelines, including new factors for setting patented drug prices and an updated list of reference countries for Canada to compare its prices. The guidelines were updated to address the federal government’s final amendments to the PMPRB rules, which were released in August. The board is seeking comment from stakeholders until Jan. 20, […]
Ontario has proposed amendments to provincial drug regulations that aim to change the pricing model for generic drugs and simplify the process for the province’s drug formulary to list biosimilars. Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care said the changes are aimed at reducing the “administrative burden” for drug manufacturers and pharmacies. With regards to […]
The Alberta Teachers’ Retirement Fund Board will transfer all of its funds to the Alberta Investment Management Corp., according to the province’s latest budget. The ATRF board, which administers pensions for all teachers in Alberta school jurisdictions and charter schools, said in a press release it was only made aware of the change when the budget was released […]
It’s an election year and, of course, I have a lot of opinions. But I’ll try to keep my political leanings as neutral as possible and simply lay out the facts. This issue will hit desks days before the federal election. However, as I write these words in mid-September, the main parties are just rolling […]
The Liberal Party of Canada is promising a number of health-care reforms in its election platform, including a national pharmacare program and improved access to mental-health services. According to a backgrounder document, the Liberals are aiming to “strengthen the Canada Health Act to make sure the full range of mental-health services required by Canadians are available in every […]
A group of institutional investors representing more than US$500 billion is calling on the U.S. Congress to vote down the Canada-United States-Mexico trade agreement to prevent extended monopoly rights for pharmaceutical companies in all three countries. The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, which represents more than 300 religious institutional investors, pension funds, foundations, asset managers […]