Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Thank you to the panel for being here today.
I have a number of comments and a few brief questions. I'd like to frame my comments by saying that I think, and perhaps all of us can agree, that patient access to medications that are most appropriate for them and their condition is of paramount importance. That's the overwhelming goal that I think we should be dealing with here. It's certainly the priority of Canadians. This does not seem to be the goal of the national pharmaceutical strategy, with the exception of catastrophic drug coverage. The NPS seems to focus on cost containment measures--and, Mr. Chair, I'd respectfully submit that the NPS is something that I think should be specifically studied by this committee.
Ms. Mintzes, I'd like to ask you and perhaps Mr. Skinner to comment on this very simple question. Should physicians have the right to prescribe the specific drug they believe is best for their patient? You mentioned COX-2 inhibitors. If a physician believes that a certain COX-2 inhibitor is best for their patient--they think a traditional NSAID is going to give them a GI bleed--that relationship, doctor-patient, in my mind, is sacrosanct. Should they have the right to prescribe the specific drug they believe is best for their patient, yes or no?