Thank you, Mark.
It's important that we address problematic drugs and that we take steps to prevent their misuse and diversion. This includes public policy that prevents the marketing of drugs known to be problematic.
For example, last year OxyContin lost its patent and was approved for generic manufacture despite its known notoriety as a drug of abuse. We need a regulatory mechanism that prohibits generic drugs with high risk of harms, such as OxyContin, from easily gaining approval and entering the market.
Potential for abuse of new brand and generic drugs must be an important determinant for whether such drugs are authorized for sale in Canada. The fact that crushable forms of generic OxyContin still exist in Canada poses a major risk to the public and leaves pharmacies more vulnerable to robberies.
Many jurisdictions across Canada have implemented controls that reduce the diversion of narcotic and controlled substances. One example is Ontario's narcotics monitoring system, or ONMS, which acts as a centralized database for storing the history of monitored drug prescribing and dispensing activities across the province. ONMS is capable of reviewing previous history of monitored drug use, and can provide real-time alerts to pharmacies if drug abuse is suspected.
Several other provinces have triplicate prescription programs. While these controls are important, the most effective would be implementation of electronic health records—in particular, drug information systems and electronic prescribing in all jurisdictions. Pharmacists, physicians, and other prescribers would be able to see records of all narcotic and controlled drugs prescribed and dispensed for patients. Knowing a patient's controlled drug history and behaviours would support both pharmacists and prescribers in monitoring use and applying their professional judgment.
Ultimately, as gatekeepers, pharmacists make the final decision on whether or not to dispense a narcotic or controlled substance, based on their careful assessment of the patient, the prescription, and the prescribed medication. With the proper tools and policies in place, we can better enable pharmacists to do their job in this respect.
Thank you. We would be happy to entertain questions later.