I was going to give you some compelling statistics to get your attention, but you've heard some of them today, and I suspect you have actually heard many statistics over the past few weeks. My guess is that you don't have to be convinced any longer that this isn't simply a small crack in the system. I know sometimes that's what we think, or we think these are isolated instances.
I will tell you, because we're all about the patient and all about the stories of the patient, that the two that really hit home for me were learning that sometimes you actually have to fail at a drug before you get the drug you really need, the one your doctor wanted you to have to begin with, which to me was completely mystifying. There's also the fact that sometimes it's actually in your best interest to stay in the hospital, because you actually might get better access there to the medications you need.
You know the stories, you know the statistics, and I'm not going to repeat them. I'm going to move into a solution and what we, as a coalition of 30 national health charities.... It's hard to get 30 national health charities to agree on anything, so believe me, the fact that we agree on this tells you that there is actually a profound problem.
Our solution starts with principles. We really think there are four principles that have to be at the foundation of this. They are patient partnerships, quality, equity, and sustainability.
Regarding patient partnerships, we believe any standards that need to be developed have to be done so in partnership with patients in a very meaningful and collaborative way, not in a way that feels in any way token, and we need to ensure that the right medicine gets to the right patient at the right time and, of course, in a cost-effective manner.
On quality, Canadians deserve high-quality therapies and services that are appropriate to their needs—you've heard that a lot today—and respectful of their choice and the best recommendations of science and their physician.
As for equity, all Canadians should have equitable access to a comprehensive range of evidence-based medications. This is key. It shouldn't matter who you are, what illness you're suffering from, where you live in Canada, or in what setting you're being treated in determining what kind of access you have.
Of course we need sustainability. We're not naive. We know the implementation of any standards must be adequately resourced, they must be cost effective, and it should be within a health care system that is continuously reviewed, evaluated, and improved.
With those four guiding principles, we offer these specific recommendations that my colleague referred to already, but I will elaborate on them briefly.
The Health Charities Coalition of Canada asks the Government of Canada to create a multi-stakeholder advisory panel. I put emphasis on the multi-stakeholder aspect, because we believe that's key. This panel would establish comprehensive, evidence-based, pan-Canadian standards for pharmacare. The panel would collaborate to provide recommendations on standards that would then inform a federal-provincial-territorial agreement that would be sustainable and equitable and provide greater access, all with the goal of improving health care outcomes.
Again, implementation of standards would ensure all Canadians have access to prescription drug coverage based on the best evidence and would respect an individual's and their physician's choice based on need, not on cost.
We further recommend and believe that the Government of Canada has a leadership role to take. We understand jurisdictional issues, but the Government of Canada is also responsible for the health and welfare of Canadians, and we believe the Government of Canada should share the cost in implementing these standards.
On a practical level, the government could take a role by ensuring accountability for increased investment in pharmacare and specifying requirements that must be met in order for the provinces and territories to receive increased transfer payments.
Finally, we ask that health charities and the Canadians they represent be active participants in any federal-provincial-territorial consultations to support the development of these standards.
As my colleague mentioned, we represent millions of Canadians and millions of patients. They want a meaningful voice and they want to be at the table. We can provide valuable perspectives on the development of policies and reform. We're well positioned to identify and describe these real-life examples, but more than that, we're well positioned to offer constructive and innovative solutions.
In closing, we know this is complex, we know you have lots of competing interests, and we know that meaningful collaboration can be challenging, but we trust in the collective wisdom not only in this room but of what a multi-sectoral panel could provide, and we strongly believe that if you use the patient as your compass, you won't go off course.
Thank you, and we're happy to respond to your questions.