Health committee  I believe it is. At first we were hearing of it in pockets. We were hearing that it was a problem in Vancouver, and maybe in the Prairies as well, but every community has been affected by this. Working in a pharmacy, we see it. I see in the west end of Ottawa, where I work, tha

Health committee  We spoke out in favour of tamper-resistant formulations a few years ago. One of the reasons was that we had a very problematic drug, namely OxyContin, that was introduced in Canada, which we all know created huge problems. As a result of that, there was a tamper-resistant formula

Health committee  That's right.

Health committee  I refer to peer-reviewed studies in therapeutic areas, and that's where peer review is very important. This was a research paper that was done on the subject of cost, so I don't really see how they would be similar.

Health committee  When you're dealing with science, yes it is.

Health committee  A number of provinces in Canada do still allow rebates to pharmacies. A number have put in controls. For example, Ontario does not allow rebates for generic companies. With a number of the changes that have been made to generic drug pricing across Canada, these rebates have gone

Health committee  Yes, it's true, we do see patients getting into trouble, and you can't strictly just stop a medication. In a lot of cases you need a systematic way of helping them to reduce. I think a big part of what pharmacists also do, because they see their patients so often, is get a sens

Health committee  That's a great question, and I have to say this is not a problem that belongs to doctors. It's not a problem that belongs to nurses or to pharmacists. I think what it speaks to is that we need to have a team-based approach. It's an approach that leverages the knowledge and skills

Health committee  Thank you for the question. No, pharmacists are not compensated by a pharma company for dispensing brand name medication. They're required to dispense the lowest-cost drug for a specific molecule. That's part of their code of ethics. As to the second part of your question, this

Health committee  No, pharmacists are regulated at the provincial level, and they're required to dispense the lowest-cost molecule. If there's a generic available, they're required by their regulations to dispense it.

Health committee  If the patient insists, in most provinces the patient is required to pay the difference between the generic cost and the brand name cost. That is a patient preference that is sometimes relayed by the patient to the pharmacist.

Health committee  If the patient has coverage for the brand name—and often they would know if they do—then they can request it from the pharmacist, who would then dispense it. For example, if someone works for a pharma company, they often have a policy of using only brand name products, in which c

Health committee  The discussion would normally happen. As pharmacists, we believe there's equivalence, bioequivalence, as dictated by Health Canada, so they would be encouraged. However, in many cases they specifically request it.

Justice committee  I would like to reply to your previous question. We are a volunteer association of pharmacists. While we do not have any kind of regulatory enforcement over the profession of pharmacy, we feel that there's a role for CPhA to build consensus as to how guidelines are put in place

Justice committee  I can only comment on what was done in the state of Oregon, where they have assisted death. There the patient is given two euthanasia kits in case one of the kits is found to be defective. The kit is an inclusive kit that contains two different medications. One is designed to pre