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March 25, 2007
Cancer-Drug Funding is Top Priority
Source: The Halifax Daily News, Feb.6/07, p.5
Description of the issue:
The Cancer Advocacy Coalition of Canada has issued its latest Report Card on cancer in Canada. The coalition studied access to a selection of 24 drugs. According to the report Nova Scotia's score in funding such drugs is close to the bottom of the 24 drugs studied. Nova Scotia supplied access and funding to only four of the 24 drugs at the end of last year. In contrast, British Columbia funded 20. Nova Scotia does, however, fund 13 additional drugs. One positive step is a process introduced in Nova Scotia for evaluating new drugs. The process utilizes scientific evidence, a pharmacoeconomic analyses and ethical framework. Nova Scotia is taking small steps toward making more drugs available that would extend the lives of cancer patients. But others, such as Newfoundland and Labrador are taking larger strides, for example, by funding Avastin (for colorectal caner) while this drug is not covered in Nova Scotia. The doctors behind the Cancer Advocacy Coalition believe an important part of the solution is to set up a national "catastrophic drug costs" program that gives all Canadians similar access to proven cancer drugs.
Implications of this issue to Pharmacy:
In Canada, we don't want to have a situation where an individual's likelihood of survival is dependent on the province in which they live. A common formulary for listing approved drugs and lobbying governments for a national pharmacare programs are advocacy actions where pharmacists could be involved. Pharmacists could be involved in the research needed to find the "biomarkers" that identify patients most likely to benefit from a particular drug. If certain drugs are found to be helpful they should be available to everyone who need them regardless of where they live.
Posted by mmacneil at March 25, 2007 01:33 PM