OECD Issues Comprehensive Report on Canadian Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement Policies

On December 22, 2006, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a report on Canada's pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement policies. The report is the first in a series of case studies describing and analyzing the pharmaceutical policies of selected OECD countries with a view to evaluating the impact of those policies. Most of the report is an overview of the policy environment and of the pharmaceutical sector in Canada as compared to other developed countries. These sections discuss in detail the Canadian regulatory review process, pricing, public and private coverage for Canadian consumers, and the financing, marketing and innovation policies in the country. The final section of the report examines to what extent Canada has achieved its policy goals on a number of fronts. For example, the authors conclude that: regulation of pricing has been a major factor in bringing prices for patented medicines in Canada in line with those in European countries; reimbursement schemes and other policies have played a role in the high penetration rate of generic products in the Canadian market; generally, the availability of medicines on the Canadian market has been comprehensive and prompt; and, while coverage schemes have resulted in satisfactory access to medicines, differences in cost-sharing requirements, timeliness of formulary inclusion decisions and other factors have resulted in differences in access to medicines across schemes, and particularly across the provinces. For the full text of the OECD paper, see: http://tinyurl.com/2mq7j4 Summary by: Heather Watts