Latest Updates

Patients with rare disorder to take part in national study

In 2004, as part of the 10-year plan to strengthen health care, first ministers directed federal, provincial and territorial health ministers to establish a ministerial task force to develop the National Pharmaceuticals Strategy (NPS). Expensive drugs for rare diseases are one of the five priority areas of the NPS.

Currently, two Saskatchewan residents with Fabry disease are involved in the Enzyme Replacement Therapy study.

Alone in the crowd - Lobby continues for universal drug plan for MS patients

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) are waiting to see if the Williams government will provide universal coverage for MS drugs in the next provincial budget.

On the national level, the MS Society of Canada is pushing hard for a national pharmaceutical strategy to cover the so-called "catastrophic" drug costs.

QC thaws drug price freeze. End of pharmacare?

Canadian provincial drug plan policy makers are keeping a close watch on developments in Quebec as an end to the price freeze for patented prescription drugs was announced last month.

The concept of a National Pharmacare Strategy is still being considered, but there is skepticism that any developments will be made in the near future.

Ontario Health Coalition-Harper Given Failing Marks on Health Care: Health Coalitions Release Report Card

The Ontario Health Coalition released a report card giving Harper failing grades for his health care strategy and refusal to move forward on a national pharmaceutical plan.

Health care advocates lobbying health ministers in Toronto

Provincial and territorial health ministers meet Friday to discuss timely access to health care, and health coalitions from across the country will be organizing events to draw attention to the dangers of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's federal health strategy.

National Pharmaceuticals Strategy

Since October 2004, the Ministerial Task Force charged with guiding the development and implementation of a National Pharmaceuticals Strategy (NPS) has been developing policies directed at the nine elements of the NPS:

Develop, assess and cost options for catastrophic pharmaceutical coverage;
Establish a common National Drug Formulary for participating jurisdictions based on safety and cost effectiveness;
Accelerate access to breakthrough drugs for unmet health needs through improvements to the drug approval process;
Strengthen evaluation of real-world drug safety and effectiveness;
Pursue purchasing strategies to obtain best prices for Canadians for drugs and vaccines;
Enhance action to influence the prescribing behaviour of health care professionals so that drugs are used only when needed and the right drug is used for the right problem;
Broaden the practice of e-prescribing through accelerated development and deployment of the Electronic Health Record;
Accelerate access to non-patented drugs and achieve international parity on prices of non-patented drugs;
Enhance analysis of cost drivers and cost-effectiveness, including best practices in drug plan policies.

The Task Force is co-chaired by the federal minister of health and the British Columbia minister of health services, and includes representatives from all provinces and territories except Quebec. Since the striking of the Task Force, both the federal Ministry of Health, and the British Columbia Ministry of Health Services have set up Secretariats to support the work of the Task Force.

Healthcare Stakeholders across Canada are virtually unanimous in their concerns that the NPS, including the Ministerial Task Force, the two supporting secretariats and all the provincial and territorial government participants, are developing policies secretly with little or no consultations with patients, industry, health care charities, academics, or health care providers. Stakeholders are also concerned that the NPS is reluctant to share information or developments with stakeholders or the public.

NPSupdate.com is intended to amalgamate all relevant and current available information related to the NPS and to provide to stakeholders with up-to-date information on national activities and developments related to the NPS.