Tag: canadians

Buying Bread or Paying for Your Medication? Public Drug Plans Must Cover Cost of Latest Depression Medications

OTTAWA, May 17, 2017 /CNW/ - Ron Campbell and Brianne Moore — on behalf of millions of other Canadians living with mental illness and depression — have a message for Minister of Health Jane Philpott following her address yesterday at The Economic Club of Canada. Their message is this: an effectively reformed system to review patented medications must include the many people who are currently shut out from getting the latest — and most effective — medications for their depression.

Ron and Brianne are referring to Canada's publicly funded drug plan system, which currently does not cover many of the latest innovative depression medications that Canadians need to treat their illness. Those medications are only available through private health plans.

Right now, Canada's most vulnerable, including veterans, seniors, single parents, Indigenous peoples, the unemployed and homeless people, are shut out. That's because publicly funded drug plans don't cover the cost of the latest innovative medicines designed to treat depression.

All these Canadians, say Ron and Brianne, are part of an untold story.

"It's a travesty," says Ron, a retired RCMP officer with both PTSD and major depressive disorder. He's one of the lucky ones because he has private drug plan coverage. After years of tweaking and crashing, more tweaking and crashing, his specialist found the right combination of medications that make it possible for him to cope — and live.

"I'm finally in the best place I've been in 13 years," says the man who twice came within a hair's breadth of ending his life, once with pistol in hand. "I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have private drug plan coverage."

Ron is concerned about all those others he sees who struggle to get through their day without the benefit of the medication that will work for them — or people like Brianne who sometimes forfeits the medication she needs when she can't afford it.

Brianne is only 19, but she has struggled with mental illness for virtually her entire life and has had to pay for her own medications for the last three years. Life's hard, but things would certainly be easier if her medication was covered under the public drug plan.

"You shouldn't have to choose between buying food or the medication you need to stay mentally healthy," she says. "Unfortunately, sometimes those are the only choices I have."

Ron and Brianne are members of the newly formed Canadians for Equitable Access to Depression Medications (CEADM). CEADM is calling on Minister Philpott to fix the system, ensuring that all Canadians living with mental illness, regardless of their income, have access to the latest medications for depression.

"Minister Philpott is correct to tackle the high price of patented medications, and we are pleased that she has also touched on the important issue of access, but her plan for reform does not go far enough," says Phil Upshall, a member of CEADM's National Leadership Team and National Executive Director of the Mood Disorders Society of Canada. "Yes, developing a common national formulary that reflects the 21st century's 'patient-centered care' philosophy is an important step in the right direction to improve affordability and accessibility. But Canada's inequitable public drug plan system, which leaves many people out in the cold, the hardest hit being the most vulnerable in society and those with no private benefit plan, must be fixed."

"We cannot afford to let an employment lottery dictate who can and who cannot access the medications that restore wellness, quality of life and full functionality that permits Canadians living with a mental illness to become productive members of Canadian society," he adds.

SOURCE Canadians for Equitable Access to Depression Medication

Canadians Lack Access to Obesity Treatments and Support: Report Card

 

EDMONTON, April 25, 2017 /CNW/ - Canadians living with obesity are gravely underserved by Canada's public health systems and private benefits plans, according to a report released today by the Canadian Obesity Network (CON-RCO).

The Canadian and American Medical Associations, the World Health Organization, the Canadian Obesity Network and other groups now consider obesity to be a chronic disease, like diabetes and cancer. However, many health systems, as well as private and public payers and policy makers, have yet to embrace this definition and dedicate sufficient resources in support of patients.

The Report Card On Access To Obesity Treatment For Adults In Canada 2017 identifies substantial shortfalls in access to treatments outlined in Canadian clinical practice guidelines established in 2006, including behavioural interventions, medically supervised weight management using meal replacements, anti-obesity medications and bariatric surgery.

The report makes seven key recommendations to improve Canada's response to obesity, chief among them being the adoption of a true chronic disease approach to provide treatment and ongoing support for those with the disease.

Among the key findings are:

  • There is a profound lack of interdisciplinary healthcare services for obesity management in Canada.
  • A very limited number of Canadian physicians are pursuing formal training and certification in obesity management.
  • Canadians who may benefit from medically-supervised weight management programs with meal replacements are expected to pay out-of-pocket for the meal replacements, in sharp contrast with coverage available for meal replacements used in diabetes, cystic fibrosis and cancer care.
  • Those who rely on public coverage for prescription drug costs do not have access to the two prescription anti-obesity medications in Canada. Pharmacare programs in all the provinces and territories, as well as federal public drug benefit programs, receive a grade of F.
  • Less than 20% of the Canadian population with private drug benefit plans have access to these medications.
  • Nationally, bariatric surgery is available to only 1 in 183 adults (or 0.54%) every year who may be eligible for it. There are vast differences in access to bariatric surgery from one province to the next.
  • Wait times between referral to bariatric surgery and consultation with a surgical team receive a grade of F in all provinces; wait times between consultation and bariatric surgery receive a C grade in Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Alberta, and a B grade in Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

"Treating obesity should only be initiated in patients when abnormal or excessive fat accumulation impairs health – in other words, not everyone of a certain weight or waist circumference needs medical interventions," says CON-RCO Scientific Director Dr. Arya M. Sharma. "However, more than 1.5 million Canadians are classified as having Class II or III obesity*, which is associated with negative health outcomes. Clearly, we need to do a much better job of helping them with the tools at our disposal."

Research suggests that obesity can be successfully managed using the interventions outlined in the Canadian guidelines. If left untreated, obesity can result in significant illness, a profound reduction in quality of life, and increased mortality.

Canadians living with obesity struggle with related health issues, rampant weight bias and discrimination and a lack of access to evidence-based management resources, says Marty Enokson, chair of CON-RCO's Public Engagement Committee and an outspoken obesity care advocate.

"We have a long way to go in Canada before we can say we properly support people with obesity, not just with evidence-based medical interventions, but also with the respect and dignity that any person deserves," Mr. Enokson says. "We don't blame people living with cancer, heart disease or diabetes for their disease, and we don't make them fend for themselves in terms of finding help.

"We have some treatments available for obesity, and there are more on the way – we need to be willing to use them, and we need to make them as accessible as possible, as we would for any other chronic illness," he adds.

To view the recommendations, the full report, online summaries and other materials including study methodology, go to: www.obesitynetwork.ca/reportcard.

The Report Card On Access To Obesity Treatment For Adults In Canada 2017 was produced by the Canadian Obesity Network with the support of an unrestricted grant from Novo Nordisk Canada Inc.

The Canadian Obesity Network is Canada's largest professional obesity association for health professionals, researchers, policy makers and obesity stakeholders, with 15,000+ members. www.obesitynetwork.ca

*Class II obesity defined as BMI: 35.00 kg/m2–39.99 kg/m2; Class III obesity is  BMI: ≥ 40.00 kg/m2

SOURCE The Canadian Obesity Network

Positive Patient Experience Yields Health Care Benefits

e-Patient Services enhance patient experience leading to better health outcomes, productivity 

When Canadians have access to their health information, they are better equipped to be an integral part of their health care team. Access to health information and other consumer e-services is leading to some important health care benefits for Canadians and clinicians according to a body of international and Canada Health Infoway (Infoway) research.

"Consumer digital health solutions, also known as consumer e-services, are designed to improve Canadians' access to their health information, encourage better communication with health care providers and empower them to be more involved in their care," explained Michael Green, President and CEO at Infoway. "Consumer health solutions are one of Infoway's priorities because we know that improving the patient experience improves patient health and will unlock value for the health care system."

Consumer digital health solutions, whether online or through mobile devices, include: e-booking, which enables Canadians to book and manage their appointments online; e-visits which provide the ability to consult healthcare providers via secure email/messaging or videoconference; e-prescription renewal or refill which gives the ability to request a medication renewal or a refill online; and e-views which provide access to a patient's health record including clinical information such as laboratory test results.

According to the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) report, Feeling Better? Improving patient experience in hospital, organizations with strong emphasis on providing high-quality patient experience have found that it is linked to better health outcomes and improved productivity and efficiency, which has been demonstrated in a number of Infoway projects.

Benefits for Canadians

  • Patients or caregivers who had access to their heath information through a patient portal felt:
    • that knowledge of their health increased (78-94 per cent)1,2
    • more confident managing their health (78-95 per cent)1,3
    • the tools helped them feel more involved in their health care (77 per cent)2
    • that access to their health information allowed them to have more informed discussions with their doctor (93 per cent)1
    • make better use of their time with clinicians (83 per cent)1
  • Improve the relationships between patients and their health care providers 1,2,9
  • Save travel time by seeing a doctor virtually (e-visits) (98 per cent)8
  • Avoid work absences through e-visits (87 per cent)8
  • Patients were more likely to renew/refill prescription on time by requesting renewal/refill through a secure online system (78 per cent)9

Benefits for Clinicians & the Health System 

  • Clinicians reported an improvement in their therapeutic relationships with patients (60 -75 per cent)4, 9
  • Clinic/Clinician productivity value
    • Decrease in clinic call volume (73-90 per cent)1,6
    • Reduce requests for health information or health history information (61 per cent)5
    • Decrease in no-show appointments (43 per cent)7

Canada Health Infoway continues to focus on investing in consumer digital health solutions that empower patients to better manage their health and improve access, communication, and collaboration between patients and their health care team.

Visit Infoway's website to learn more about Consumer Health e-Patient Services or Infoway's digital health investment projects nationwide.

About Canada Health Infoway

Infoway helps to improve the health of Canadians by working with partners to accelerate the development, adoption and effective use of digital health across Canada. Through our investments, we help deliver better quality and access to care and more efficient delivery of health services for patients and clinicians. Infoway is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government.

1 Impacts of Direct Patient Access to Laboratory Results – Final Report
2 Nova Scotia Personal Health Record Demonstration Project - Benefits Evaluation Report
3 Epic EHR Program: MyChart Consumer Health Solutions Benefits Evaluation Report (Pilot) 
4 Holland Bloorview: Connect2care Benefits Evaluation – Results and Final Report 
5 Ontario Shores' HealthCheck Patient Portal Benefits Evaluation Report
6 Group Health Centre: myCARE Benefits Evaluation and Final Report 
7 Adoption, Use and Effects of an e-appointment System: Results of a Quebec Showcase Project
8 Virtual Visits in British Columbia: 2015 Patient Survey and Physician Interview Study
9 Health Quality Innovation Collaboration (HQIC): miDASH, Consumer Health Solution Benefits Evaluation

SOURCE Canada Health Infoway