Are you being served? Report on Common Drug Review due in the fall

In response to growing criticism of the Common Drug Review (CDR) and its impact on Canadians’ access to new medications, The Standing Committee on Health held public hearings in the spring of 2007. Their report is scheduled to be tabled when Parliament resumes this fall.

The Committee heard from a wide variety of stakeholders: patients, consumers, health charities, industry, academia and from the organization responsible for CDR, The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH).

It was not surprising that different stakeholders had different perspectives. In line with their review of themselves, CADTH believes they are doing a great job. Other government and academic stakeholders felt that CDR, overall, was meeting its stated objectives, although most stated that there is room for improvement with regard to transparency, accountability and public involvement.

Interestingly, those affected the most by CDR and its decisions, the patient, consumer and health charity groups, all testified that CDR is not serving the interests of Canadians. CDR’s rationale for decisions makes no sense and, with so little transparency and public involvement, there is no way to understand the decision making process. We do know that Canadians are falling behind other countries in access to new medications and, when a new therapy is needed we cannot access it because CDR has turned it down.

We are hopeful that The Standing Committee on Health will recommend an extensive review of CDR. Changes are needed to better serve Canadians and not the short sighted, narrow perspective of provincial drug budgets. Stay tuned.

Linda Wilhelm represents CAPA on the Best Medicines Coalition and presented at the Federal Standing Committee on Health Hearings on the Common Drug Review.