Atlantic Provinces to Review New Drugs Together

The four Atlantic provinces will now work together to review new pharmaceuticals for provincial drug plans. The new process will increase Atlantic co-operation, maximize use of resources and reduce duplication.

"I am proud that Nova Scotia is playing a lead role in the establishment of the Atlantic regional drug review process," said Premier John Hamm, who will present details of the process to Canada's premiers and territorial leaders in Vancouver on Jan. 25. "This important initiative will help all the Atlantic provinces to better manage their drug plans. It's the kind of innovative, co-operative thinking in health reform that the region needs."

The centrepiece of the new review process will be an Atlantic Expert Advisory Committee, made up of physicians, pharmacists and other experts from each of the four Atlantic provinces. The committee will make recommendations to the four provincial health departments regarding coverage of new drugs. Each province will retain the authority to determine their list of benefits based on their unique provincial drug programs.

"Drugs are an important part of the health-care system to prevent and manage disease," said Health Minister Jamie Muir. "Nova Scotia alone receives about 60 requests each year from the pharmaceutical industry to assess new drugs. We want to continue to ensure that our decisions are based on the best information available. The new process will capitalize on the expertise from all four provinces."

The new Atlantic Common Drug Review Process is one of the many initiatives under way to manage rapidly increasing drug costs. Other initiatives include improving and tracking prescription drug use, streamlining approval of generic drug processes and adopting smart purchasing arrangements. The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) recently reported that drug costs have increased nearly 50 per cent over the last four years.

In November 2001, the Council of Atlantic premiers released Working Together for Atlantic Canada: An Action Plan for Regional Co-operation, which outlined a series of interprovincial co- operative measures, including health-care initiatives like the common drug-review process.