Canadian Publicly Funded Prescription Drug Plans, Expenditures and an Overview of Patient Impacts
Speaker: Fiona Clement (THETA Rounds)
Date: Friday, January 27th from 1 PM – 2 PM
Location: Toronto General Hospital, 10th Floor, rm 240 (200 Elizabeth St.)
Abstract
In Canada, prescription medications are generally financed through a combination of public funding (provincial/territorial and federal government) and non-government sources (third party private insurance or out-of-pocket). Publicly funded coverage varies across Canada. This work compares publicly funded drug programs across Canada with respect to drug plan coverage, drug access, expenditures, and patient-borne out-of-pocket costs. Possible drug plan redesigns are proposed with actionable next steps for drug plan managers outlined. In this THETA rounds talk, Dr. Clement will review the current Canadian drug plan context and identify possible policy mechanisms to advance public drug coverage in Canada.
Biography
Dr. Clement has extensive training in Health Services Research, Health Economics and Health Policy. She is the Director of the Health Technology Assessment Unit within the O’Brien Institute of Public Health; a policy responsive research unit that completes evidence synthesis, economic evaluations, health technology assessments and reassessments in response to decision-makers’ needs. Her research interests include drug and non-drug technology reimbursement and cost containment policy, evidence in decision-making, and evidence in health policy development. In 2014, she was selected as the Canadian Harkness fellow; a unique opportunity to study US healthcare policy.