https://www.leaderpost.com/health/Wall+leads+premiers+moving+forward+price+setting+generic/7839626/story.html

REGINA — Nine Canadian provinces and all of the territories are moving forward on bulk buying for six generic drugs that Saskatchewan’s government says will mean an estimated annual saving of close to $10 million for the province.

“Today is a good day for Canadians,” Premier Brad Wall told reporters at the Legislative Building. “It’s a good day here in the province because of the amount of money that will be saved in terms of generic drugs right across the country and here in Saskatchewan.

“We’re excited to let you know that after a lot of hard work — and this has been a lot of hard work by our health ministers and a lot of collaboration between the provinces and territories as a result of the new innovation working group that Premier (Robert) Ghiz (of Prince Edward Island) and I are co-chairing — that we’re able to move forward on achieving better value for Canadians in terms of generic drugs,” Wall said.

The two premiers led the Health Care Innovation Working Group, which last summer recommended action on generic drug prices.

Participating provinces — Quebec is not involved — and territories will leverage combined purchasing power and have agreed to establish a price point for six of the most common generic drugs at 18 per cent of the equivalent brand name drug’s price.

Currently, individual provinces and territories pay between 25 and 40 per cent of brand-name prices.

“We understand the importance of realizing better value for the important drugs that people rely on,” Saskatchewan Health Minister Dustin Duncan said.

“These six drugs represent approximately 20 per cent of the publicly funded spending on generic drugs in Canada. Today’s announcement was a first step in provinces and territories exploring a more strategic, comprehensive and co-ordinated approach in terms of pharmaceutical management.”

The new prices are to be in effect by April 1 and will mean savings for the government, private insurers and residents. When fully implemented, it is expected the initiative could produce savings of up to $100 million for provincial and territorial drug plans.

The six generic drugs to be priced at 18 per cent of brand-name prices are: Atorvastatin, used to treat high cholesterol; Ramipril, used to treat blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions; Venlafaxine, used to treat depression and other mental health conditions; Amlodipine, used to treat high blood pressure and angina; and Omeprazole and Rabeprazole, both of which are used to treat a variety of gastrointestinal conditions.

“This is a good day for the Canadian health-care system, but there’s a lot more that can be done,” Wall said. “Premier Ghiz and I will be meeting with the ministers again. Given where we are today, I think our request to the health ministers will be, ‘Let’s get to the next part, let’s find another $100 million or more.’ ”

Wall said he thinks the principles of inter-provincial co-operation demonstrated with these six drugs could be expanded to not only influence prices of other drugs, but address other problems within the health-care system as well, including regarding human resources.

As part of the process around these six drugs, provincial and territorial drug plan officials met with representatives of drug companies, pharmacies, insurance companies, members of the public and other stakeholders to hear their views. Written submissions were also considered.

jcouture@thestarphoenix.com

https://gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=82bd0d50-101c-4aec-acda-168894c3367b

After an earlier stall in progress, November showed the second consecutive month of modest gains toward the goal of providing all surgeries within six months by April 2013. Statistics for November 30, 2012 show that there were 299 fewer people waiting more than six months for surgery than the month before.

In November 2007, there were 10,635 people waiting more than six months for surgery. Efforts across the province have reduced that number by 60 per cent to 4,271 people.

“Surgical teams in Saskatchewan are working together to achieve more timely surgeries for patients while improving safety,” Health Minister Dustin Duncan said.

The number of surgeries performed in Saskatchewan so far this fiscal year is up slightly from the same period last year, with four health regions performing more surgeries: Five Hills, Prairie North, Saskatoon and Sun Country Health Regions. A total of 54,853 surgeries had been performed as of November 30, 2012.

The Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative was launched in April 2010 to streamline surgical processes, improve the quality of patient care and ensure no one waits more than three months for surgery by April 2014. The goal for the current fiscal year is to provide all surgeries within six months by April 2013. In the six-month period leading up to November 30, 2012, 90 per cent of patients received their surgery within six months.

A total of 20,890 Saskatchewan people were waiting for surgery on November 30, 2012, down from 26,740 in November 2007.

Some Saskatchewan projects contributing to surgery improvements include:

• An online specialist directory to empower patients, in consultation with their primary health care provider, to make informed choices about referrals to specialists;
• Adoption of the surgical safety checklist before surgeries;
• The use of pooled referrals to route patients to the next available specialist appropriate for their condition;
• 18-bed inpatient surgical ward added at St. Paul’s Hospital (Saskatoon);
• New patient-flow software introduced in Regina and Saskatoon to help move patients through the health system better and faster;
• Breast Health Centre expansion at Saskatoon City Hospital to allow faster, less invasive procedures for breast biopsies; and
• Assessment centres for early diagnosis of serious hip and knee problems and back problems.

More information about the Saskatchewan Surgical Initiative can be found at www.health.gov.sk.ca/surgical-initiative. Wait time data and other information for patients is available at www.sasksurgery.ca.

-30-

For more information, contact:

Tyler McMurchy
Health
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4083
Email: tmcmurchy@health.gov.sk.ca

https://gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=82bd0d50-101c-4aec-acda-168894c3367b