From the Victoria Times Colonist:
The government of British Columbia, in an attempt to save money on its drug purchases, has recently introduced a sole-sourcing strategy in which it receives secret rebates. This strategy is in effect a hidden tax on consumers of those medicines.
The first product for which the government has used this secret-rebate strategy is olanzapine, which is prescribed for various mental disorders including schizophrenia.
Although olanzapine is generically available everywhere else in Canada, the province has struck a deal with Lilly, the manufacturer of the branded version Zyprexa, to make it the only version of olanzapine available in B.C. under PharmaCare. (Virtually everyone in B.C. is a member of PharmaCare, which offers some insurance for drugs, depending on income, age, and total drug expenditure.) ...more
Links to the latest news in the world of pharmacy with a focus on items most relevant to Canadian pharmacists or others that are interested in Canadian pharmacies. This includes news about Canadian pharmacy seen in the mainstream media on topics such as new drug information and the international pharmacy industry.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Secret rebates amount to a tax on patients
I usually don't post many opinion pieces, but I thought this one was interesting and worthy of debate. Any comments?
No comments:
Post a Comment