Feds pour $32 million into drug monitoring

From Canada.com:
The federal government unveiled details Wednesday and announced more funding for its plan to better monitor the safety of drugs once they are on the market.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said the government is spending $32 million over the next five years to support the new Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network, and will devote $10 million every year afterwards to the initiative that was first announced in July.

Health Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, a federal agency, will put the finishing touches on the new network in the coming months. That will involve creating a virtual network to link researchers, setting up an office at the CIHR and hiring a committee that will help determine a research agenda based on priorities identified by decision-makers. ...more

Fewer seniors taking higher-risk medications: CIHI study

From CBC News:
The proportion of seniors on drugs that may put them at a higher risk of adverse effects has decreased over the past six years, according to a report by the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

The study released Thursday assessed drug program claims in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick. It suggests 27 per cent of seniors took drugs on the so-called Beers list in 2005-06, down from 34 per cent in 2000-01.

About one in four seniors took medication listed on the Beers list of higher-risk drugs in 2005-06, according to a new CIHI survey of four Canadian provinces.
(CBC) The internationally recognized list identifies medications that are “potentially inappropriate” for seniors because of an elevated risk of adverse effects. ...more