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The Canadian Pharmacists Association has submitted a brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance as part of its annual pre-budget consultation process.
The brief makes a number of recommendations to the federal government on how the next federal budget can help to improve health care, and more specifically pharmaceutical care, for Canadians.
“Although many of the changes directly impacting pharmacists have originated at the provincial/territorial level, the federal government has a key leadership role to play in delivering better health care for Canadians,” says the letter.
CPhA has also requested to appear before the Finance Committee when it holds hearings into the 2011 budget this fall.
The following recommendations represent CPhA’s views on how the federal government can demonstrate healthcare leadership.
Improving drug safety, value and quality
• Provide greater support for drug data reporting infrastructure, including but not restricted to electronic health records, as a means to obtain better data and conduct more thorough research on quality of drug use and effectiveness with the aim of establishing routine indicators on the safety and quality of drug use.
• Provide funding to Health Canada to establish a National Medication Management Centre that would act as a key driver to reducing adverse drug events and enhance medication management for patients.The 2004 Health Accord: Unfinished business and healthcare renewal
• Reengage provincial and territorial governments on the objectives contained in the 2004 Health Accord, particularly those items relating to a National Pharmaceutical Strategy, and develop an implementation plan to ensure those objectives are met.
• In its 2011 review of the Health Accord, the Standing Committee on Health conduct a thorough analysis and investigation into the “unfinished business” from the 2004 Accord, and make recommendations on how those items can be addressed.Renewal of Canadian healthcare
• Establish a consultation process involving all key stakeholders to discuss the future of health care in Canada as a prelude to renewal of the Health Care Accord in 2014.Health human resources
• Provide resources to create a new arms length national observatory on health human resources as recommended by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health.
• Provide a sustainable funding mechanism for provincial and territorial governments that would promote greater interprofessional collaborative practice.
Download the Canadian Pharmacists Association brief .