Though many plan sponsors are still using step therapy to manage drug plan costs, pharmacogenetic testing is receiving attention as more providers enter the market, lower the cost and familiarize employers and insurers with the technology. As it becomes more sophisticated, there’s more information about how pharmacogentic testing works, says Sandra Ventin, associate vice-president at […]
While the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has traditionally handled medical cannabis on a case-by-case basis, it’s new policy on the drug takes effect on March 1, 2019. The policy, which provides a framework for entitlement to, and approval of, medical cannabis by the WSIB, sets out the following five conditions for entitlement: Neuropathic pain; Spasticity resulting […]
Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Marijuana is urging the federal government to remove all taxes on medical cannabis. “More than 480,000 Canadian patients require medical cannabis to help them manage a variety of issues, from chronic pain and arthritis to mental health,” said Gerald Major, president of CFAMM, in a press release. “The government is […]
Something interesting happened this month as we examined the 2018 experience of two different plan sponsors in two separate geographies with different demographics. The only similarity between the plans is they both have 80,000 or more individual claimants on their drug plan annually. At the same time last year, we completed a series of predictive analytics on […]
Although certain drug categories have always been considered optional in benefits plans, this may be an opportune time to look at modernizing coverage in a number of areas, according to Suzanne Nagy, national drug consulting leader at Mercer Canada. Speaking at Benefits Canada‘s 2018 Face to Face Drug Plan Management Forum in Toronto on Dec. 5, Nagy said […]
Half an hour after I check in at reception, I’ve already been siphoned of blood, weighed and measured. This is the beginning of my health screening at Medcan’s office in downtown Toronto, which will also include tests for my heart, fitness, blood pressure and body fat composition, among a host of others. When it’s over, […]
Green Shield Canada is launching a rating tool that allows plan members to search ratings when looking for a pharmacy. Through the insurer’s app, members can access the rating tool to measure a pharmacy’s health outcomes. The five-star system bases its ratings on the promotion of good adherence to drug therapy, care for chronic disease and the safe dispensing […]
The 2018 Calgary Drug Trends Summit shone a spotlight on a wide range of trends, from new advances in drug and lifestyle therapies to the impact of cannabis legalization on benefits coverage to drug plan cost management. Here are some of the highlights of the sessions: A look at pharmacist-led deprescribing using therapeutic nutrition intervention Achieving radiant […]
Achieving radiant health through nutrition is an ancient trend that southern Alberta pharmacist Melissa Hozack is helping to revive. “In 400 BC, Hippocrates said, ‘Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.’ How can we promote health instead of looking at sick care?” said Hozack, a consultant pharmacist and owner of Redcliff Pharmasave, at […]
Minna Fein-Leenen was living a happy, healthy life until 2011 when she developed atopic dermatitis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease. “It was devastating. I thought I was losing my mind,” the Ottawa resident told delegates at the 2018 Calgary Drug Trends Summit on Oct. 25. “The intensity of the itching can only be described as […]