(Quebec) After expressing concerns about access to unapproved medications, the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec (OPQ) says it is “very comfortable” with the amendments proposed Thursday by Christian Dubé. The OPQ invites it to take a further step by creating a national register.
The professional order welcomes the amendments presented Thursday by the Minister of Health which made it possible to “correct” the initial version of Bill 15 which aims to make the health and social services network more efficient. Parliamentarians are currently studying the voluminous legislative text article by article as part of the detailed study.
Section 336 was at the heart of heated debates between Liberal MP André Fortin and Minister Christian Dubé on Thursday. This article provides that from now on the pharmacology committee of a hospital “cannot grant authorization” for the use of a medication if the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS) has already provided an opinion unfavorable on its therapeutic value.
We are talking here about “particularly necessary medications,” that is, medications not available on the minister’s list or not having received a notice of compliance from the federal government.
The Press reported Thursday that the Regroupement québécois des Maladies Orphanes (RQMO) shares the concerns of Liberal MP André Fortin, who fears that the Dubé reform “complicates” access to unapproved medications by imposing “an incredible burden” on treating physicians. (LINK)
The Order of Pharmacists of Quebec is of the opinion that the initial bill “restricted access too much” to these medications, indicated the president, Jean-François Desgagné, on Friday.
Faced with concerns, Mr. Dubé presented an amendment providing for an exception “if taking medication cannot be delayed” without risk of leading to “irreversible deterioration” of the patient’s condition (article 336.1). This amendment was adopted on Thursday.
“We are talking about very specific, very specific situations,” said Mr. Desgagné.
The article [336,1] comes to very clearly determine the trajectory that therapists and doctors will be able to take for access to a medication, in particular situations. This article corrects the initial situation.
Jean-François Desgagné, president of the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec
In a brief submitted in the spring, the OPQ wrote that “in an ideal world, we could consider sticking only to the INESSS recommendations regarding the use of medications, but that in reality, the Knowledge and scientific literature evolve more quickly than the capacity of authorities to issue new recommendations.
We then added that “stick to the recommendations [de l’INESSS] would risk depriving certain patients of treatments whose effectiveness has been demonstrated.
Creation of a national register
The Order now invites Minister Dubé to take a further step by creating a national register of authorizations for the use of medications of special necessity, which would make it possible to list the requests accepted across Quebec. This register could be consulted by heads of pharmacy departments and directors of pharmaceutical care and services.
“A register would allow us to have experience files and to have a little perspective on these situations [particulières]we believe in that a lot […] We live in a world of data and information. I think that my colleagues from across Quebec would probably be happy to know that this type of information is available, it would definitely make life easier for doctors,” underlines Mr. Desgagné.
According to Mr. Desgagné, this measure could also be the subject of a ministerial directive.