Is British Columbia Set to Follow Ontario in Canadian Pharmaceutical Transparency?

Recently, Canadian news outlet The Globe and Mail reported that British Columbia is planning to join Ontario in requiring pharmaceutical companies to reveal payments made to physicians, patient groups, and other healthcare organizations.

In July 2018, consultations are expected to begin in Vancouver and Victoria on a potential health-sector transparency program that would compel the makers of drugs and medical devices to disclose what they pay individual physicians for delivering speeches, sitting on advisory boards, travelling to conferences, and other work.

In addition, the government is considering having companies disclose their payments to patient advocacy organizations and publicly funded healthcare organizations, according to a document from the B.C. Ministry of Health.

Adrian Dix, B.C.’s Health Minister, said payments from pharmaceutical companies are not necessarily a bad thing, but disclosing them would be helpful for patients who want to know if their doctors have a potential financial conflict of interest when they recommend a drug or procedure. “There’s no question there’s a significant … potential for conflict in those relationships,” Mr. Dix said in an interview. “And if you want to put the patient at the center of health care, then the patient should know what those relationships are.”

Eric Cadesky, the president of Doctors of BC, said he is glad the government is consulting with physicians because he wants to that ensure a transparency program does not have unforeseen consequences. “[The pharmaceutical] industry is involved in training, education and research and we want to make sure that those things continue to be funded properly and that the relationship is one that is transparent and proper,” Dr. Cadesky said. “We want to make sure that those important activities are not negatively affected in an unintended way.”

Ottowa has not yet mandated transparency at a national level, though the discussion is ongoing. Thierry Belair, a spokesman for the federal Health Minister at Health Canada, said that the agency is “consulting with other jurisdictions to see how their transparency laws are working.” In the meantime, Health Canada is focused on opioid marketing.

However, this report comes about nine months after another report – by the same news outlet – that British Columbia was going to follow in Ontario’s footsteps. Only time will tell whether this is another wishful thinking story, or if the additional steps being taken this time around will result in change happening.