If we want to know why it’s so important to have transparency around how drugs are marketed to doctors, we need look no further than the opioid overdose crisis that killed nearly 4,000 Canadians last year.
A large percentage of those who are addicted to opioids got hooked through prescriptions from their physicians, who may have received misinformation about the drugs from manufacturers.
Indeed, in 2007 Purdue Pharma, the maker of one such drug, OxyContin, pleaded guilty in the United States to misleading American doctors and patients about its highly addictive nature.
That’s why it is so alarming that months after taking office the Ford government has yet to enact regulations that would bring into force the Health Sector Transparency Act passed by the previous Liberal government.
It should quit stalling.
The legislation would compel drug companies and those that manufacture medical devices to publicly report cash payments, free dinners, trips and other benefits they dole out to doctors, dentists and pharmacists.
Health professionals can claim all they want that they are not influenced by those gifts and fees. But the very fact the drug companies dish them out so lavishly suggests otherwise. Indeed, Purdue alone paid Canadian doctors $2 million in 2016 for services rendered. And in 2017, 10 of Canada’s largest drug companies together paid Canadian doctors nearly $50 million.
So why the delay? A spokesperson for Health Minister Christine Elliott says the government is taking time to review the legislation and consult with its “partners in health care.”
It would have been fair enough to say that in July, when the government had just taken office. But we’re now in November. Further delays on such urgent legislation are cause for concern that the government may be bowing to pressure from drug companies, which say the legislation imposes a “regulatory burden” on them.
Hogwash. The drug companies know very well how much money they are doling out and to whom. They need only make it public as they are required to do in so many other countries, such as the United States.
It’s past time to shed light on these questionable practices. The government should delay no longer in bringing the law into force.
https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2018/11/06/pass-transparency-law.html
Recent Comments
My coder is trying to convince me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on numerous websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard great things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into it? Any help would be really appreciated!
I have been surfing online more than three hours today, yet I never found anything that grabbed my interest as much as this piece.
Clear, concise and easy to access.
Great blog here! Also your site loads up very fast! What web host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my website loaded up as fast as yours lol
I saw a similar post on another website but the points were not as well articulated.
Thank you for sharing this very good post. Very interesting ideas! (as always, btw)
A good web site with interesting content, that’s what I need. Thank you for making this web site, and I will be visiting again. Do you do newsletters? I Can’t find it.
When are you going to post again? You really entertain me!
Peculiar this blog is totaly unrelated to what I was searching for – – interesting to see you’re well indexed in the search engines.
Well done! Keep up this quality!
I don’t normally comment but I gotta say appreciate it for the post on this one : D.
However, it is virtually all done with tongues rooted solidly in cheeks, and everyone has absolutely nothing but absolutely love for his or her friendly neighborhood scapegoat. The truth is, he is not just a pushover. He is basically that special variety of person strong enough to take all of that good natured ribbing for exactly what it is.
I am glad to be one of the visitors on this great site (:, appreciate it for putting up.
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing in your feed and I am hoping you write again very soon!
Im impressed. I dont think Ive met anyone who knows as much about this subject as you do. Youre truly well informed and very intelligent. You wrote something that people could understand and made the subject intriguing for everyone. Really, great blog youve got here.
Hi there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no back up. Do you have any solutions to protect against hackers?
Enjoyed reading through this, very good material. Thanks!
Greetings! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us beneficial information. You have done a wonderful job!
I’d like to be able to write like this, but taking the time and developing articles is hard…. Takes a lot of effort.
That is really fascinating, You’re an excessively skilled blogger. I’ve joined your rss feed and look forward to in the hunt for extra of your magnificent post. Additionally, I’ve shared your website in my social networks!