The Government of Canada and Health Canada on July 26 published a new report from the Canadian Drug Agency Transition Office’s appropriate use advisory committee on the appropriate use of medications.
“These recommendations will inform how to best develop and implement a pan-Canadian strategy for the appropriate use of prescription medications. While medications are intended to improve the health of patients, inappropriate prescribing and use of medications can have a negative impact on patients and significant financial costs for the health care system,” they state in an announcement about the new report’s publication.
Entitled A Path to Improving Medication Appropriateness in Canada: A final report from the appropriate use advisory committee 2024, the report states that many partners need to be part of the solution. (The Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) was on the list of partners consulted during the report’s creation.)
A key theme
They say a key theme emerging during interim consultations was that appropriate use is an important undertaking. It notes that what is appropriate for one person might not be appropriate for the next person, making it important to define the term. Among the report’s recommendations, the drug agency is also encouraged to establish a network of key partners and state the actions it will take to support and complement partner efforts. It is also encouraged to lead a national awareness campaign and carry this out with partners.
As for why, they say across Canada, an estimated 55 per cent of adults and 23 per cent of children and youth use at least one prescription medication in a month. Approximately 1.9 million seniors regularly use at least one inappropriately prescribed medication, they state, with an economic cost of $419-million a year, rising to more than $1.4-billion when the cost of hospital visits and other harms are included.
Polypharmacy
“The use of five or more daily medications (polypharmacy) in older adults is associated with potentially undesirable drug interactions and related health effects. Polypharmacy is also associated with an increased risk of falls,” the report states. “If costs linked to environmental pollution generated from the pharmaceutical supply chain and waste treatment linkages were further factored in, the costs would be much higher.”
The report flags the potential overuse of attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication, the possible underuse of statins for cardiovascular disease and the inappropriate use of antidepressants to treat alcohol use disorders. It also looks at the use of non-drug, complementary, alternative and traditional treatments.
“Appropriate use is not a cost cutting measure,” the report further states. “The priority is to help people achieve the best possible health outcomes. Any gains beyond that, such as resource and financial cost savings are co-benefits.”
