November 2022

 

Rare Disease Drugs in Canada: Considerations for Equitable Access

Ensuring comprehensive, timely and equitable access to medication for rare diseases is a significant public policy priority for the Government of Canada. The government’s decision to allocate $500 million annually to a national strategy for rare disease drugs represents a pillar of its emerging work on national pharmacare. McKesson Canada is proud to contribute to the public policy conversation around this national strategy, building on its experience with patient support programs, pharmaceutical distribution, and specialty pharmacy services.


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May 2022

From Pandemic to Endemic: Lessons from COVID-19 on Improving Vaccination Campaigns in Canada

Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic began in Canada in the Spring of 2020, it became clear that any return to ‘normal’ would not occur until an overwhelming majority of Canadians have been vaccinated. At the time, a COVID-19 vaccine existed only in the designs of biomedical scientists and most observers did not anticipate a mass-market vaccine arriving before at least 18 months had transpired. Beyond merely developing the vaccine, the pharmaceutical sector had to tackle the unprecedented challenge of manufacturing, transporting, storing, and administering billions of doses.


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July 2021

The $100 Solution: A PostPandemic Path Forward for National Pharmacare in Canada

The Government of Canada is seeking to implement a prescription drug coverage policy that leads to universal drug coverage for Canadians – meaning all Canadians have access to a comprehensive, affordable drug insurance plan regardless of their province of residence or financial situation. Whether their coverage is provided by a public drug plan, an employerbased plan, or another form of private coverage is an important consideration but is somewhat beside the point. Ultimately, what matters is that all Canadians have the ability to acquire the medicine they need regardless of their particular financial, geographic or health circumstances.


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November 2020

Is Canada Ready to Immunize its Population Against COVID-19?

With COVID-19 vaccines hopefully becoming available within a few months, are we ready as a country to immunize 37 million Canadians?  This white paper examines how community pharmacy, which already plays a huge role in seasonal flu immunizations, can partner with governments to deliver a successful mass immunization program with the combination of trained healthcare professionals, geographic reach, and tools to ensure compliance with multi-dose inoculation regimens.  Recommendations are also provided to ensure pharmacy readiness to support the largest immunization program in Canadian history.


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October 2020

Is Canada’s Drug Supply Ready for Wave 2 of COVID-19?

Canada’s drug supply came under considerable strain during COVID-19, requiring the implementation of broad-based measures to prevent widespread drug shortages.  Now, as COVID-19 case counts rise across the country, is Canada’s drug supply ready for wave 2?  This white paper examines the lessons learned from the first wave, the preparations made by McKesson Canada and pharmaceutical distributors for wave 2, and recommendations to further strengthen Canada’s drug supply.


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September 2020

Is Canada’s Supply Chain Ready for a COVID-19 Vaccine?

Distributing a COVID-19 vaccine to 37 million Canadians will be a huge task that will be part of the largest public health distribution effort in human history. McKesson Canada authored a thoughtful discussion paper intended to be a resource as we collectively consider the distribution model of a future COVID-19 Vaccine.


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