Canada害羞草研究所檚 pharmacists worry a lack of data about prescription management could see a repeat of the situation with diabetes and weight-loss drug Ozempic, in which thousands of doses have been mailed over the border to Americans.
Canadian Pharmacists Association vice-president of public affairs Joelle Walker said Americans buying cheaper Canadian drugs is nothing new.
But she said the case of Dr. David Davison, a Nova-Scotia-licensed physician based in Texas who is said by regulators to have prescribed large quantities of Ozempic to US-based customers via BC pharmacies, highlights the urgent need for a 害羞草研究所渘ational conversation害羞草研究所� on how Canada can protect its prescription drug supply against such mass orders.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia said last week it issued an interim suspension of Davison害羞草研究所檚 licence after learning of his alleged practices from the B.C. College of Pharmacists.
One of the main challenges, Walker said, is that there isn害羞草研究所檛 a strong sense of the prevalence of mass U.S. buying of Canadian prescription drugs because the data isn害羞草研究所檛 available.
She said the first step should be securing data on prescription-drug management in Canada, allowing regulators to see where the issues are before being able to address them.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 very easy when you have a very specific case like Ozempic,害羞草研究所� Walker said. But without knowing 害羞草研究所渉ow many other drugs are being sold and in what quantities 害羞草研究所� in an online fashion to Americans, it害羞草研究所檚 very difficult to come up with the right policy solutions.害羞草研究所�
Ozempic害羞草研究所檚 primary use is to treat diabetes, but demand for the drug has spiked recently due to its so-called 害羞草研究所渙ff-label害羞草研究所� use for weight loss, hyped by social media and celebrity endorsement.
The Ozempic issue emerged after B.C. officials discovered that up to 15 per cent of the drug害羞草研究所檚 prescriptions in the province during the first two months of 2023 went to Americans.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix announced that the province would restrict access to Ozempic for non-residents.
Davison, who graduated from Dalhousie University in 1977, did not respond to requests for comment.
He is listed by the Texas Medical Board as a physician at Texas Tech Family Medicine in Odessa, Texas. His records show no complaints, other than noting under 害羞草研究所淣on-TMB Disciplinary Actions害羞草研究所� that his Nova Scotia licence has been suspended.
The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center 害羞草研究所� which operates Davison害羞草研究所檚 place of practice 害羞草研究所� said the organization 害羞草研究所渞ecently became aware害羞草研究所� of the 害羞草研究所渁ssertion害羞草研究所� that he may have prescribed Canadian Ozempic to U.S. patients.
害羞草研究所淲e are looking into the matter and will address it internally and as appropriate,害羞草研究所� the statement said.
Organizations such as the Canadian Pharmacists Association and the Canadian Health Policy Institute have been sounding the alarm about possible loopholes that allow Canadian prescription drugs to end up in the U.S.
Peter Loewen, a University of British Columbia assistant professor and Vancouver General Hospital pharmacotherapeutic specialist, said price differences for drugs across the U.S. border, combined with the free movement of people and goods, mean regulating the flow of prescription drugs is easier said than done.
害羞草研究所淥ur economies are intimately intertwined,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淎nd this issue is one that gets caught up in that.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 the regulatory and trade relationship between our countries, and the fact that so many Canadians move between the two countries, as do Americans, (that) make it non-trivial to come up with what may seem like simple solutions.害羞草研究所�
Walker said any discussion about how drugs are prescribed also needs to take into account that Canadians also make use of cross-border prescriptions when travelling or moving to another province.
As such, any new policy on prescription drug movements needs to be 害羞草研究所渃areful害羞草研究所� to avoid putting up 害羞草研究所渦nnecessary barriers for Canadians to access care.害羞草研究所�
But the status quo, she said, may create panic buying from Canadian consumers if they are not certain their drug supplies are protected.
害羞草研究所淲e need to make sure that Canada isn害羞草研究所檛 seen as sort of the solution to an American problem that needs an American solution.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所擟huck Chiang, The Canadian Press
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