The Cheerful Oncologist points to a news article that highlights some weaknesses in Canada's health care system.
Link: Spotty access to new cancer drugs violates principles of medicare: report - Yahoo! News
A group that advocates for better cancer care in Canada says spotty access across the country to new, expensive cancer drugs violates the founding principles of the Canada Health Act.
While the act doesn't cover drugs, the group said the variability of access to an essential segment of cancer care is leading to a different calibre of treatment across provinces.
Access to the often massively expensive new cancer drugs is a political hot potato, with cancer patients and advocacy groups like this one strongly pressuring governments to take on the cost of making them available to patients.
But with cancer rates rising and costs of the new drugs in the realm of tens of thousands of dollars a treatment course, governments are being forced to take a hard look at their health-care bottom line.
Comments