Canada’s Minister of Health, Rona Ambrose, recently announced regulations that will require manufacturers of medicine to report drug shortages.
By receiving advance warning of upcoming shortfalls in their medication supply, Canadians will be able to work with their health care providers to find alternative options.
Drug shortages are an unfortunate reality. By moving to a mandatory reporting system for drug manufacturers, our Conservative government is helping Canadians better plan for the health and safety of themselves and their families.
www.drugshortages.ca is the website that will be, for the time being, used by drug manufacturers to report potential upcoming shortages of their products while an independent, third-party website is being developed.
“Drug shortages are a complex global problem with impacts that are felt across the country and the world, but, nobody feels these impacts more than patients and their families,” said Minister Ambrose. “That is why we are taking steps to move to a mandatory system. In the meantime, a Public Register will be hosted on Health Canada’s website to name and shame manufacturers who fail to provide voluntary notice making industry commitments, and more importantly, industry actions, clear for all to see.”
Additionally, our Drug and Health Product Register will help Canadian families stay informed about medicines and vaccines that affect their lives.
As a centralized service, the Drug and Health Product Register is designed to be the go-to resource for Canadians looking for timely and useful information about medications and vaccines.
“As a mom, and like many Canadians, I often go online for information on medications my family may be prescribed,” said Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport. “Today our government is launching an easy-to-find, easy-to-use tool that Canadians can use to find credible information on medicines and vaccines. The Drug and Health Product Register is a major step in providing Canadians with easy access to practical health product safety information in a one-stop location in order to better help ensure the health and safety of their families.”
The Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act (also known as Vanessa’s Law, in honour of Vanessa Young, who died while using a prescription drug that was later deemed unsafe) has made important safety improvements and has introduced transparency measures to the Food and Drugs Act which will better protect Canadians.
Our government takes seriously the health challenges faced by Canadians. Rest assured, we are hard at work to ensure that citizens are protected and informed in regard to the medications and vaccines that are vital to our nation’s continued good health.
