Pharmacare issues have BC coalition seeking feedback from public

The BC PharamCare program has once again expanded its Reference Drug program across the province, a process which was put into place on December 1st of 2016 and can your local pharmacy instructed to substitute a different product than those that may have been prescribed by physicians.

It's an issue that can prove frustrating for patients, with those that have secondary medical plan coverage through an employer, or on their own having to add to their paperwork levels in a bid to receive the medication that their doctor's have originally prescribed for them

Patients who may find that this process has been implemented include those who take medication for high blood pressure (Hypertension), angina, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or heartburn, ulcers, high cholesterol or arthritis.

For some this new policy could provide for additional medical issues or see new or increased costs as well as the need for additional visits to the doctor or hospital and those are issues that the Better Pharmacare Coalition wants to hear about.

They are currently hosting a survey of the province's residents who rely on those subscriptions, with those interested in participating asked to contact the Coalition Monday through Saturdays from 8:30 AM to 6 PM.

The phone number to participate is 1-800-313-0737

The Survey period comes to an end on January 28th

You can review more of the background to the Reference Drug program and how the Better Pharmacare Coalition is approaching that issue and many others from the Coalition website.

For more items related to health care in the Northwest see our archive page here.