Pharmaceutical policy has become one of the most important and contested domains of heath system management. This rise in prominence stems from the fact that pharmaceuticals—prescription drugs in particular—now play a prominent role in health care for Canadians.
More than two out of three Canadians will fill at least one prescription this year in order to ameliorate suffering, foster healing, and prevent illness. Whether and how these drugs are available, sought, prescribed, priced, and used will affect the health and well-being of patients. These factors will also affect the overall safety, effectiveness, and cost of our health care system.
The Program in Pharmaceutical Policy at CHSPR is a collaboration of researchers and trainees from a range of disciplines, such as economics, epidemiology, political science, medicine, and pharmacology. Research projects span various stages of pharmaceutical policy, from studying factors that influence pharmaceutical innovation through to monitoring of drug access, use and outcomes.
Many research projects at CHSPR draw upon one of the world's largest population-based research data resources, available through our partner, Population Data BC. Such studies provide rigorous answers to pressing policy questions about the financing, delivery and use of pharmaceuticals in order to better inform health policy, strengthen the health care system and improve the health of British Columbians.
