The National Formulary is an ever-evolving list of drugs that ensures the availability
of quality drug therapies for the members of group benefit plans who use the
Assure drug card. It specifically focuses on the needs of group plans that
cover both working and retired members and their families across Canada.
Healthcare costs are escalating for a number of reasons:
- As people age they tend to use more medications
- Drug therapy is used to treat more conditions
- Optimal prescribing has not been achieved
- Advertising to consumers is rising and reaching its target
- New disease-targeted therapies tend to be more expensive
The National Formulary is designed to:
- Provide a credible process for developing and maintaining a list of eligible
drugs
- Provide uniform drug benefit coverage across the country
- Encourage physicians and consumers to be more accountable for their drug
therapies
- Ensure that health outcomes are not compromised
The National Formulary is maintained by our Formulary Management Committee,
in conjunction with drug therapy experts at ReVue. Most conventional drugs available
in Canada are reviewed and evaluated based on their medical and cost efficacy.
Those that are deemed to be most medically beneficial, while maintaining a reasonable
cost, are covered. The National Formulary is reviewed and updated ten times
each year using ReVue's recommendations on new drugs and new information on
existing drugs.
Who are the members of the independent review body, ReVue Drug Evaluation Group Inc.?
Dr. Mitchell Levine MD, M.Sc., FRCPC
Dr. Levine is the Director of the Centre for Evaluation of Medicines, St. Joseph's Hospital, Hamilton and is Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the Department of Medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton.
Dr. Jacques Le Lorier
Dr. Le Lorier is Chief, Pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomy research unit Research Centre, Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Campus Hôtel-Dieu. He is also a Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, Faculté de Médecine, Université of Montréal.
Other members of the Formulary Management Committee include:
Wendy Gordon
Wendy Gordon received a Baccalaureate of Arts (Chemistry) from Queens University, a Baccalaureate of Science and a Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of British Columbia. She is a member of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia and the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists. For the past 13 years Dr. Gordon has been a clinical specialist in cardiology at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster B.C. She is a Clinical Instructor in both the UBC Doctor of Pharmacy program as well as the University of Toronto Distance Doctor of Pharmacy Program. Dr. Gordon has a considerable body of research and publication work to her credit including authorship of “The pharmacists guide to cardiology: Heart failure, hypertension and acute coronary syndrome”.
Sumeet Singh
Sumeet Singh completed his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Toronto in 2000, and his Master of Science in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University in 2003. He is currently Acting Manager, Research at the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), where he has worked for the past five years. He also has 10 years of experience as a community pharmacist.
Nancy Parsons
Nancy Parson has enjoyed over 20 years of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical experience. She secured her M.Sc. in the field of Developmental Biology and following her degree conducted clinical research in endocrinology before joining the pharmaceutical industry with Bristol Labs. Nancy has extensive experience in the biotechnology industry with both Genentech Canada and Amgen Canada where her responsibilities included clinical trial work, product launches, pharmacoeconomic analyses, reimbursement and Sales and Product Management. Nancy managed all business functions, as General Manager, for the Canadian operations of the Liposome Company, Elan Pharmaceuticals, Enzon Pharmaceuticals and Sopherion Therapeutics Canada, Inc.
Andrew Wyllie
Andrew Wyllie is a drug information pharmacist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. He holds a bachelor and a doctorate degree in Pharmacy from University of Toronto, and completed a hospital pharmacy residency at London Health Sciences Centre. He precepts pharmacy residents and PharmD students in drug information and critical appraisal. He enjoys debates with students and colleagues about how to interpret and apply studies to clinical practice . Andrew is the secretary for the Pharmacotherapy and Safe Medication Practices committee which oversees the safe and effective use of medicines at Mount Sinai.
Marie Pineau
Marie Pineau holds a Master’s Degree in Science with a major in Hospital Pharmacy, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Pharmacy, from the University of Montreal. She is also a fellow of the American and Canadian Hospital Pharmacists Associations. She was Director of Pharmacy at The Montreal General Hospital for eleven years. Since 1996, she has held director level positions related to government affairs within the pharmaceutical industry at Berlex Canada Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb. She was mostly responsible for leading the pricing/reimbursement interface with Federal agencies such as CADTH especially CDR and PMPRB as well as provincial governments and third party payers. She is now a consultant. During her career, Mrs. Pineau has been involved in many pharmacy associations and was board member of various governments’ councils: “Conseil consultatif de pharmacologie”, “Conseil Médical” and “Senior Management Review Committee –Drugs Directorate, Health Canada”. She also served as Vice-President of the “Ordre des Pharmaciens du Québec” and has recently been reappointed as a member of the Board. Marie Pineau has received numerous awards recognizing her achievements in the profession.
Frequently Asked Questions - National
Formulary