Up-date From Health Canada on Generic Medications

At the beginning of March CADDAC received a reply letter from Health Canada.View this letter Here.The letter reiterated what we have been told previously.Health Canada requires official reporting of a decrease in effectiveness of a generic when compared to the brand medication to scientifically validate this information. Health Canada states,"Consumers are encouraged to complete reports in conjunction with their health professional, so that additional information about their medical history can be included in order to make the reports more detailed and scientifically valid."

If you have had an issue with an ADHD or other mental health generic medication not being as effective or lasting as long as the brand name, we strongly encourage you to access our Adverse Reaction Form and Guide to assist you with submitting an online report. Also please encourage your physician to do so as well. If this reporting does not occur issues with generic medication substitution proving inferior will not be solved.

Ontario now requires that a trial on a generic or two generics, if two are available, with an adverse event (AE) report completed for each before a pharmacist will honor a "do not substitute" request from a physician for any  medication supplied by the OPDP (Ontario Public Drug Plan). The physician will need to supply the patient with copies of both AE reports with the prescription in order to get full coverage of the brand medication. You can access complete details Here.

Please note: This only applies if the government pays the full price for the brand name medication. If the patient has a patient benefit card, which can be accessed through Innovicares the price of a brand product is covered and trials on generic medications are not required. For more information on which medications are covered please access Innovicares Here (https://www.innovicares.ca/)