Impact of Systemic Delays for Patient Access to Oncology Drugs on Clinical, Economic, and Quality of Life Outcomes in Canada: A Call to Action
Canada has one of the most complex and rigorous drug approval and public reimbursement processes and is, unfortunately, one of the countries with the longest delays in drug access. To assess the overall impact of systemic delays in access to cancer therapy, a targeted literature review (TLR) was per...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Current Oncology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/31/3/110 |
| _version_ | 1797241513943498752 |
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| author | Sandeep Sehdev Joanna Gotfrit Martine Elias Barry D. Stein |
| author_facet | Sandeep Sehdev Joanna Gotfrit Martine Elias Barry D. Stein |
| author_sort | Sandeep Sehdev |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Canada has one of the most complex and rigorous drug approval and public reimbursement processes and is, unfortunately, one of the countries with the longest delays in drug access. To assess the overall impact of systemic delays in access to cancer therapy, a targeted literature review (TLR) was performed to identify studies associated with the clinical, economic, and quality of life impacts of delayed access to oncology drugs. Using MEDLINE/PubMed databases and snowballing, four unique records met the eligibility criteria. Results revealed that clinical outcomes were the most impacted by systemic delays in access to oncology drugs (e.g., life years lost, overall survival, and progression-free survival). The four articles retrieved by the TLR specifically illustrated that a substantial number of life years could potentially be saved by increasing systemic efficiency regarding the development, approval, and reimbursement processes of new drugs for advanced malignancies. It is imperative that initiatives are put in place to improve the performance and speed of Canadian drug regulatory and health technology assessment (HTA) processes, especially for new cancer therapeutics. The proposed solutions in this paper include better coordination between HTA and Canadian payers to harmonize coverage decisions, international collaborations, information sharing, and national standards for timeliness in oncology drug access. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:24:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b665a8d7a034e4c9ce8bfce931309c4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1198-0052 1718-7729 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:24:32Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Current Oncology |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b665a8d7a034e4c9ce8bfce931309c42024-03-27T13:32:45ZengMDPI AGCurrent Oncology1198-00521718-77292024-03-013131460146910.3390/curroncol31030110Impact of Systemic Delays for Patient Access to Oncology Drugs on Clinical, Economic, and Quality of Life Outcomes in Canada: A Call to ActionSandeep Sehdev0Joanna Gotfrit1Martine Elias2Barry D. Stein3The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, CanadaThe Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre, Ottawa, ON K1H 8L6, CanadaMyeloma Canada, Dorval, QC H9P 2V4, CanadaColorectal Cancer Canada, Montreal, QC H3Z 2P9, CanadaCanada has one of the most complex and rigorous drug approval and public reimbursement processes and is, unfortunately, one of the countries with the longest delays in drug access. To assess the overall impact of systemic delays in access to cancer therapy, a targeted literature review (TLR) was performed to identify studies associated with the clinical, economic, and quality of life impacts of delayed access to oncology drugs. Using MEDLINE/PubMed databases and snowballing, four unique records met the eligibility criteria. Results revealed that clinical outcomes were the most impacted by systemic delays in access to oncology drugs (e.g., life years lost, overall survival, and progression-free survival). The four articles retrieved by the TLR specifically illustrated that a substantial number of life years could potentially be saved by increasing systemic efficiency regarding the development, approval, and reimbursement processes of new drugs for advanced malignancies. It is imperative that initiatives are put in place to improve the performance and speed of Canadian drug regulatory and health technology assessment (HTA) processes, especially for new cancer therapeutics. The proposed solutions in this paper include better coordination between HTA and Canadian payers to harmonize coverage decisions, international collaborations, information sharing, and national standards for timeliness in oncology drug access.https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/31/3/110canceroncologyaccessfundingdrugsreimbursement |
| spellingShingle | Sandeep Sehdev Joanna Gotfrit Martine Elias Barry D. Stein Impact of Systemic Delays for Patient Access to Oncology Drugs on Clinical, Economic, and Quality of Life Outcomes in Canada: A Call to Action Current Oncology cancer oncology access funding drugs reimbursement |
| title | Impact of Systemic Delays for Patient Access to Oncology Drugs on Clinical, Economic, and Quality of Life Outcomes in Canada: A Call to Action |
| title_full | Impact of Systemic Delays for Patient Access to Oncology Drugs on Clinical, Economic, and Quality of Life Outcomes in Canada: A Call to Action |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Systemic Delays for Patient Access to Oncology Drugs on Clinical, Economic, and Quality of Life Outcomes in Canada: A Call to Action |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Systemic Delays for Patient Access to Oncology Drugs on Clinical, Economic, and Quality of Life Outcomes in Canada: A Call to Action |
| title_short | Impact of Systemic Delays for Patient Access to Oncology Drugs on Clinical, Economic, and Quality of Life Outcomes in Canada: A Call to Action |
| title_sort | impact of systemic delays for patient access to oncology drugs on clinical economic and quality of life outcomes in canada a call to action |
| topic | cancer oncology access funding drugs reimbursement |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1718-7729/31/3/110 |
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