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. 2022 Feb;17(3):42-48.
doi: 10.12927/hcpol.2022.26729.

Health Services and Policy Research in Canada: An Editor's Reflections

Joel Lexchin  1
Affiliations

Health Services and Policy Research in Canada: An Editor's Reflections

Joel Lexchin. Healthc Policy. 2022 Feb.

Abstract
in English, French

Starting in 2017, retroactive to 2016, Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC) - the lobby group representing most of the large research-based pharmaceutical companies operating in Canada - initiated a voluntary system for companies to annually report on payments that they make to healthcare providers and organizations. Over the five years that the system has been in operation, 10 companies reported spending almost $345 million. The largest payments were to healthcare providers. Four companies spent more than $10 million in one or more years. The names of people and organizations receiving the payments and their purpose are not disclosed. Even if IMC makes disclosures mandatory for all its members, those reforms will not be enough to ensure transparency of company payments.

Depuis 2017, avec effet rétroactif sur 2016, Médicaments novateurs Canada (MNC) – le lobby représentant la plupart des grandes entreprises de recherche pharmaceutique en activité au Canada – propose aux entreprises un système volontaire de déclaration annuelle des paiements qu'elles versent aux fournisseurs et aux organismes de santé. Au cours des cinq années de fonctionnement du système, 10 entreprises ont déclaré avoir dépensé près de 345 millions de dollars. Les paiements les plus importants étaient destinés aux fournisseurs de soins de santé. Quatre entreprises ont dépensé plus de 10 millions de dollars en une ou plusieurs années. Les noms des personnes et des organisations recevant les paiements ne sont pas divulgués, pas plus que ne le sont les objectifs visés. Même si MNC rendait les divulgations obligatoires pour tous ses membres, ces réformes ne suffiraient pas à assurer la transparence des paiements des entreprises.

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