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The article reports that the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) is asking for feedback on its discussion paper about innovation in health technology and its value.

The article reports that the European Union and Canada have agreed to exchange confidential information about the authorization and safety of medicines. The agreement was signed between the European Commission, the European Medicines Agency (EMEA), and the Health Products and Food Branch of Health Canada. The deal is expected to accelerate access to innovative drugs and improve performance and safety of drugs. Examples of information that can be exchanged are position papers on future legislation and scientific advice on product development.

Background Drug-related problems have been identified as a major contributor to emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and death. The most commonly implicated medications are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), antiplatelets, and anticoagulants. Considering a significant proportion of these harms are preventable, indicators to identify risky prescribing before they lead to harm have been developed. Objective To examine the prevalence and patterns of potentially inappropriate prescriptions (PIPs) in a primary care population who are using high-risk medications. Setting This study was performed within two multi-disciplinary family medicine teaching clinics in Winnipeg, Canada. Method A cross-sectional electronic/paper chart audit was conducted within two multi-disciplinary family medicine teaching clinics to evaluate the prevalence of 13 evidence-based high-risk prescriptions. Patients were included if they were prescribed an oral NSAID, antiplatelet, or an anticoagulant within the 12 month period between June 2012 and June 2013. Main outcome measure The proportion of PIPs associated with an increased bleeding risk for NSAIDs, antiplatelets, and anticoagulants. Results Of the 567 patients included in the review, 198 (35 %) patients had received at least 1 PIP in the past year. The most common PIP was the use of an oral NSAID with one or more GI risk factors without adequate gastro-protection. Only 34 (6 %) of these patients received a full medication review performed by a pharmacist. Although not statistically significant, patients who received a medication review had fewer inappropriate prescriptions (27 % with review, 35 % without). Conclusion Over one-third of the patients who were using high-risk medications were using them potentially inappropriately. Although pharmacists have been shown to reduce the amount of inappropriate prescribing, very few patients using these medications were referred to the pharmacist for a full medication review. These data suggest that there is opportunity for the identification and assessment of these patients when prescribing or dispensing these high-risk medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that Dr. Famida Jiwa of Osteoporosis Canada commends the decision of several provinces in Canada to include zoledronic acid (Aclasta) in their private and public drugs plans.

This section offers health regulatory and healthcare news briefs. "Visiongain" predicts that the value of India's medical device market will increase to 11 U.S. billion dollars by 2023 from 3 billion U.S. dollars in 2011. The Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) released a report recommending the improvement of Canada's drug review process to promote greater drug access. New Zealand's Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) approved funding of two HIV combination therapies.