Health professionals target reference-based pricing CMAJ 1997;157:503 © 1997 Canadian Medical Association A coalition of physicians, pharmacists and consumer-advocacy groups has attacked the British Columbia government over its controversial reference-based-pricing (RBP) policy for prescription drugs. The BC Better Pharmacare Coalition wants the government to conduct a formal, independent review of the policy's impact on patient health and on overall health care costs. RBP groups together different drugs that treat the same illness; under it the government will only pay for 1 drug, usually the cheapest. Under RBP, groups of drugs are replaced by a few drugs that may not be chemically related. The coalition launched a province-wide ad campaign in which it argued that RBP threatens the quality of care by putting needed medications out of reach of people who cannot afford to pay. It has also slammed the government for planning an advertising campaign promoting RBP, calling it an "irresponsible and blatant attempt to avoid dealing with a serious health issue." The coalition represents national and provincial organizations such as the British Columbia Pharmacy Association, Canadian Association of Retired Persons, Internal Medicine Specialists of Nanaimo and the First Association of Nephrologists of BC. Send a letter to the editor responding to this article Envoyez une lettre à la rédaction au sujet de cet article | CMAJ September 1, 1997 (vol 157, no 5) / JAMC le 1er septembre 1997 (vol 157, no 5) |