Posted on Oct. 23: Business professor appointed chair of Ontario Government Drug Strategy Task Group

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Wayne_taylor.jpg” caption=”Wayne Taylor”]Health policy expert Wayne Taylor, an associate professor in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, has been appointed chairman of the Ontario government's drug strategy task group.

As part of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care's overall drug strategy review, the Ontario government has appointed a task group to investigate and report on the drug distribution and pharmacy reimbursement part of the picture – the logistics of supply chain and value chain management in the drug business.

Currently the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan accounts for $2.5 billion per year or roughly 10 per cent of the Ontario government's health budget.

The single fastest growing portion of both the public health care bill and private healthcare spending is for drugs. This is due in part to a growing and aging population, but most of all the substitution of newer, more expensive and more effective drugs for older, cheaper, less effective drugs. The economic research has shown society benefits from the newer drugs because overall hospitalization, rehabilitation, and homecare costs are decreased but the challenge is to ensure the cost savings are realized.