TORONTO - The Ontario government says it is promising to reduce the price of generic drugs, but it is also going head-to-head with pharmacists by announcing it will eliminate an allowance pharmacists receive on the drugs.
During a luncheon speech to the Canadian Club, Health Minister Deb Matthews said Ontario pays 50 times as much as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for a blood pressure medication called amlodipine.
She says this is not fair, and people in Ontario are not getting the best value for Ontario's dollars.
Generic drug manufacturers pay pharmacies "professional allowances" for stocking their drugs.
But pharmacists like Donnie Edwards are upset and say those dollars allow pharmacists to provide services to their patients.
Edwards says changing the business model would affect patients because pharmacists would no longer be able to spend time with a patient for consultations.
