Pharmaceutical companies in Canada have been granted monopolistic rights by the Canadian government for several decades now. Generally, these exclusive policies maintain drug prices in Canada at the national median among all seven countries mentioned above: France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and the US. Compared to the United States, the Canadian drug pricing is much more uniform across all areas of the country. Despite this, the American pharmaceutical industry continues to lobby very hard for cheaper drug pricing in Canada. If the US does not do this, it may lose a lot of market share to its competitors.
There are two major factors behind recent drastic drug price increases in Canada. One is that the country has very strong competition from several pharmaceutical companies that have entered into the domestic market. The other is that Canada offers some of the best healthcare systems in the western world, attracting global investments and talent that allow it to provide quality health care services at relatively lower costs. These two forces, among others, have combined to raise drug prices in Canada considerably over the last few years. The result is a situation where Canadian consumers have become slightly resentful of the way that the pharmaceutical industry operates. This has increased their calls for more efficient medical care and more aggressive action on the part of the government to reform the pharmaceutical market.
It is clear that the main driving force behind recent hikes in drug prices in Canada is a desire to maintain pharmaceutical industry revenues at historically high levels, despite the fact that Canadians pay one of the lowest rates in the developed world for prescription drugs. The other driver behind the hikes is the strong economy in Canada. As a small open economy with a central government that controls a large part of the national budget, Canadians have little interest in reducing health spending. Given these facts, there is little doubt that Canada’s government is trying to do whatever it can to protect its residents from skyrocketing prescription drug costs.
There are a number of factors behind the increases in prescription drug prices in Canada. One is that Canadians are living longer than most people in industrialized countries. At the end of the 1970s, life expectancy in Canada was much lower than the average in other developed countries. The number of deaths attributed to medical conditions is also much higher in Canada than in many other countries. All these factors have combined to increase the demand for health products at a soaring rate in Canada, pushing up the cost of prescriptions.
Other factors responsible for the recent hikes in Canadian prices include increases in the price of generic drugs and patent expiration of certain drugs. Generic drugs have been known to be cheaper than patented drugs from drug manufacturers that have gone out of business. As more companies seek to gain a foothold in Canada, competition has also increased between Canadian companies that produce different drugs. It is not uncommon for Canadian companies to produce drugs that are more expensive than those produced by similar companies in other countries. Also, the price increases could be due to the fact that Canadian pharmacies do not have as strong a hold on the market as U.S. pharmacies do.
It is up to the consumer to be aware of the current situation and take steps to lower his or her drug expenses. Many pharmacists recommend that their patients shop around before purchasing prescription medication in Canada. By doing so, you will be able to identify companies that specialize in selling generic drugs in Canada. Some websites also allow patients to request a free sample product. By taking advantage of these sample products, you will be able to sample different brands and drug formulations before making a decision on a specific drug. These sample products will most likely have prices lower than those offered by pharmacies in Canada.
Another way to save money on prescription drugs in Canada is to make your purchases from accredited pharmacists. In this type of arrangement, pharmacists in Canada agree to sell one of their products to clients who order them from outside of Canada. This arrangement allows the pharmacist to obtain drug cost data on the specific drug in question and then compile it into an easily usable format for its customers. A majority of pharmacists in Canada are now licensed to participate in such transactions with the assistance of a pharmacy agent or representative, or via the Internet.
The information regarding drug costs in Canada is available on various websites. Pharmacy databases are also available, which allows users to access detailed information about pharmacies located in different areas throughout the country. This is helpful especially if you need to purchase a specific brand-name drug from a particular pharmacy in Canada. However, by using an online pharmacy, you are often able to save a substantial amount of money compared to buying the drug in a Canadian drug store.