Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38011930›Full record

ArticleCMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne2023

Prevalence and nature of manufacturer-sponsored patient support programs for prescription drugs in Canada: a cross-sectional study.

Quinn Grundy, Ashton Quanbury, Dana Hart, Shanzeh Chaudhry, Farideh Tavangar, Joel Lexchin, Marc-André Gagnon, Mina Tadrous

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. A review to determine regulatorily and reimbursement successes of studies conducted using data from Canadian patient support programs based on the real-world evidence guidelines published by Canadian drug agency and health Canada.Journal of pharmacy & pharmaceutical sciences : a publication of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Societe canadienne des sciences pharmaceutiques · 2025
    Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Quinn GrundyLawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing (Grundy, Quanbury, Hart, Tavangar) and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (Chaudhry, Tadrous), University of Toronto; School of Health Policy and Management (Lexchin), York University; Department of Family and Community Medicine (Lexchin), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; School of Public Policy and Administration (Gagnon), Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont. quinn.grundy@utoronto.ca.
Ashton QuanburyLawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing (Grundy, Quanbury, Hart, Tavangar) and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (Chaudhry, Tadrous), University of Toronto; School of Health Policy and Management (Lexchin), York University; Department of Family and Community Medicine (Lexchin), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; School of Public Policy and Administration (Gagnon), Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont.
Dana HartLawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing (Grundy, Quanbury, Hart, Tavangar) and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (Chaudhry, Tadrous), University of Toronto; School of Health Policy and Management (Lexchin), York University; Department of Family and Community Medicine (Lexchin), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; School of Public Policy and Administration (Gagnon), Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont.
Shanzeh ChaudhryLawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing (Grundy, Quanbury, Hart, Tavangar) and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (Chaudhry, Tadrous), University of Toronto; School of Health Policy and Management (Lexchin), York University; Department of Family and Community Medicine (Lexchin), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; School of Public Policy and Administration (Gagnon), Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont.
Farideh TavangarLawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing (Grundy, Quanbury, Hart, Tavangar) and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (Chaudhry, Tadrous), University of Toronto; School of Health Policy and Management (Lexchin), York University; Department of Family and Community Medicine (Lexchin), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; School of Public Policy and Administration (Gagnon), Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont.
Joel LexchinLawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing (Grundy, Quanbury, Hart, Tavangar) and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (Chaudhry, Tadrous), University of Toronto; School of Health Policy and Management (Lexchin), York University; Department of Family and Community Medicine (Lexchin), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; School of Public Policy and Administration (Gagnon), Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont.
Marc-André GagnonLawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing (Grundy, Quanbury, Hart, Tavangar) and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (Chaudhry, Tadrous), University of Toronto; School of Health Policy and Management (Lexchin), York University; Department of Family and Community Medicine (Lexchin), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; School of Public Policy and Administration (Gagnon), Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont.
Mina TadrousLawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing (Grundy, Quanbury, Hart, Tavangar) and Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy (Chaudhry, Tadrous), University of Toronto; School of Health Policy and Management (Lexchin), York University; Department of Family and Community Medicine (Lexchin), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.; School of Public Policy and Administration (Gagnon), Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont.
Bloomberg (United States) · USYork University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGlobally, pharmaceutical companies offer patient support programs in tandem with their products, which aim to enhance medication adherence and patient experience through education, training, support and financial assistance. We sought to identify the proportion and characteristics of such patient support programs in Canada and to describe the nature of supports provided.

methodsWe conducted a crosssectional study to identify and characterize all marketed prescription drugs available in Canada as of Aug. 23, 2022, using the Health Canada Drug Product and CompuScript databases. To describe the nature of supports provided, we conducted a content analysis of publicly available patient support program websites and Web-based documents. Using logistic regression, we identified characteristics of drugs associated with having a patient support program including brand-name or branded generic (generic medications with a proprietary name), orphan (medications for rare diseases) or biologic drug status; estimated total cost of prescriptions dispensed at retail pharmacies; and price per unit.

resultsOf the 2556 prescription drugs marketed by 89 companies in the study period, 256 (10.0%) had a patient support program in Canada. Many of the 89 drug manufacturers (

interpretationAbout 1 in 10 drugs marketed in Canada has a manufacturersponsored patient support program, but these are concentrated around brand-name, branded generic, biologic and high-cost drugs, often for rare diseases. To understand the impact of patient support programs on health outcomes and sustainable access to cost-effective medicines, greater transparency and independent evaluation of patient support programs is necessary.

Indexed as

Prescription DrugsCross-Sectional StudiesDrug CostsDrugs, GenericHumansPrescriptionsPrevalenceRare DiseasesDrugs, GenericPrescription Drugs

Identifiers

PMID38011930
PMCPMC10681678
OpenAlexW4389055736

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.