(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Sheldon Spackman and Josh Hall

six-month extension

Province delays deadline for forced medication switch until January

Apr 9, 2020 | 4:30 PM

A government deadline to change drug coverage for Albertans with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and other ailments has been postponed six months.

Announced in December, Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative sees patients on government-sponsored drug plans currently being treated with originator biologic drugs ordered to switch to a lower-cost biosimilar drug.

Health Minister Tyler Shandro indicated biosimilars are up to half the cost, while being deemed just as effective by Health Canada. He also noted the switch could save the government up to $380 million over the next four years, with further savings expected once additional similar drugs enter the market.

The deadline for patients to switch to biosimilars was set for July 1. However, the province has posted to its website that the deadline has been pushed to Jan. 15, 2021.

Patients like Travis Dutkiewicz, who is on Remicade (Infliximab) to treat Crohn’s disease, have fought against the forced switch, saying the savings aren’t worth it, even if the risk is low that someone’s health could take a turn for the worse.

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“The end result was to not be forced to switch, so this is a start. It takes away the immense stress that I felt knowing my life could very well be altered because of the switch. Plus, with the state of the world right now, it was an unnecessary worry that we won’t immediately have to face,” says Dutkiewicz. “As long as there’s a reason to fight, I’ll continue to do so. Either way, I know I can look at my wife and kids and say ‘I tried and we tried.'”

The Penhold resident also lives with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Uncontrolled, his conditions would make for, “a life of Hell,” he says.

Travis Dutkiewicz of Penhold is seen here surrounded by his supportive family. (Supplied)

In remission for several years now, Dutkiewicz fears his good health will be flushed away if the government follows through on making patients switch.

“Someone with a law degree is telling me what’s best for my health, and that’s where I have an issue with it,” says Dutkiewicz. “If something is not broke, why are you trying to fix it?”

The 37-year-old father of seven adds that no one other than doctors and patients should be deciding what’s best for patients, noting that those who have already switched cannot go back to Remicade because of how the drugs work.

Dr. David Ryan, a Red Deer-based gastroenterologist, says the government’s decision to delay the switch is a tacit admission there is no medical justification for it.

“Switching carries with it a risk of making otherwise healthy people unwell during a major public health crisis,” say Ryan. “Among many other concerns, this non-medical switch has been ideologically driven from the outset with no planning and no consultation. It has compounded a growing mistrust of this government within the healthcare system.”

Ryan says the switch has received no support from patients or other gastroenterologists, adding that it has now consumed hundreds of hours of patients’, nurses’, and, doctors’ time.

“It has taken a pandemic to give this government some perspective,” he says. “Today, I find myself once again on the front lines, on-call for the next seven straight days, 24 hours a day, putting myself and my family at risk, having taken a 20 per cent cut to my earnings in the hospital as of April 1, and wondering what can possibly be this government’s motivation when it comes to our healthcare system.”

Dr. David Ryan, a gastroenterologist in Red Deer. (rdnewsNOW file photo)

David Shepherd, NDP Opposition Health Critic, says while he would like to think delaying this forced switch is common sense during a pandemic, he is still deeply concerned the health minister has failed to address concerns raised about the risks involved.

“I’ve been hearing from patients that the Minister hasn’t communicated his plan to them or their doctors,” says Shepherd. “Nor has he answered questions posed by the NDP earlier, including a plan for clinics to cover the increase in patients in need of infusions and if they will be accessible for rural Albertans.”

Dr. Ryan concludes, “The only good that has come of all this, is that I know more than ever why I’m here — to look after my patients. I think this government would do well to start with this first principle in mind when it comes to making further decisions about all of our health.”

rdnewsNOW attempted to reach Alberta Health for comment related to how many patients have already switched from a biologic to a biosimilar, and for an update on its exception process, but have not received a response.