It’s not a matter of dragging our heels; we are in fact working on this particular issue. However, lack of in-house pharmaceutical expertise does make the project of this nature quite challenging.
The department has actually hired an expert consultant on pharmaceuticals to assist in the guiding of the understanding of this complex issue. As a pharmacist, I know the Member does understand how complex this can be. We have made recent amendments to the Pharmacy Act to enable a prescription drug monitoring program to be implemented here in the Northwest Territories. The Program Review Office is completing a review of pharmaceutical management, purchasing, coverage and regulation. The final report is expected this winter. We’re also doing a review of the current use of group purchasing organizations by authorities to identify cost-saving opportunities by improving formulary management, drug purchasing as well as looking at moving away from the NIHB formulary to an NWT formulary. We certainly look forward to input from committee as we move forward.
So, it is moving slowly but it is in fact moving forward and we will get this done. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.