Drug Review Results & Process

Drug Review Process

Before a drug is considered for inclusion as a benefit under the PharmaCare program, a manufacturer must request coverage and the request must be reviewed.

» Learn more. See the Drug Review Process in B.C. – Overview ^(PDF 148K) or the Detailed Drug Review Process in B.C. ^(PDF 257K)

The Ministry of Health drug review starts on either:

• the date of the final Canadian Expert Drug Advisory Committee (CEDAC) recommendation if the drug was reviewed under the Common Drug Review process, or
• the date the submission is received by the Ministry if the drug was not reviewed under the Common Drug Review process

Drug Review Results Information

This section of the website provides information on:

• all drugs reviewed by the national Common Drug Review (CDR) and subsequently submitted to the Ministry for consideration
• all drug reviews completed by the Ministry on or after January 1, 2005
• basic information on the brand name drugs currently under review by the Ministry and the CDR, including
  • the drug's brand name, chemical name and manufacturer
  • the drug's indication - which condition it will be used to treat
  • the date when the drug was submitted to the Ministry
  • whether the drug was reviewed by the Common Drug Review (CDR)
  • the date when the Common Drug Review (CDR) recommendation was made
  • the drug's PharmaCare program status (e.g., under review, non-benefit, etc.)
  • the date on which the Ministry's decision was made
• explanations of some PharmaCare drug coverage decisions. (Additional drug coverage decision information is added regularly.) Click here to see a list of the drug decision summaries that are currently available.

Drug review results now include the date when a drug was discussed at a Drug Benefit Council (DBC) meeting. Dates are included only for drugs brought to the DBC after November 1, 2009.

Information on the review of generic drugs is not included as these reviews are usually completed within 6 to 8 weeks of receipt of a manufacturer's submission.

For information on the benefit status of drugs not included in the search data, please use our PharmaCare Formulary Search.