Hi all,
     The drug Ropinirole, is also known as Requip. It is a great drug, I am
on it have been able to go off the Sinemet drug.
Janice 51/50/46
----- Original Message -----
From: judith richards <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 1999 7:27 AM
Subject: News-Red tape hobbles Parkinson's drugs


> Wednesday, April 14, 1999
>
> Red tape hobbles Parkinson's drugs
>
> Pramipexole, Ropinirole not covered by drug plan
>                      By MARY-JANE EGAN, Free Press Health Reporter
>
>   Parkinson's patients are being neglected in Ontario because two
> promising drugs aren't covered under the
> province's drug plan, says a frustrated London doctor.
>
> Dr. Mandar Jog, director of London Health Sciences Centre's movement
> disorder centre, said patients who could
> benefit from the drugs Pramipexole and Ropinirole may go without because
> they can't afford the annual $1,200 to
> $2,000 cost.
>
> Jog said patients who lack private drug insurance coverage must either
> pay for the drugs or go through the
> "bureaucratic maze" of a Section 8 application under the provincial drug
> plan -- a step that leads to mountains of
> paperwork and headaches for the doctor.
>
> Costs of the drugs vary, depending on the dose required for particular
> Parkinson's patients.
>
> Health Ministry spokesperson Barry Wilson said the two drugs in question
> were not recommended for coverage
> by the ministry's drug quality and therapeutics committee -- an arm's
> length expert panel that reviews drug
> manufacturers' submissions for listing on the Ontario drug formulary.
>
> Jog said the refusal by Ontario to cover the drugs raises troubling
> questions about "equality of care." He asks:
> "Why is Ontario one of the few provinces that doesn't cover these drugs,
> which are proven to be effective for
> certain Parkinson's patients?"
>
> Wilson noted the province did cover 1,000 claims for the drugs in
> question last year through the Section 8 process
> in which doctors justify why coverage should be granted in a particular
> case.
>
> "It is a very tedious process," Jog said yesterday. "First, we have to
> have tried approved drugs and prove that
> they've failed and then the government will approve coverage for a brief
> period -- and then you reapply. When you
> have 150 patients, all with different drug renewal dates, you can
> imagine the paperwork. All we want is what's best
> for our patients -- and for patients where these drugs work, they should
> be covered."
>
> Wilson said since 1995, 11 new drugs for Parkinson's disease were added
> to the formulary, bringing the total
> number of covered Parkinson's drugs to 19.
>
> Jog was adding his voice to that of the Parkinson Foundation of Canada,
> which held a news conference yesterday
> arguing the drugs should be covered by Ontario's drug plan.
>
> Allan Ward, 68, of Ingersoll, has been taking Ropinirole since December
> after getting approval through the Section
> 8 process. He said the drug helps control all his Parkinson's symptoms
> and he is puzzled why it hasn't been
> approved as part of the drug plan.
>
> "Why Ontario is dragging its feet on this is beyond me," Ward said,
> agreeing a Section 8 application causes
> unnecessary work for the doctor.
>
> Parkinson's is a chronic, debilitating neuromuscular disease affecting
> more than 100,000 Canadians.
>
> The disease makes it difficult for sufferers to control their movements,
> often resulting in tremors, slow movement
> and sudden, uncontrolled motions.
>
> The disease gained widespread attention last year when Canadian actor
> Michael J. Fox divulged he suffers from
> the condition.
>
> Jog said many patients respond favourably to Pramipexole and Ropinirole.
> "But until the provincial government
> makes them available, many Ontarians are going without.
>
> "We don't have any hidden agenda here," Jog added. "We just want what's
> best for patients."
> --
> Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada
> <[log in to unmask]>
>