FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CANADIANS PROVIDE 'PRESCRIPTIONS' FOR COUNTRY'S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Nine Canadians die from asthma every week1
TORONTO - (April 29, 2002) - While the Romanow Commission continues to seek broad input on the issue of health care reform, the findings of a new annual survey released today called Pharmaceuticals in Canadian Health Care provides additional insight into Canadians' views on key health care issues. The survey, conducted by the national public opinion and marketing research firm POLLARA and funded by GlaxoSmithKline Inc., a leading research-based pharmaceutical company, not only examines Canadians' attitudes towards pharmaceuticals but also highlights their concerns and priorities for the health care system.
"Canadians' views on prescription medicines should be a key consideration in health policy decisions, given the pivotal role they play in our health care system," says Paul Lucas, President and Chief Executive Officer, GlaxoSmithKline, who is scheduled to present these polling results to the Romanow Commission in May. "We wanted to ensure the voice of Canadians was heard. According to our POLLARA poll, Canadians place considerable value on prescription medicines."
The most common theme to emerge from the survey regarding the health care issues facing Canadians today is the availability and accessibility of quality health care. Physician and nurse shortages top the list of key health care issues provided by respondents. Those surveyed also mention hospital and bed closures and waiting lists. Issues related to lack of funding and the cost of health care is the second largest area of concern with Canadians.
A large majority of Canadians say they want to shift funding from traditional resources, such as hospitals and physician services, to community-based services such as home care (81 per cent), programs aimed at the prevention of disease and illness (68 per cent) and prescription medications (58 per cent). Canadians also say they oppose reforms that would limit public access to these services.
In terms of prescription medicines, the survey found more than six-in-ten Canadians (64 per cent) believe prescription medications have played a significant role in their own personal health, and more than nine-in-ten (94 per cent) believe they will play an ever-growing role in the future.
Sixty-four per cent of Canadians say that innovative drug therapies have facilitated a shift from expensive hospital care to community based home care resulting in cost savings.
Canadians also attach value and importance to the economic and health benefits stemming from research and development (R&D) and the discovery of new medications. More than seven-in-ten Canadians believe encouraging job creation (76 per cent) and R&D (75 per cent) into new therapies for treating and preventing illness should be a high priority for the Federal Government.
On the other hand, no clear consensus emerges around the most important issue with prescription drugs, though the cost of medications is mentioned most often, by one-in-six Canadians (17 per cent). "This survey is important because it provides a window on how Canadians feel about pharmaceuticals in Canadian health care at a critical time in our history, and very little comprehensive research has been done to gather their opinions," says Don Guy, Senior Vice President, POLLARA.
POLLARA interviewed a representative sample of 2,223 Canadian adults in January 2002. Overall results are considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.1 per cent, nineteen times out of twenty.
GlaxoSmithKline - one of the world's leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies - is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. In Canada, GlaxoSmithKline employs approximately 1,800 people and is a top 20 investor in Canadian research and development, contributing more than $100 million annually. The company is also one of the top 10 corporate charitable donors, investing more than $6.5 million annually and is recognized as one of the 50 best companies to work for in Canada.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Don Guy
POLLARA
(416) 921-0090
Alison Steeves
GlaxoSmithKline Inc.
(905) 819-3452