If you live in BC, people diagnosed with osteoporosis – a bone disease and who are at high risk for fracture do not have their medication/treatments publicly funded.

In BC, a person has to break a bone first in order to get medication coverage.  Once the fracture occurs, they go to their provider, who would then send them for X-rays, and fill out a form to apply for coverage.  Should approval be received, only then is there coverage available.

The criteria for publicly funded osteoporosis medication/treatments is not the same in other parts of Canada.

People who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis and are at high risk for fracture can have publicly funded coverage for their medication/treatments in every province/territory except for in British Columbia. In BC, people who have been assessed at a high risk of fracture do not have any publicly funded options.

In BC, people diagnosed with osteoporosis must endure painful and debilitating fractures, having their condition worsen BEFORE being prescribed medication/treatments unlike in other parts of Canada.

There are other barriers to British Columbians being able to access publicly funded medication/treatments for their osteoporosis before they fracture.

• Over 2.3 million Canadians are living with osteoporosis.
• 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will break a bone due to osteoporosis.
• Over 80% of fractures in people 50+ are caused by osteoporosis.
• 1 in 3 hip fracture patients will re-fracture within one year.
• Osteoporotic hip fractures consume more hospital bed days than stroke, diabetes, or heart attack.

IN BC:

• Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) 2019-2020
  • 5, 282 hip fractures 
  • 5757 wrist fractures
  • 2852 humerus (shoulder) fractures
  • 528 pelvic fractures
  • 1637 vertebral (spine) fractures

Total estimated fractures in BC = 14,420*

*Hopkins RB, Burke N, Von KeyserlingkC, et al. The current economic burden of illness of osteoporosis in Canada. OsteoporosInt. 2016;27(10):3023-3032. doi:10.1007/s00198-016-3631-6

BCCOP

The British Columbia Coalition of Osteoporosis Physicians (BCCOP) was formed in 2018 to address deficiencies in osteoporosis care. The coalition brings together BC physicians, and allied health professionals, interested in representing patient care needs to those agencies responsible for making decisions on access to care. BCCOP collaborates with Osteoporosis Canada and others with similar agendas. Our funding is from government and health authority sources.

MedAccess BC/ Medicines Access Coalition – BC

Medicines Access Coalition – BC (MedAccess BC) brings together patient organizations from across BC and across Canada to be a dominant and unified voice to bring awareness, education, attention and change as necessary to improve access to medicines leading to improved health outcomes for the people of BC. 

As a coalition, MedAccess BC interacts with many stakeholders who participate or influence the decisions directly affecting the access to medicines including, policy makers, government, researchers, academics, health practitioners, public and private health payers, benefit managers/consultants, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and others who play a role in the access to medicines.