Specialty medications: the AQPP requests class action suit against some of its members

This is a first: on June 12, the Quebec Association of Pharmacists Owners (AQPP) filed with the Superior Court a request for class action against ten of its members, the owners of six pharmacies, as well as three patient support program managers (PSP) and three networks of infusion clinics, for anti-competitive practices. This lawsuit is requesting compensation for financial damage suffered by other Quebec pharmacist-owners. Indeed, the six pharmacies in question – whose owners have almost all already been subject to temporary deregistrations or fines by the disciplinary council of the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec (OPQ) for having obtained customers via PSPs – would alone monopolize 40% of the specialty drug market in Quebec, or nearly 1.5 billion dollars. “Privileged and preferential relationships”“Despite the pressure of recent years, things are not changing, and are even getting worse,” the president of the AQPP, Benoit Morin, told ProfessionSanté.ca. We want to denounce the impact on our income, and achieve results. This needs to change before it becomes dramatic.” The data revealed by the Association in its press release speaks for itself: while the average annual turnover of a pharmacy in Quebec is $7 million, that of certain so-called specialty pharmacies can reach more of $310 million. In its request, the AQPP denounces “formal or informal agreements providing for privileged and preferential relationships” between these pharmacist owners and certain infusion clinics and PSP managers. “The business model that we advocate in community pharmacy is the opposite of that proposed in these so-called specialty pharmacies: it is complete patient care,” says Benoit Morin. The market is therefore diverted, according to him, to the benefit of these few pharmacies. Some of them—which have become simple distribution centers, according to the AQPP—even control up to 90% of the volume of prescriptions for certain of the most expensive drugs. Patients referred to “unknown” pharmaciesBeyond this unfair competition and the accusation of “disorganization of the specialty medicines market,” Benoit Morin says that, ultimately, these practices harm patient safety and their free will in matters of health. “That a patient is directed by a third party to a pharmacy he does not know is unacceptable, scandalous, intolerable.” It’s also contrary to the laws and regulations surrounding the practice of pharmacy, he adds. In addition, these pharmacies do not fulfill their community role, he argues. “They do 0.1% of the network’s clinical activities! They are there for the product, not for the patient.” This therefore results in incomplete patient files and continuity of care that is impossible to maintain, he adds. “When we try to collect prescriptions, we come up against blackmail against the vulnerable patient.” Some infusion centers would even go so far as to prevent certain community pharmacies from accessing information, favoring partner pharmacies. “We tried to raise awareness among pharmacists [concerned] about this issue,” recognizes Benoit Morin. The effort seemed wasted to some. After also sending more than 40 complaints to the Quebec pharmacy regulatory body over four years, the president of the AQPP said he informed the Minister of Health and Social Services of this “opaque ecosystem.” If the Minister, Christian Dubé, is sensitive to the question, it does not seem to be a priority for the moment compared to the minister's other files, in particular the implementation of his plan for the health network. “We are waiting for the health law to be tightened and applied much more firmly to obtain results. The spirit of the law is clear, but its application, less so.”This story was translated from our Quebec sister publication, ProfessionSanté.ca.

Specialty medications: the AQPP requests class action suit against some of its members

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