Professor Joel Lexchin co-authors study on free journals and costly or problematic drugs

Medical publications distributed freely to health professionals often promote drugs that are costly or have potential problems, says a new study warning that such practices could influence which drugs doctors prescribe, wrote The Globe and Mail Feb. 28: Unlike medical publications that require paid subscriptions, free journals get most or all of their funding from […]

Professor Joel Lexchin: Health Canada should beef up drug-monitoring system

Health Canada did not pull a pain drug off the market until US officials made the decision to recall it, a move sparking criticism of the government's ability to act independently to protect the safety of Canadians from potentially dangerous medications, reported The Globe and Mail Dec. 3: Health Canada and Paladin Labs Inc. announced […]

Professor Joel Lexchin's co-authored study finds doctors not immune to pharmaceutical promotion

Pharmaceutical promotion may cause doctors to prescribe more expensively, less appropriately and more often, according to a new study co-authored by physician and York Professor Joel Lexchin. The findings, published Wednesday in the journal, PLoS Medicine, offer a broad look at the relationship between doctors’ prescribing habits and their exposure to information provided by drug companies. […]

Professor Joel Lexchin's report on Health Canada's drug safety system says it favours pharmaceutical companies

Health Canada’s drug safety system favours the interests of pharmaceutical companies, according to a report that says the department needs to do more to protect Canadians, wrote Postmedia News Sept. 20: In a paper produced by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Dr. Joel Lexchin writes that while some drugs will always pose risks for […]

Professor Joel Lexchin: Some Canadian drugs are overpriced before they are patented

Canada needs a new system for controlling drug prices that does not depend on whether or not a drug has received a patent, according to an article by York Professor Dr. Joel Lexchin. Drug prices in Canada can be unregulated for years, a period during which companies may overprice the drugs and market them, says […]

Video: Health policy prof who should benefit from Ontario's plan to cut drug costs

Joel Lexchin, professor in York’s School of Health Policy & Management in the Faculty of Health, spoke to BNN on April 14 about the Ontario government’s latest plan to reduce the cost of generic drugs and whether the plan should benefit drug manufacturers, pharmacies, or people paying for drug prescriptions. Lexchin, has worked as an […]

Audio: Health policy and management prof on Ontario's plan to cut generic drug costs

Joel Lexchin, professor in York’s School of Health Policy & Management in the Faculty of Health, spoke to CBC Radio's "The Current" April 12 about the Ontario government's latest plan to reduce the cost of generic drugs. Lexchin, has worked as an emergency physician at the University Health Network since 1988. His research interests include: […]