Our Impact
Making Patient Care Affordable in Pharmacies, Hospitals and Clinics
Across the country in our pharmacies, hospitals and clinics generic medicines are dispensed to fill more than 77% of all prescriptions in Canada and only cost 22.5% of the money we spend annually on prescription medicines.
Some of the most prescribed generic medicines are priced at a 90% discount off the price of the brand-name drug. That means we can treat up to 10 patients for the cost of treating one patient with the brand-name version. Every day in Canada, an average of 1.8 million prescriptions are dispensed using generic medicines.
Impact
Contribution to our Provincial Healthcare Systems
British Columbia
74.6%
Total prescriptions
24.3%
Total cost
Alberta
75.7%
Total prescriptions
22.1%
Total cost
Saskatchewan
77.7%
Total prescriptions
24.6%
Total cost
Manitoba
79.9%
Total prescriptions
22%
Total cost
Ontario
75.6%
Total prescriptions
20.2%
Total cost
Québec
80.6%
Total prescriptions
25%
Total cost
New Brunswick
77.5%
Total prescriptions
23.2%
Total cost
Nova Scotia
78%
Total prescriptions
22.7%
Total cost
Prince Edward Island
77.8%
Total prescriptions
24.6%
Total cost
Newfoundland / Labrador
77.8%
Total prescriptions
24.6%
Total cost
Savings from 1% Increase in Use of Generics*
Province | Private sector | Public sector | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
British Columbia | $ 72.2 | $ 40.2 | $ 112.4 |
Alberta | $ 68.8 | $ 53.8 | $ 122.6 |
Saskatchewan | $ 15.8 | $ 15.7 | $ 31.5 |
Manitoba | $ 18.7 | $ 20.2 | $ 38.9 |
Ontario | $ 273.5 | $ 203.8 | $ 477.3 |
Quebec | $ 212.1 | $ 148.6 | $ 360.7 |
New Brunswick | $ 21.5 | $ 11.1 | $ 32.6 |
Nova Scotia | $ 22.2 | $ 12.5 | $ 34.7 |
Prince Edward Island | $ 2.5 | $ 1.6 | $ 4.1 |
Newfoundland Labrador | $ 12.5 | $ 6.7 | $ 19.2 |
Canada | $ 719.8 | $ 514.2 | $ 1,234 |
* millions of dollars |
Source : IQVIA, 12 months ending December 2024
1% Savings Source: IQVIA data and CIHI public and private 12-months ending December 2024