Given the low Canadian dollar and the peculiarities of national drug pricing, considerable savings on certain drugs may be attained by US citizens in getting their prescriptions filled in Canada. US citizens are allowed to bring back a 3 month supply of medication for their own personal use. This may not apply to all prescription drugs and US citizens are urged to first check with the US Customs Service regarding potential importation of some drugs.
Canadian pharmacies cannot fill prescriptions written by a physician who is licensed outside the province. This means that all US citizens wishing to have prescriptions filled in Canada must first see a Canadian physician who will issue them a Canadian prescription; it should be noted that this prescription may only filled in the province that the Canadian physician is licensed. There are many Canadian physicians who will provide such services, although US citizens interested in availing themselves of this opportunity to save money should be aware of the following.
(1) Not all prescription drug requests will be filled.
The BC College of physicians has given guidelines to physicians who plan on seeing US patients for the purposes of supplying their regular prescriptions. These guidelines state that psychoactive drugs should not be dispensed, although whether or not a prescription for a given drug is provided will depend on individual circumstances. US citizens planning on coming to Canada can save themselves considerable time by ascertaining whether or not the prescription they wish to purchase here will be dispensed by a Canadian physician. Sending an email to borisg@unixg.ubc.ca with details of the drug desired, dose and dosing schedule will let you know whether or not I can honor your request. Since this service is just being started, there will be no charge for this advice, although in future I plan on having such transactions take place over a secure internet connection and a small charge will apply for this service (I can't take credit cards at the moment so this is why the service is free for now).
(2) US citizens must agree to undertake any potential malpractice action in a Canadian court.
Malpractice insurance in Canada is provided to most physicians by the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA). The rates for such malpractice through the CMPA are far lower than US malpractice rates reflecting the much greater size of malpractice awards in the US. The CMPA has informed Canadian physicians that it will not defend any physician named in a malpractice suit if the action is brought in another country. The primary focus of this limitation of CMPA protection is US patients seeing Canadian physicians. All patients that I see must first agree to launch any potential malpractice action against me in a Canadian court. A copy of the agreement patients must sign will be available for viewing on this web site RSN. No foreign national will be seen in my office (except of course in the case of medical emergencies) unless they have first agreed the the above limitation on potential malpractice suits. Even though the likelyhood of this being an issue is miniscule when one merely reissues a prescription, every lawyer I have consulted on this issue has advised me to ensure that this contract be a requirement of seeing foreign patients.
(3) Documentation from a US physician must be provided.
Ideally every patient I see should have their laboratory results for the last few years, as well as consultation reports from specialist physicians they have seen. A prescription from your US physician is, of course, also required.
In all cases decisions about medical care will remain the responsibility of your current physician in the US. The only reason you need my services is to utter a prescription valid in Canada so you can save money, but I am required to review the medical details of your case and issue the prescription only if I consider that it is medically appropriate. It is not my job to criticize your physician, but patients should be aware that medicine is an art, not a science, and that identical medical conditions may be treated very differently in different cities. It is for this reason that detailed documentation and laboratory tests are required. All tests should be performed in the US as this is something that is the role of your primary physician to order. If a test may be obtained in Canada at a much lower cost, I will be happy to order it if your US physician is in agreement with the need for the test. This is why it is strongly urged that initial contact be via email so that I can give an answer as to whether or not the prescription is a very straightforward one, or whether certain information must be first provided.
(4) All fees for service are provided in $US. Cash is preferred.
My office is currently unable to process credit card transactions so all payments must be made in $US cash only.
The following fees apply (in $US):