Ontario Drug Benefit : Drug Quality and Therapeutics Committee

The Drug Quality and Therapeutics Committee (DQTC) was established in 1968 to provide independent and specialized advice to the Ministry of Health and Drug Programs Branch on drug related matters. The DQTC is directly accountable to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care through the Drug Programs Branch and the Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Insurance and Related Programs.

The DQTC has twelve members, including the Chair. Handling highly technical and scientific issues, the Committee includes experts in the fields of :

• medicine;
• pharmacology;
• health economics;
• evaluations of the interchangeability of generic drug products.

All members are appointed or re-appointed by Order-In-Council, as are the Ministry staff acting as the Executive Secretary and Senior Consultant to the DQTC.

The DQTC's mandate is also set by Order-In-Council and includes :

• an advisory role on the pharmacoeconomic evaluations of drug products;
• the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of drug listings under the ODB program;
• the ongoing evaluation of specific pharmaceutical and therapeutic questions;
• education about publicly funded drug and related issues.

The DQTC's key functions are to assess the suitability of drug products for government funding by evaluating the :

• therapeutic value of drug products;
• interchangeability of generic drug products;
• value for money of drug products.

The DQTC has provided invaluable direction on program initiatives including tighter controls on reimbursement for drugs and the review of specific listings. This input has resulted in a more effectively managed Ontario Drug Benefit Program.

The DQTC's advice is especially critical in managing the Section 8 mechanism. This involves the DQTC reviewing a large number of physician requests for individual coverage of unlisted drug products for people eligible for ODB coverage.