There has been an alarming increase in the number of off-label prescriptions for Seroquel, an antipsychotic drug, for conditions not approved by Health Canada. The number of prescriptions for Seroquel, a drug only approved in Canada for treatment of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, has nearly doubled between 2008 and 2013. Many doctors are prescribing the drug as a sleep aid.
However, Health Canada says some of Seroquel's side effects can be fatal and include diabetes, hyperglycemia, constipation and intestinal obstruction, and complications from blood clots.
Health Canada says it monitors safety issues associated with the use of health products, including psychotropic drugs such as Seroquel, but adds the issue of off-label prescriptions falls under the "practice of medicine" and is provincially regulated.
NDP health critic Libby Davies says that when it comes to off-label prescribing, the federal government is "sweeping it under the carpet." Davies says the New Democrats offered amendments to the newly passed Bill C-17 — or Vanessa's Law — which included improvements to transparency and prescribing practices for off-label use, but they were turned down by the federal government.
Read more here:
http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/4913421-off-label-prescribing-raises-concern/
However, Health Canada says some of Seroquel's side effects can be fatal and include diabetes, hyperglycemia, constipation and intestinal obstruction, and complications from blood clots.
Health Canada says it monitors safety issues associated with the use of health products, including psychotropic drugs such as Seroquel, but adds the issue of off-label prescriptions falls under the "practice of medicine" and is provincially regulated.
NDP health critic Libby Davies says that when it comes to off-label prescribing, the federal government is "sweeping it under the carpet." Davies says the New Democrats offered amendments to the newly passed Bill C-17 — or Vanessa's Law — which included improvements to transparency and prescribing practices for off-label use, but they were turned down by the federal government.
Read more here:
http://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/4913421-off-label-prescribing-raises-concern/
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