CF in Canada with Beth Vanstone

Living With Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic Fibrosis awareness month continues with today's show. In this episode, Host Laura Bonnell is joined by frequent podcast collaborator Beth Vanstone. Beth, a Canadian talks about the state of health care in Canada.

We start with a brief history of how CF drugs and treatments are approved in Canada, including Kalydeco, Orkambi, and Trikafta. The Canadian government was ready to install new regulations that would have had the unintended side effect of Trikafta not being available there.

Many Americans assume that Canadian health care coverage is better. Beth gives us an honest look at the shortcomings of the healthcare system in Canada.

Laura and Beth talk about the need for an international approval process for new drugs and treatments for rare diseases, so patients don't have to wait for each country to approve every treatment. The two talk about how a collaborative, patient-centered discussion would benefit so many. The discussion includes the topic of Insurance companies and Pharma. Companies are often vilified, but it's going to take all stakeholders to affect change.

Thanks to our sponsor:

Viatris: https://www.viatris.com/en

The original music in this podcast is performed by Kevin Allan, who happens to have Cystic Fibrosis. You can find him on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/KevinAllanMusic

This podcast was produced by JAG in Detroit Podcasts: https://jagindetroit.com/

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Viatris: https://www.viatris.com/en