CAPA Patients Included at the CADTH Symposium
Several members of the CAPA Board of Directors attended this year’s Canadian Agency for Drug Technologies in Health (CADTH) Symposium in Ottawa. CAPA Board Members were proud to present at three panel sessions ranging fair drug pricing and the benefits of biologic treatments for people with inflammatory arthritis toour experiences and suggested improvements to the CADTH patient input submission process. CAPA President, Linda Wilhelm presented about her significant contributions to the first comprehensive, plain-language, patient-developed patient treatment decision guide. CAPA was also accepted to present a poster on the results of the Methotrexate survey. The picture on the left shows Linda Wilhelm (left) with Robyn Lim from Health Canada and the picture on the right shows CAPA Board Members Laurie Proulx (left) and Annette McKinnon with the poster!
Choosing Wisely: What You Need to Know
Have you heard about the Choosing Wisely initiative but not sure what it’s all about? The Choosing Wisely campaign aims to help physicians and patients engage in a dialogue about unnecessary tests, treatments, medications and procedures. This is not a program that is just designed to save costs to our medical system. Read more about the initiative in this article from CAPA Board Member, Janet Gunderson…
New study Shows Life & Career Stage Matter for Arthritis & Employment
Arthritis affects 4.3 million Canadians, 60% of whom are under the age of 55. Not surprisingly, the health condition has a big impact on the ability of people with arthritis to find work and keep working throughout their lives. Learn more from a research study that CAPA supported that explored the impact of arthritis on employment...
Trailblazers & Pathmakers: Women’s Leadership with the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario – Much to her surprise, blogger and arthritis advocate Lene Anderson was invited to a Trailblazers and Pathmakers Event at Queen’s Park. See the event fromLene’s perspective and get inspired!
Membership Survey – As an organization that is run by, and for, patients, we want to know what you are interested in and what more can we do to ensure we meet your needs. Please take this 10-minute survey and help us shape CAPA’s activities in 2017 and beyond!
Interview your family about your Arthritis – Try asking your life partner, children or other people in your lives about their perception of arthritis. This article from Creaky Joints outlines a number of questions to understand what they know, don’t know or don’t say about the disease. You might be surprised by what you discover!
IHE Open Innovation Platform – Take part in a crowd-sourcing project where members of the life sciences community will use an online tool to collectively solve key health care policy challenges. The first topic is biosimilar reimbursement policy and additional topics will be covered by future campaigns. Register here and have your voice heard!
Follow-up to CAPA Surveys – Thank you to those who completed the Methotrexate and Membership surveys. Without your participation, we would not be able to advocate on issues of importance to you and other people living with arthritis!
Strategic Partnership with The Arthritis Society – The Arthritis Society and CAPA are joining forces to share resources and advance the voice of people living with arthritis on the national stage. Together we will work to represent the views of people living with arthritis across a broad spectrum of important initiatives such as workplace health, access to treatment and the development of a national pharmacare strategy. Read the announcement here!
Membership drive – In April and May, we ran a membership drive to increase our membership and our reach. Tell a friend about what we’re all about including our involvement in advocacy and the educational resources available on our website. A new sign-up form is now available on our website.
Biosimilars Forum Report – CAPA supported and participated in a biosimilars forum initiative led by The Arthritis Society. The initiative involved focus groups to determine the perspectives and needs of Canadians taking biologic medication for the treatment of Ankylsing Spondylitis, Crohn’s Disease, Psoriasis, Psoriatic Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Ulcerative Colitis. The final focus group report and press release can be found on the CAPA website.
Resources on Methotrexate, Biosimilars, Pregnancy & Parenting & more! Don’t forget to read our Pregnancy and Parenting resource, resource about pairing Methotrexate and Biologic medications and a video to understand the difference between biologic and biosimilar drugs. Visit the Resources section of our website to get informed!
Pain BC – Watch a video from Pain BC, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of people in pain through education, empowerment and innovation. Learn how they are increasing awareness that the “Pain is Real” to reduce pain and its impacts.
Website, Facebook, Twitter & YouTube – Our website, Facebookpage, Twitter account and YouTube channel are updated regularly with new information. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to keep up to date on the latest arthritis and advocacy information!