Spring into action at the Canadian Pain Society conference

What have we been up to?

ICYMI: Youth led Instagram Live – In case you missed it, you can listen to the Instagram Live event about self-advocacy for youth with rheumatic diseases. The event was co-hosted by Take a Pain Check founder, Natasha Trehan and CAPA Board member, Emily Sirotich with guests Carly Fox and Anna Samson. Carly also wrote a blog post about why self-advocacy is so hard.

Drug pricing changes – We signed on to a letter to the federal Minister of Health welcoming the changes to the patented drugs pricing regulations. The government is moving ahead with the implementation of the new basket of comparator countries that determine the price we pay for medicines. Learn more and read the government press release.

Biosimilar consultation – As part of our continued interest in supporting the use of biosimilars, we responded to Health Canada’s request for feedback about the biosimilars handbook for health care professionals. Learn more and read our submission available on our website.

Get Involved!

Share your views about living with psoriatic arthritis! Do you have psoriatic arthritis (PsA)? Have you taken guselkumab? We need your input to help us develop a patient input submission for guselkumab, a new medication that will be reviewed by the Common Drug Review and the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). Complete our survey today!

Accessibility in Canada survey – Employment and Social Development Canada is doing a survey on experiences with accessibility in Canada. The survey is available in a variety of accessible formats and should take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Complete the fully accessible online version of the survey today!

Apply for the CIHR-IMHA Emerging Leaders Workshop! Applications are open now for the CIHR-IMHA Emerging Leaders Workshop and emerging patient leaders can apply. If successful, you will learn about Purpose and Social Responsibility, Research Impact, Open Science, Patient Engagement in Research, and Scientific Writing. Learn more about the program and consider applying!

Want to help us develop a short video? Are you comfortable speaking and interested in helping us develop a short video about living with chronic pain? We are looking for 1-2 people with rheumatic disease to help us develop a couple of videos, including writing a short script and recording the video. E-mail us to learn about getting involved!

Stay Informed!

Is my prescription covered? Understanding reimbursement of medications can be complicated especially for people with rheumatic diseases. This new interactive digital tool developed by the Canadian Skin Patient Alliance simplifies the process. Get informed and check out this new resource!

What are clinical trials? International Clinical Trials Day is next month and we have resources about clinical trials for patients and the public. You can access information about clinical trials, including a clinical trials finder, developed by Clinical Trials Ontario

We have many resources for you! We have resources for you on a range of topics, including a decision aid about the COVID-19 vaccine and a list of questions and videos about biosimilar medications. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channel to stay up to date on the latest arthritis and advocacy information!