Pharmaceutical Policy

Publications authored by CHSPR faculty and staff from 2009 to the present are listed here. Older peer-reviewed publications are usually available from individual journals and can be searched for using PubMed. Older reports published by CHSPR (from 1973) are available from the UBC Library cIRcle database. If you cannot find a specific publication, please contact us.


Wickham ME, McGrail KM, Law MR, Cragg A, Hohl CM. Re-Exposure to Culprit Medication Following Adverse Drug Event Diagnosis in Canadian Emergency Department Patients: A Cohort Study. Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf. 2024 Sep;33(9):e70012. doi: 10.1002/pds.70012. Read more

Johnson KM, Cheng L, Yin Y, Carter R, Chow S, Brigham E, Law MR. The Impact of Eliminating Out-of-Pocket Payments on Asthma Medication Use. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2024 Aug 6. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202402-130OC. Online ahead of print. Read more

Morkem R, Smith G, Knight B, Wong ST, Barber D. Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on antibiotic use in Canadian primary care: a matched-cohort study using EMR data. Antimicrob Resist Infect Control. 2024 Jul 12;13(1):76. doi: 10.1186/s13756-024-01434-0. Read more

Marquis S, Marquis NE, Lunsky Y, McGrail KM, Baumbusch J. A retrospective cohort study of prescription drug use among youth with intellectual/developmental disabilities in British Columbia. J Intellect Disabil Res. 2024 May 21. doi: 10.1111/jir.13147. Online ahead of print. Read more

Marquis S, Marquis NE, Lunsky Y, McGrail KM, Baumbusch J. Prescriptions for Antipsychotics: Youth with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Compared to Youth without Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities. J Autism Dev Disord. 2024 Apr 28. doi: 10.1007/s10803-024-06344-z. Online ahead of print. Read more

Adelakun AR, Turgeon RD, De Vera MA, McGrail K, Loewen PS. Oral anticoagulant switching in patients with atrial fibrillation: a scoping review. BMJ Open. 2023 Apr 25;13(4):e071907. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-071907. Read more

Wickham ME, McGrail KM, Law MR, Cragg A, Hohl CM. Validating use of diagnostic codes in Canadian administrative data for identification of adverse drug events. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2024 Apr 11. doi: 10.1111/bcp.16067. Online ahead of print. Read more

Au SW, Law MR, Cheng L, McGrail K, Harrison M. The Impact of reference pricing on prescribing patterns, costs, and health services utilization of proton pump inhibitors: A quasi-experimental study in British Columbia, Canada. Health Policy. 2024 Apr 4;144:105061. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2024.105061. Online ahead of print. Read more

Ghanbarian S, Wong GWK, Bunka M, Edwards L, Cressman S, Conte T, Peterson S, Vijh R, Price M, Schuetz C, Erickson D, Riches L, Landry G, McGrail K, Austin J, Bryan S. A Canadian Simulation Model for Major Depressive Disorder: Study Protocol. Pharmacoecon Open. 2024 Mar 26. doi: 10.1007/s41669-024-00481-y. Online ahead of print. Read more

Law M, Clement F. National Pharmacare: Laying the Groundwork. IRPP Insight No. 51. Montreal: Institute for Research on Public Policy; February 2024. Read more

Wickham ME, McGrail KM, Law MR, Cragg A, Hohl CM. Validating methods used to identify non-adherence adverse drug events in Canadian administrative health data. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2024 Feb 6. doi: 10.1111/bcp.16014. Online ahead of print. Read more

Zeitouny S, McGrail K, Tadrous M, Wong ST, Cheng L, Law M. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on prescription drug use and costs in British Columbia: a retrospective interrupted time series study. BMJ Open. 2024 Jan 4;14(1):e070031. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-070031. Read more

Ghanbarian S, Wong GWK, Bunka M, Edwards L, Cressman S, Conte T, Price M, Schuetz C, Riches L, Landry G, Erickson D, McGrail K, Peterson S, Vijh R, Hoens AM, Austin J, Bryan S. Cost-effectiveness of pharmacogenomic-guided treatment for major depression. CMAJ. 2023 Nov 14;195(44):E1499-E1508. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.221785. Read more

Rebić N, Law MR, Brotto LA, Cragg JJ, De Vera MA. The Intersectional Impact of Cost-Related Non-Adherence and Depression: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Canadian Community Health Survey by Sex, Race, and Indigeneity. Community Ment Health J. 2023 Nov 6. doi: 10.1007/s10597-023-01202-1. Online ahead of print. Read more

Johnson KM, Cheng L, Yin Y, Carter R, Chow S, Brigham E, Law MR. Impact of income-based public drug coverage deductibles on adherence to asthma medications. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2023 Oct 21:S1081-1206(23)01345-5. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2023.10.017. Online ahead of print. Read more

McCracken R, Narayan S, Maclure M, Cooper I, Cui Z, Cullen W, Dormuth C, Hamilton MA, Nolan S, Singer J, Socías ME, Wong S, Klimas J. Evaluation of audit and feedback to family physicians on prescribing of opioid analgesics to opioid-naïve patients: A pragmatic randomized delay trial. Contemp Clin Trials. 2023 Oct 4:107354. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2023.107354. Online ahead of print. Read more

Itiola AJ, Cheng L, Zhang W, Gomes T, Shah BR, Law MR. The Impact of Blood Glucose Test Strips Reimbursement Limits on Utilization, Costs, and Health Care Use in British Columbia. Can J Diabetes. 2023 Aug 21:S1499-2671(23)00193-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2023.08.005. Online ahead of print. Read more

Zeitouny S, Cheng L, Wong ST, Tadrous M, McGrail K, Law MR. Prevalence and predictors of primary nonadherence to medications prescribed in primary care. CMAJ. 2023 Aug 8;195(30):E1000-E1009. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.221018. Read more

Wong ST, Morkem R, Salman A, Barber D, Leis JA. Value in Primary Care: Evidence from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network. Healthcare Policy. 2023 May;18(4):57-71. doi:10.12927/hcpol.2023.27093. Read more

Garrison SR, Kelmer M, Korownyk T, Kolber MR, Allan GM, Bakal J, Singer A, Katz A, Mcalister F, Padwal RS, Lewanczuk R, Hill MD, McGrail K, O'Neill B, Greiver M, Manca DP, Mangin D, Wong ST, Kirkwood JEM, McCormack JP, Yeung JMS, Green L. Tolerability of bedtime diuretics: a prospective cohort analysis. BMJ Open. 2023 Jun 6;13(6):e068188. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-068188. Read more