title: Healthcare sustainability and the challenges of innovation to biopharmaceuticals in Canada.
abstract: Governments around the world have focused on issues of sustainability, innovations and priority setting within their health systems. Tension exists between governments' desire to increase biotechnology innovation and the need to address health system sustainability. This commentary will: (1) review government initiatives in biotechnology in health innovation; (2) discuss how innovation, specifically biopharmaceuticals, challenges health system sustainability; and (3) explore how the tension between innovation and sustainability can be addressed using fairness and legitimacy. It is evident that a uni-jurisdictional approach may not be optimal in promoting innovation while ensuring a sustainable health system. Harmonization of biotechnology policies across the federal, provincial, and territorial governments will ensure consistent policies across all branches in order to circumvent the possibility of one governmental branch refusing to reimburse the very innovations other branches are promoting.
authors: Department of Health Policy Management and Evaluation and the Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors: Zahava R S
authors: ZR
authors: Rosenberg-Yunger
authors: Abdallah S
authors: AS
authors: Daar
authors: Peter A
authors: PA
authors: Singer
authors: Douglas K
authors: DK
authors: Martin
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000191:economics*; D002170:Canada; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D015195:Drug Design; D006077:Government Agencies; D006286:Health Planning Councils; D006291:Health Policy / Q000191:economics*; D006292:Health Priorities; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement / Q000941:ethics*; D009965:Orphan Drug Production / Q000191:economics; D012040:Regional Health Planning / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D040841:Resource Allocation / Q000941:ethics*; D012935:Social Justice