Provincial coverage for CoaguChek^®

Québec

Many pharmacies and clinics offer point-of-care INR testing and can follow patients who self-test INR with CoaguChek^®.

Great news! In Québec, since February 2017, the general drug insurance plan reimburses CoaguChek^® strips for every patient.

In addition to refunding the strips, some private insurance plans also reimburse the CoaguChek^® INRange meter for patient self-testing. Contact your insurance company for more information.

Rest of Canada

There is currently no provincial coverage for CoaguChek^® test strips, with the exception of Québec.

Why is there not more provincial reimbursement for PT/INR testing?

As the name implies, provincial drug plans were created to cover drugs and not medical devices, with the exception of blood glucose monitoring test strips. Most of the provincial payers have resisted adding any other medical devices to their drug plans. However, the province of Québec has recognized the value of point-of-care PT/INR (prothrombin time/international normalized ratio) testing in the community setting (outside hospital-based clinics) by adding the CoaguChek^® system to the provincial drug program. While other provinces have reviewed the value of PT/INR testing in a community setting, they have yet to approve CoaguChek^® system as a benefit.

Given the growing body of clinical data supporting the positive impact that patient self-monitoring and well-managed warfarin therapy have on patient outcomes and long-term health economics, we sincerely hope that the reimbursement situation will soon change.

What is Roche doing with regards to provincial reimbursement for PT/INR testing?

Roche Diagnostics Canada is actively working with the provincial bodies on the CoaguChek^® test strips reimbursement request by demonstrating through different initiatives the positive impact it presents to the healthcare system so that adoption is accelerated.

What can I do to help?

We encourage you to talk about the benefits of the CoaguChek^® system and INR point-of-care (meter) testing with your provincial government representative, colleagues, friends, and family. Awareness will go a long way in bringing this important topic to the forefront of healthcare decision making. Furthermore, you can seek out the assistance of your local healthcare organizations to support initiatives related to the availability of PT/INR point-of-care testing meters for anticoagulation clinics and/or patient self-testing.

What are my alternatives?

If INR self-monitoring is right for your patients but not accessible for financial reasons, your patients may wish to inquire through their local hospital or community healthcare program about whether a foundation-sponsored INR patient self-monitoring program is available.

More and more hospital outpatient anticoagulation clinics and community pharmacies offer CoaguChek^® meter INR testing as a valued service to the community. These services can provide patients with faster test-to-dosage turnaround times and less waiting for appointments.