A B.C. doctor is calling on the province to cover weight management medications in order to fix what she calls a "two-tiered system" for obesity care.
Dr. Ali Zentner, a diabetes and obesity specialist with Vancouver-based Revolution Medical Clinic, has started a petition to demand the inclusion of medications like semaglutide and liraglutide in B.C.
PharmaCare. They are anti-diabetic and anti-obesity drugs that can cost patients up to $450 per month out of pocket. And even more costly is the serious health problems that patients can develop due to obesity and the treatments needed to address them, which Zentner and a patient say add to the case for covering these drugs.
Around 23 per cent of adults in B.C. are obese, according to 2018 data from Statistics Canada.
Boxes of Ozempic and Mounjaro, semaglutide and tirzepatide injection drugs used for treating type 2 diabetes and made by Novo Nordisk and Lilly, is seen at a Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, U.S. March 29, 2023.
(George Frey/Reuters) In her petition, Zentner says obesity is a disease and not the fault of the patient. She added that current obesity treatments, including drugs that Canada has approved, are very effective. "Gone are the days of just telling patients to just take care of it themselves," she said.
"Now we talk [about] true medical treatments and we have impressive outcomes well beyond weight loss." The doctor adds that the obesity treatments have led to positive outcomes when it comes to other health.
