The Legault government must “act quickly” to curb “the scourge of overprescription” in Quebec, argues the Parti Québécois, which intends to make the issue “its main focus in the coming months. »
Posted at 4:45 p.m.
The revelations of a recent report on the use of medications to treat attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD) are “disturbing, but not surprising,” says MP Joël Arseneau, spokesperson for health and social services.
The Press reported Monday that Quebec is still the undisputed champion of psychostimulant consumption in Canada, far ahead of other provinces. The gap is particularly marked among adolescents; more than one in five Quebecers aged 12 to 17 is medicated in Quebec (22.3%), a record rate almost three times higher than that recorded in Ontario (7.9%).
The Quebec exception is also observed among adolescent girls: 13.6% of Quebec women aged 12 to 17 have used psychostimulants in 2023, compared to 4.5% of Ontarian women of the same age.
« The article of The Press and the experts we have heard give us reason to tackle this issue head-on, which particularly affects young people and seniors,” underlines Mr. Arseneau, MP for Îles-de-la-Madeleine, in an email.
The issue of “deprescribing”, which was discussed at the National Council of the Parti Québécois on November 17, is part of the party’s orientations on the theme of health. The PQ intends to put in place “a strategy for optimal use of medications”.
“We must collectively stop stuffing our children, our teenagers and our elders with pills at the slightest opportunity, at the slightest burst of energy, at the slightest problem of insomnia,” argued the leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, on the sidelines of the gathering.
In Quebec, 5% of the population will be prescribed psychostimulants against ADHD in 2023, a marked increase compared to 2019 (3.9%) and a ratio almost twice that of neighboring Ontario. (2.7% in 2023).
To produce its statistical report, the multinational health analysis company IQVIA screened 80% of all prescriptions processed in the country’s pharmacies.
“Our young people deserve better”
“There is no reason for our young Quebecers to be medicated more than others,” responded Liberal MP Elisabeth Prass, spokesperson for the official opposition on mental health and services. social, by sharing the article of The Press on the use of psychostimulants in Quebec.
“If the government offered resources and services that met needs, our young people would not have to resort to medication as is currently the case,” she writes. “Our young people deserve better. »
The ease with which young people have access to prescriptions for psychostimulants is “worrying”, recognized the office of the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, in a statement sent to The Press.
The minister’s press secretary, Sasha Trudel, maintains that the government has developed a network of clinics which allows for better assessment and better supervision of ADHD. “Prescribing psychostimulants is not always the solution,” she writes.
