Use of doluxetine

Duloxetine is currently approved by Health Canada for the treatment of pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), fibromyalgia, chronic low back pain, and knee osteoarthritis, but also for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Duloxetine is an exception drug on the list of medications covered by the public prescription drug insurance plan (RPAM).

Because of a major concern regarding the ever-increasing number of exception drugs and the number of payment authorization requests, the RAMQ asked INESSS to review the listing status of duloxetine to determine whether there would be justification for transferring it to the regular section of the list of drugs covered by the RPAM.