School of Health Policy and Management

Faculty of Health York University

Course Description:  

Examines the place of pharmaceuticals in the Canadian health care system. Focuses on conflicts among stakeholders in policy formation, costs and physician prescribing behaviour.

Expanded Course Description:  

This course focuses on the place of pharmaceuticals primarily in the Canadian health care and regulatory systems, as well as in an international setting. This course will critically examine four major issues involved in the area of pharmaceuticals: criteria around development of drugs; how drugs are paid for; the regulatory system that controls how drugs reach the market and monitors drugs once they are available; and the relations of various groups to the pharmaceutical industry. 

During the course, students will examine the roles of the major stakeholders in Canada—the industry, government, health care professionals and patients/consumers. The primary focus will be on conflicts between the values of these stakeholders and how they have affected eventual outcomes: public versus private interests; patient autonomy versus professionalism. 

Prerequisite: AK/HH/HLST 2020 3.00 Health Policy: Power & Politics or permission of course instructor. 

Course credit exclusion: None

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Course Learning Outcomes:  

• Develop critical thinking skills (reflection, analysis, discernment, evaluation).
• Develop clear and compelling writing skills.
• Develop a critical understanding of Canadian drug approval processes, including strengths and weaknesses.
• Develop knowledge of pharmaceutical industry practices, including knowledge creation, disease category creation and expansion, role in policy processes and direct-to-consumer advertising.  
• Consider how gender and lifecycle conceptualizations are harnessed in the creation and maintenance of health risk and illness categories within pharmaceutical industry and health policy environments.
• Develop skills in dissecting a pharmaceutical related policy “challenge” and, through the final research essay, propose recommendations to ameliorate the policy challenge.

Equity and Teaching:

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds and evolves, students and instructors are adapting to learning online. We recognize that the pandemic and the measures to control and treat it impact students in different ways. We are committed to and focused on providing our students a learning environment that is engaging, supportive, flexible and has academic integrity.  We encourage you to share your feedback as early as possible about your learning experience so that we can have a deeper understanding of the challenges you may be facing, and work towards finding solutions to the extent possible.  Talk to your Course Director (CD) or the Undergraduate Program Director (UPD) within SHPM, Lynda van Dreumel lyndavd@yorku.ca about access to technology and supports, academic accommodation, technology-enabled delivery of course material, assessments/evaluation instruments or any other academic challenges you are experiencing.  For more detail about how the pandemic is impacting students see the report “COVID-19 Impacts on Student Learning and Equity” from the Centre for Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion https://rights.info.yorku.ca/. For other updates on COVID-19 and York see  https://coronavirus.info.yorku.ca/

Text and Other Course Materials 

Required Textbook:  Lexchin, J. (2016). Private Profits vs. Public Policy: The Pharmaceutical Industry and the Canadian State. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Available electronically via York Libraries permalink: https://ocul-

yor.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_YOR/q36jf8/alma991015380899705164

Required readings: on schedule

The EClass course website will host:

• course outline
• slides from the lectures that are usually available at least one day before the lecture
• any other material for the course (links to readings, multimedia)
• any announcements about the course

Technical Requirements:

Online platforms and tools will be used in this course (e.g., EClass, Zoom, etc.) through which students will interact with the course materials, the course director, as well as with one another. 

• Access to EClass:  Students will need to access course materials and online modules by logging in with their Passport York @ EClass.
• Access to Zoom Web-Conferencing:  The course will use Zoom web-conferencing and students will need access to stable, high-speed internet connection, a computer, webcam and microphone, and/or a smart device with these features.  
• If students encounter technical difficulties using EClass or Zoom, please contact UIT Client Services.  

Useful links and resources for students:

• Student Guide to EClass
• FAQs for EClass
• Zoom@YorkU Best Practices  
• Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide
• Computing for Students Website  
• Student Guide to eLearning at York University

Students who do not have access to a computer should contact York University to register to borrow a laptop.  The process can be found here.

Assessments/Evaluation: (see below for full description)

Note 1 The final exam will take place any time during the official final examination period.  It is your responsibility as a student to ensure that you are available to sit for examinations during the entire exam period for the term corresponding to your course. We strongly recommend that you do not make any travel arrangements prior to the end of the term's examination schedule.

These course requirements and weights are final and will not to be modified throughout the term.

1) Critical Analysis & Reflection Assignments (20% each x 4 assignments)

Critical Analysis and Reflection Submissions (1000 - 1500 words each, excluding title page and reference list): 

Description:

Prepare a creative and critical analysis of assigned course material for the assigned weeks, along with your own reflections on the content. These submissions require concise, academic writing that effectively communicates your perception of, and response to, the week’s content. This will require the application of course content and theory to concepts and illustrative examples from the readings and multi-media. Your critical analysis of the course content should comprise 80-85% of your assignment (Note: critical analysis is not summary of the topic material). Your reflection component should comprise

10-15% of your assignment. If you choose to include personal experience, this should be no more than 5% of your assignment. Your reflections should include (a) your reactions after having read the readings, listening to the lectures, and watching the required multi-media content, (b) a brief summary of an experience or your previously-held knowledge of the content that may have influenced your reactions to, or reflection of, the content, (c) substantively marrying your critical analysis with your reflection of the content (i.e., specifically how has your experience shaped your understanding and application of the content?). 

No outside research is required. It is essential that students demonstrate that they have deeply engaged with the course content (i.e., lectures, readings, and multi-media assigned). 

The lectures/material to be analyzed and reflected upon in each submission is as per the Syllabus.

In our course, these submissions serve the following skills development purposes:

• Clear and concise academic communication;
• Demonstration of deep engagement with, and understanding of, the course content on a weekly basis;
• Carving out time to think about the content;
• Thoughtful reflection of academic content, communicated clearly and effectively; and,
• Understanding the manner in which your perspectives/experiences shape your understanding and application of the course and content.

2)   Academic Poster Project (20%):   

Congratulations! You have been selected from a very impressive group of candidates to present a pharmaceutical policy issue from our course at our conference this year! In order to participate, please develop a creative, thoughtful academic poster on your policy issue. Students may decide to use paragraph form and/or bullet points as best suits their presentation style. In poster presentation, rather than essay, format, present the following content, supported with references from course material, using headings to organize your presented content.  

Students will submit a total of 2 documents for this assignment, both by the assignment deadline:  

1. The poster presentation in PDF form to a specified Assignment folder in eClass; and,  2. A Word version of the poster presentation with References, copied and pasted from your poster into a Word document, uploaded to TurnItIn on our eClass site.  

Lecture time will be dedicated to discussing poster presentations, their important components, and how to submit them. Be sure to review the following source for more information: https://undergradfair.library.yorku.ca/web/workshop-on-presenting-a-poster/  

You will be expected to attach an Assignment Attachment Form to each assignment and essay submitted (see attached form).  

Formatting:

All assignments are required to be formatted in APA style, including a title page, headers, page numbers, citations, and references. Please also include word count (excluding title page and reference list) on your title page. See Owl Purdue for formatting guide: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html

** You are required to attach an Assignment Attachment Form to each assignment submitted (form is appended to this document).

Lateness Penalty:  5% each day (up to a maximum of 5 days after which the assignment will not be accepted and a mark of “0” will be assigned.)

Plagiarism and similarity between students’ assignments will not be tolerated – It is very important that you understand exactly what constitutes plagiarism and academic integrity breaches. You are expected to review the Spark academic integrity module and understand the content (link provided below). 

On-line Academic Integrity Module

Students must review the on-line tutorial on academic integrity, at: https://spark.library.yorku.ca/academic-integrity-what-is-academic-integrity/ and then complete the Academic Integrity quiz.

The Academic Integrity Online test must be completed, and the results page submitted to the Course Director with the submission of Assignment 1. https://www.yorku.ca/health/yquiz/acadinte_nologin/quiz/acadinte_nologin.quiz1  Turnitin

The online academic honesty tutorial and paper submission to Turnitin is recommended for all courses with writing assignments. 

Turnitin is web-based software which scans submitted works for similarity to material in public websites, academic journals, papers purchased from an essay mill, etc., and to essays and assignments concurrently or previously submitted to Turnitin, which are stored in a database. An 'originality report' is then provided to the instructor, who remains responsible for determining any breach of academic honesty. 

If you do not wish to use TurnItIn, you must let the Course Director know in advance. You will be required to submit written reports on how you completed each of your assignments (required contents below), along with detailed annotated bibliographies. Each report and bibliography must be submitted with your assignment when it is due. You will also email an electronic copy of each report and bibliography (with hyperlinked URLs in it) to the Course Director. You may be asked to take an oral examination for any or all of your written assignments directed at issues of originality. 

The written report must contain the following information, as well as anything else you consider useful to the Course Director on the issue of academic integrity: 

• A list of the documents and other sources you consulted to understand your topic, along with the dates you first used each of them; 
• An explanation of how those documents and sources led you to the other documents and sources you used; 
• An explanation of which of the sources you used had the most influence 

Requests for Regrading of Assignments: 

You are welcome to approach the teaching team to understand why you received the grade(s) that you did for your assignment(s) should you need additional clarifications. Keep in mind that while the teaching team is receptive in going over the strengths and weaknesses of your assignments with you, the teaching team normally does not remark assignments unless there are legitimate reasons (e.g., a technical error in the form of calculating your grade) given that the teaching team has assessed your work thoroughly before arriving at a mark that the teaching team feels is reflective of the quality of your submitted work. 

If you strongly feel that you deserve a higher grade in a given assignment, please request the Regrade Form from the Course Director. This form requires that you write a detailed letter or memo to the teaching team stating why and where you believe you should be awarded extra marks (e.g., identifying the strengths and weaknesses in your research essay based on careful review of the assignment and the teaching team's comments and then provide a clear argument, based on examples from your work, about why you feel your grade should be higher). The teaching team will then review your request and decide whether a remark is warranted. Note that if your request for a remark is accepted (which could be denied), you might be awarded a mark that is higher than, identical to, or lower than the original grade you received. 

Lateness Penalty:   

Assignments (excluding the Final exam) will be docked 5% per day, up to five days, after which the assignment will not be accepted and a mark of “0” will be assigned.

The online academic honesty tutorial is recommended for all courses with writing assignments. 

Students must review the interactive on-line Tutorial on academic integrity, at: http://www.yorku.ca/tutorial/academic_integrity/ and then take a self-test at: http://www.yorku.ca/tutorial/academic_integrity/testyourself.html  

The Academic Integrity Online test must be completed and the results page submitted to the Course Director with the submission of the assignments.

LECTURE SCHEDULE

Important Dates for Fall Term Courses

School of Health Policy & Management 

Policy on Requesting Late Assignments or Make-Up Exams  

The following table details the requirements for missing any course work.  Failure to do so will result in a grade of zero for the missed course work.  

What documentation to submit? 

Prior to COVID-19 remote course delivery, all request forms and supporting documentation were to be submitted in hardcopy in their original form. Scanned/faxed/photographed copies were not accepted.   However, during COVID-19 remote course delivery, scanned copies will be accepted.  The instructor and the School of Health Policy & Management have the right to request valid supporting documents. All supporting documents are non-returnable.