We established the Drug Advisory Committee in 2007 to provide us with advice on drugs and the medical conditions/criteria for coverage. The Drug Advisory provides recommendations by considering what a drug is used for, its benefits, value and safety.

The Drug Advisory Committee makes evidence-based recommendations to help us decide on the specific drugs to be included in the WSIB Drug Benefit Plan.

The committee brings together people with expertise from different disciplines in medicine, pharmacy, epidemiology, and pharmacoeconomics and includes a member of the public.

Read the Drug Advisory Committee Terms of Reference (PDF).

Committee Members

Paul Oh, MD, FRCP(C) (Chair)
Medical Director, Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Program, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network
Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto

Mario Bédard, BScPharm, PharmD, RPh (Vice Chair)

Private Consultant, Hospital Pharmacy Services
Past Director, Pharmacy, The Ottawa Hospital
Surveyor, Accreditation Canada

Sandeep Kakan, MSc, FLMI, CEBS, MEM (Public Member)

Director, Pensions and Benefits, Unifor
Trustee and Board Secretary, CWIPP

Lisa Burry, BScPharm, PharmD

Associate Scientist, Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, and Dept of Medicine Mount Sinai Hospital
Associate Member Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Sinai Health System
Clinician Scientist and Assistant Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto

Andrea Furlan, MD, PhD
Physician and Senior Scientist, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network
Assistant Professor, Division of Physiatry, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

Muhammad Mamdani, PharmD, MA, MPH
Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto
Senior Adjunct Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences
Director, University of Toronto Temerty Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine
VP, Data Science and Advanced Analytics (DSAA), Unity Health Toronto, St. Michael’s Hospital
Faculty Affiliate, Vector Institute, Toronto

Wilfred Steer, BScPharm
Pharmacist, Health Sciences North
Lecturer, Health Sciences, Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Laurentian University