This communication is in follow-up to the information sent Friday April 12, 2013 regarding the Alysena recall and whether there is a need to inform clients who were prescribed Alesse but may have been given Alysena by the pharmacists.

We have been in touch with the Canadian Medical Protective Association and were advised that they don’t have a policy or guidelines about whether the prescribing physician needs to follow-up their clients if the physician prescribed Alesse which may have been substituted for Alysena by the pharmacist. These types of decisions involve weighing the risks and benefits. The Canadian Medical Protective Association is available to consult with members.

There are several lots of Alysena 28 involved in the recall – the one lot that had two weeks of placebo instead of one week, and other lots that are being recalled as a precaution. http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2013/26793r-eng.php . The pharmacists that we phoned were contacting their clients who received the recalled lots.