A new system to approve medicines faster has been introduced. But barriers to RSV protections show why that’s only one step in getting them to patients.
Articles on Pharmac
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Pharmac could base its purchasing decisions on how much health improvement the same amount of money would achieve in other parts of the health system.
Increasing access to ADHD diagnosis and medication is a good move. But it shouldn’t be the whole plan to address a condition affecting thousands in New Zealand.
To meet international guidelines, New Zealand needs to double the workforce that supports people with diabetes. Unless that happens, newly-funded health technologies won’t get to those most in need.
The Associate Health Minister’s letter of expectations for Pharmac includes things that could fundamentally alter its core objective of getting the best health outcomes within its budget.
David Seymour’s expectation that drug-buying policy be based on need rather than ethnicity misses the point: the Treaty of Waitangi is already about equality, and can help guide good decisions.
Cancer patients will benefit from the investment but so will people with other health conditions because the funding also covers medicines that Pharmac ranked as more important.
New research shows the massive gap between those with ADHD and the number of people who are prescribed the medicine that can help.
The government says funding for COVID vaccines and antivirals are up for consideration next year. With so much unknown about the long-term impact of COVID, will cost become a barrier to access?
Most parties are promising more funding for the government drug-buying agency. But two likely coalition partners are suggesting a new – and possibly risky – approach to medicines procurement.
Top contributors
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Professor of Health Economics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
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Associate Professor in Health Economics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
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Associate Professor, Health Sciences, University of Waikato
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Associate Professor, Paediatrics, University of Otago
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Senior Lecturer, School of Health, University of Waikato
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Professor, School of Psychological and Social Sciences, University of Waikato
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Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
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Associate Professor, Māori & Indigenous Research, UNITEC Institute of Technology
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Research fellow, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Otago
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Senior Lecturer in Health Economics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
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Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago
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Research Fellow, Faculty of Education, Health, and Psychological Sciences, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Flinders University; The University of Melbourne
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Adjunct Professor, Stout Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington and Auckland University of Technology, Professor of Political Science, Charles Sturt University