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The Latest Breaking News from Pharmac

Behind the patient campaigns, the pharma giants profiting from public pressure

Comment: Auckland’s Forbidden Pharmacy highlights 200 unfunded drugs as patient advocates push politicians for more money.Listening to them, you’d think NZ was a cheapskate in funding healthcare – but in fact, it’s in the top half of the OECD. Jonathan Milne reports.

Newsroom.co.nz

Demand for menopause hormone therapy is on the rise – but training gaps remain for doctors

Higher awareness of the benefits of menopause hormone therapy (MHT) has led to rising demand for treatment – so much so that manufacturers can’t keep up and New Zealand’s drug-funding agency Pharmac had to temporarily ration supplies.

The Conversation

Pharmac wants to trim its controversial medicines waiting list – no list at all might be better

New Zealand’s drug-buying agency Pharmac is currently consulting on a change to how it manages its waiting list for medicines.

The Conversation

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Ministerial compromise seeks efficiencies in buying $1.5b of medical devices

Analysis: It’s only taken 13 years! But this afternoon, health ministers are expected to announce a compromise that shares responsibility for procuring $1.5b of medical devices a year. Simeon Brown and his associate David Seymour are seeking to stamp their authority on Health NZ and Pharmac, after the agencies and their predecessors…

Newsroom.co.nz

Australia’s PBS means consumers pay less for expensive medicines. Here’s how this system works

The United States pharmaceutical lobby has complained to US President Donald Trump that Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) is damaging their profits and has urged Trump to put tariffs on pharmaceutical imports from Australia.

The Conversation

Glucose monitors for diabetes have finally been funded – but a chronic workforce shortage will limit the benefits

Pharmac’s decision to fund continuous glucose monitors and automated insulin delivery systems for the approximately 18,000 people who currently live with type 1 diabetes in Aotearoa New Zealand is good news.

The Conversation

Director of New Zealand’s pharmaceutical funding agency quits over rollback of Māori rights

The right-wing government had told Pharmac that it no longer needed to consider the Treaty of Waitangi in its funding decisions

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Dear Pharmac – do things differently: what David Seymour’s expectations could mean for the drug-buying agency

Associate Health Minister David Seymour’s recent letter of expectations to drug buying agency Pharmac could fundamentally change the way the organisation makes decisions. Some of these changes could also make Pharmac’s job harder and its decisions more unpopular.

The Conversation

Ethnicity, equality and Pharmac: how the Treaty really guides NZ’s drug-buying policies

Reports that Associate Minister of Health David Seymour has told Pharmac, the pharmaceutical purchasing agency, to “stop factoring Te Tiriti o Waitangi into its decisions” aren’t strictly accurate.

The Conversation

A funding boost for NZ’s drug-buying agency Pharmac to pay for cancer drugs is welcome – but it won’t solve underlying issues

This week the coalition government made a significant investment in Pharmac, increasing funding by NZ$604 million over the next four years.

The Conversation

Flu vaccines are no longer free for all under-12s in NZ – children living in poverty and at higher risk will bear the brunt

New Zealand’s decision to no longer offer free influenza vaccines for all children under 12 will likely wipe out recent gains in uptake. And it will disproportionately affect those living in deprived areas and with a high risk of disease.

The Conversation

New Zealanders are learning to live with COVID – but does that mean having to pay for protection ourselves?

I’m writing this with a dull ache in my left arm, sore from my third COVID booster. My second was in April when I also got a flu vaccination, which was funded by my employer. The arrival of the fifth wave of COVID in Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as…

The Conversation

How a 'Rule of Two' could remove our barrier to better drug access

We need to address the unnecessary and wasteful Medsafe approval for tried and tested drugs by much bigger regulatory authorities abroad, argues Dr Eric Crampton

Newsroom.co.nz

With ACT and NZ First promising to overhaul Pharmac, what’s in store for publicly funded medicines?

Never before has Pharmac – the government’s medicine procurement agency and decision maker – featured so prominently in an election.

The Conversation

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Newsroom.co.nz

Michael Wood, in from the cold?

Michael Wood fielded questions alongside politicians from across the spectrum on the diabetes epidemic – could his appearance instead of Ayesha Verrall mark a return to a more prominent position within Labour?

Newsroom.co.nz

Practice makes Luxon less imperfect

The National leader seems to be finding his feet ahead of the big show, starting in just a couple of weeks. Tim Murphy assesses him against past performances

Newsroom.co.nz

One word missing in Peters' campaign launch

Winston Peters rides again, embracing high octane social fights and promising GST off foods, a new drug-buying agency and 'common sense'. Tim Murphy reports.

Newsroom.co.nz

Beyond the Soap Box: NZ's medication funding blind spot

Dr Fiona Imlach argues it’s time for politicians to realise the full impact of NZ’s fourth-highest cause of disability, and fund accordingly.

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The Conversation

Pharmac prioritised Māori and Pacific patients for access to new diabetes drugs – did they get it right?

The controversial 2021 decision by the government drug-buying agency Pharmac to prioritise Māori and Pacific patients in its funding of two game-changing new diabetes drugs appears to have paid off.

Newsroom.co.nz

We can't let the ball drop on diabetes

NZ is behind the world in funding a lifesaving diabetes technology. This is why it's so important Pharmac is finally taking the first steps to address this serious health inequity.

Newsroom.co.nz

Pharmac to get one-time $66m boost

The national drug-buying agency will get an extra $66 million in 2023 in a one-off cash injection, according to documents reviewed by Newsroom.

Newsroom.co.nz

How Te Whatu Ora can succeed: Learn lessons of the past

While Te Whatu Ora’s birth signifies the death of DHBs, we must look into the past for answers, write political opposites Ian Powell and Heather Roy.

Newsroom.co.nz

Free dental care a political dream and a financial nightmare

Every three years dental care comes up as an election issue, but Jacinda Ardern says it’s an 'enormously expensive' policy and there are competing priorities. Political editor Jo Moir reports.

Newsroom.co.nz

At-risk populations in the dark about Covid treatments

Years of sometimes confusing messaging on Covid has left half the people eligible for antiviral treatment unaware of it

Newsroom.co.nz

National database will reach patients in drug shortages – but 'no magic pill'

Health NZ is developing a national 'data warehouse' for NZers' primary care information – a tool it hopes will help talk with patients in crises like this month's drug shortages.

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