Vol 19 - July 2008
 
Access to medicines set to be an election issue

  Access to medicines is set to become an election issue judging from the consensus that emerged from patient groups, the New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA), the RMI and others at the recent High Cost Medicines meeting in Wellington.
  Improved access to modern medicines and greater transparency in delivery and funding of these medicines were two key demands emerging from the seminar.
  “The failure of the government’s adopted medicines strategy to adequately deal with either of these issues is a sore point with a variety of stakeholders,” RMI Chair, Dr Pippa MacKay said.
  “Most of us had harboured some confidence that improved access to medicines would come out of the medicines strategy development process, but we were all hugely disappointed with the outcome.
  “The depth of feeling expressed at this seminar indicates to me that unless some very real and tangible steps are made to demonstrate acceptable clinical grounds for not funding medicines, more and more discontent will emerge.
  Pippa MacKay said that as the capped budget continues to throttle PHARMACs’ ability to provide the medicines people need, the number of families affected will rise significantly.  “This throttling of supply will likely become an election issue  with citizens  challenging political candidates..
  “As was repeated so many times at the seminar, people want access to the modern medicines they need.  In many instances these medicines allow patients to enjoy a vastly improved quality of life with full participation in social and economic activities. These outcomes deliver a significant benefit to both the individual and the community,” she concluded.


Cancer Society says $350m pa extra is needed
  “The lack of adequate funding is a feature of government’s medicines policy and.  this equates to delayed or denied availability of medicines,” the Cancer Society CEO, Dalton Kelly told the medicines’ forum.
  “The bottom line is the bottom line.  There simply has to be enough money in the budget to fund the medicines that New Zealanders need.
  “An extra $350m suggested in (the RMI) submission is far less than a new stadium for Auckland, a new warship, and is a fraction of the sums planned for the development of infrastructure,” he said.
  “These drugs our patients need aren’t luxuries – they save lies, and, as importantly, often improve the quality of life for patients”.


Doctors support greater investment in innovative medicines
  As reported in our last e-zine issue the country's largest medical organisation the NZMA in commenting on the budget stated the following:
  "A good case has been made for the funding of many new pharmaceuticals which would improve the health of many New Zealanders".


 


 




This newsletter is published on behalf of the
Researched Medicines Industry Association of New Zealand. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the RMI.

For further information:
Researched Medicines Industry Association
PO Box 10447 Wellington
Phone 04 499 4277
http://www.rmianz.co.nz



PHARMAC budget increase 'paltry'
  A paltry 2.7% increase for funding the community Pharmaceutical Schedule for medicines has been revealed in PHARMAC’s statement of intent, released this week.
  “While inflation is heading towards 5%, the DHBs and Government are looking to invest less this year in real terms than last year to fund the medicines New Zealanders deserve,” Ken Shirley, the chief executive officer of the Researched Medicines Industry Association (RMI) said.
  “PHARMAC advised that last year’s 6% increase provided “little scope for new investment,”  so a figure below even the rate of inflation suggests even fewer medicines for fewer people in need,” he said.
  PHARMAC’s own clinical advisory committee (PTAC) has ranked a significant number of new and innovative medicines with a high priority for funding.  Yet these medicines remain unavailable to many New Zealanders.  Some medicines have been on PTAC’s ‘high priority list’ for more than four years.
  New Zealand is already at the bottom of the OECD group of nations for its rate of spending on pharmaceutical products.  For example Australia’s pharmaceutical budget is ten times the size of New Zealand while the population is only five times ours. 
  Australia has committed a ten percent increase for pharmaceutical spending in appreciation of the positive health outcomes medicines provide.
  “The RMI joins with clinicians, patients, pharmacists and researchers who strongly recommend that government and the DHBs give adequate funding to PHARMAC so it can better provide the medicines New Zealanders need,” Ken Shirley said.

 

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