Tag: medicines access
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Why Pharmac needs structural reform
Pharmac reform in New Zealand is becoming an increasingly important policy question. When I arrived in New Zealand more than twenty years ago, it was widely accepted that, in an ideal world, every well-governed country would have a version of Pharmac. Without a doubt, Pharmac plays a critical role in New Zealand’s health system. For…
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Medicines are not a cost, they are an investment
New Zealand’s long-standing approach to medicines funding has been shaped by a simple imperative: contain cost. That focus has delivered a system that is regarded as less than efficient, but increasingly, it is also being questioned as insufficient. At the heart of the issue is a framing problem. Medicines are too often treated purely as…