Tag: pharmac
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From confrontation to cooperation: How New Zealand’s attitude to medicines has changed
When I arrived in New Zealand 25 years ago, I was struck by the almost visceral hostility between the pharmaceutical industry and Pharmac. I came from Britain, where relations between government, the pharmaceutical industry, and the NHS were sometimes confrontational, but there was an understanding that industry, regulators and the health services had an obligation…
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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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Is New Zealand entering a more collaborative era in medicines policy?
Some New Zealand patients can wait years longer for access to publicly funded new medicines than patients in comparable OECD countries. For people living with serious conditions such as cancer, rare diseases and autoimmune disorders, those delays can mean treatments available overseas are simply not yet options here. That gap has long been accepted as…