Pharmac has scrapped a plan to cull some medicines from its Options for Investment list. Photo: 123RF
Pharmac has scrapped a proposal to cull some funding applications for medicines that are unlikely to ever be funded, following negative feedback to the idea.
In October, the government drug-funding agency put forward the plan to decline medicines in its Options for Investment (OFI) list, which have been in the lowest-ranked group for more than two years.
Pharmaceuticals director Adrienne Martin said the aim was to provide greater transparency about "which medicines were unlikely to be funded and why".
"We heard from many people - clinicians, patient advocates, individuals, and suppliers - and we've listened carefully," she said.
"People told us that while they understood our aim was to improve transparency, they did not want us to remove funding applications from the OFI."
People wanted clear, public information about the OFI list, decisions based on updated evidence, and assurance that changes to how the OFI was managed did not disadvantage Māori, Pacific peoples, rural communities, or people with rare disorders, she said.
"People also told us they want medicines to stay on the list to maintain hope for future funding.
"We listened carefully and appreciate the time and thought that went into this feedback."
At this stage, Pharmac was not proposing any changes to how it managed the list.
However, broader work was underway by Pharmac and the Patient Working Group to improve "transparency and timeliness" of the medicine funding application process.
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