2nd Annual New Zealand Pharmaceutical Management Agency Forum
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MEETING REPORT
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2nd Annual New Zealand Pharmaceutical Management Agency Forum 9 October 2009; Wellington, New Zealand Christopher I. Carswell Adis, a Wolters Kluwer Business, Auckland, New Zealand
The New Zealand Pharmaceutical Management Agency (PHARMAC) is a government agency, which, as its main role, decides which prescription drugs will be publicly funded in the primary healthcare system. To make funding decisions, the agency uses various decision criteria including: the health needs of the population; particular health needs of Maori and Pacific peoples; availability and suitability of existing interventions; clinical benefits and risks; economic analysis; and budget impact. PHARMAC has a unique role in that not only does it make decisions/recommendations on what drugs should be funded, but it is also charged with negotiating prices with the pharmaceutical manufacturer and works within a resource-constrained budget. As part of price negotiation, the agency offers sole supply rights for generic medicines through a tendering process (usually for a period of 3 years); enters risk sharing agreements with pharmaceutical companies to minimize uncertainty over the budget impact of a medicine and employs reference pricing.[1-4] In addition to its role in managing the pharmaceutical budget within the publically-funded healthcare system, the agency is also charged with promoting the optimal use of medicines through public campaigns and engaging with healthcare professionals.[5] In addition, PHARMAC also has a consumer advisory committee to obtain the views of patients and consumers.[6] As part of the agency’s commitment to engage with all stakeholders (manufacturers, healthcare professionals, patients and advocacy groups), the first annual PHARMAC Forum was held in 2007. This report summarizes the second Forum held in Wellington, New Zealand, in October 2009. The second annual PHARMAC Forum was attended by representatives from consumer advocacy groups, healthcare professional organizations, the pharmaceutical industry, district health boards, government agencies and politicians. All
the speakers at the Forum were from PHARMAC; however, each session provided plenty of opportunity for audience participation. The key topics discussed were feedback from the 2007 Forum, cost-utility analysis, optimal use of medicines, generic medicines and brand changes, and consumer participation. 1. Feedback from the 2007 Forum Some of the key issues raised at the first Forum were the need for the agency to improve its communication with all stakeholders, be more transparent about the way it makes decisions, improve consumer participation in its processes, and minimizing the impact of brand changes (on suppliers and patients) that can occur as a result of the sole tendering process. Delegates at the 2009 Forum felt that although good progress had been made to address these issues, there was still considerable work to be done. Patients were receiving little counselling on
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