Pharmac Funding U-Turn For Patients
Associate Minister of Health
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says the oestradiol patch funding decision is an example of Pharmac's new patient-centric approach.
From December 2025 Pharmac will fund two brands of oestradiol patches, Estradot and Estradiol TDP Mylan.
'Pharmac received significant feedback at the end of last year about a decision to move to Estradiol TDP Mylan as the only funded brand of oestradiol patch. They heard very clearly that the TDP Mylan brand of patch did not work for everyone, and that people wanted options,' Mr Seymour says.
'I'm pleased to see Pharmac's responsiveness to the voices of patients by funding both brands. This decision reflects our commitment to a more adaptable and patient-centric approach.
'The community let Pharmac know that they weren't consulted enough on the original decision. Pharmac has learnt from this, and has added an additional consultation step to its annual tender process to seek feedback when considering a medicine brand change. This patient-centric approach was taken in today's funding decision.
'Pharmac worked and engaged with people who use oestradiol patches, menopause specialists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, advocacy groups and petition founders in making the decision to fund both brands of patches.
'People should have the opportunity to share what the impact of brand changes would be for them, and what support would be required if there was a change to their current medicine.
'Last year I outlined in my letter of expectations that Pharmac should have appropriate processes for ensuring that people living with an illness, along with their carers and family, can participate in and provide input into decision-making processes around medicines, this is part of the ACT-National Coalition Agreement.
'I expect all key groups to be involved in changes to funded medicine brands through the annual tender. This approach ensures stakeholder engagement while managing financial and operational impacts.
The annual tender process is a key mechanism for Pharmac to manage pharmaceutical expenditure at a relatively low transactional cost. Once a year Pharmac invites suppliers to bid to be the main suppliers of certain medicines. This process can realise between $30 million and $50 million savings per year to spend on new treatments.
'The redirection of Pharmac remains positive and continues towards a more adaptable and patient-centred approach to funding medicines,' says Mr Seymour.
'The decisions to fund Estradot and Estradiol TDP Mylan, and to improve consultation criteria on the annual tender process follows the Pharmac Consumer Engagement Workshop Report, and my letter of expectations, are positive steps towards a system which works for the people it serves.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
8 hours ago
- Scoop
Move To Bolster Health Services With Private Care Welcomed, Could Go Further
The Health Minister has directed Health NZ to offer private hospitals 10-year contracts for elective surgeries. ACT Health spokesperson Todd Stephenson welcomes this, and says the approach could be taken further: "This is good news for patients, and for the taxpayer. "ACT has always championed government partnering with the private sector on health. The attitude of politicians should be 'whatever gets the job done, for a fair price', not 'how can we prop up the bureaucracy'. "When private hospitals have long-term certainty of revenue, they can have the confidence to invest in more staff and equipment. This means Kiwis get treated faster, and it increases the total capacity of our health system. Private hospitals can pick up the slack when the public system is backed up with more urgent care. "We could go further. We could contract out more diagnostic procedures like endoscopies, colonoscopies, and MRI scans, and expand the variety of services contracted out to include specialist services like glaucoma or prostate surgery, and even non-surgical interventions like pain management or follow-up care for diabetes or arthritis." "ACT can see a future where the Government is primarily a purchaser, not a provider, of health services. Private operators have stronger incentives both to provide quality care and to keep costs down. If they don't deliver, they risk losing their contract. "If we fully rejected Labour's squeamishness over private healthcare, we could be far more ambitious in our health targets. In 2023, 28,000 New Zealanders waited longer than four months for elective surgery. That number could be zero." "Most New Zealanders don't care who provides the service, they care about getting off the waitlist and back to living their lives. Using every bit of capacity across the system means more elective surgeries today, without waiting years for Wellington to spend millions building more hospitals."
Scoop
10 hours ago
- Scoop
New Pharmac Chief Executive Welcomed
Press Release – New Zealand Government Natalie McMurtry is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience as a frontline clinician and senior leader in Canada. Natalie has held several executive roles within Alberta Health Services, including Vice President of Provincial Clinical … Associate Minister of Health Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour has welcomed Natalie McMurtry as Pharmac's Chief Executive. Natalie McMurtry will start as Pharmac's Chief Executive on Monday 15 September, taking over from the Acting Chief Executive, Brendan Boyle. 'For the first time, Pharmac has its own Minister. Last year I outlined in my letter of expectations that Pharmac should have appropriate processes for ensuring that people living with an illness, along with their carers and family, can participate in and provide input into decision-making processes around medicines – this is committed to in the Act-National Coalition Agreement,' Mr Seymour says. 'Since then, the culture shift at Pharmac has been positive. It has moved towards a more adaptable and patient-centered approach to funding medicines. My expectation is that this will continue. 'This is in part thanks to the culture review Pharmac undertook to ensure their internal processes weren't getting in the way of their job – negotiating the best deals for medicine for New Zealanders. 'Pharmac also conducted a consumer engagement workshop. Patients groups were invited to discuss how they should be consulted in decision-making processes. I look forward to seeing this in practice. 'Pharmac are learning from their experiences and making changes where necessary. For example, the community let Pharmac know that they weren't consulted enough on the original oestradiol decision. In response, Pharmac added a consultation step to its annual tender process to seek feedback when considering a medicine brand change. 'The appointment of Natalie McMurtry is another positive step towards a Pharmac which works for the people it serves. I look forward to working alongside her as we look to cement positive change, and continue to move towards a more transparent, inclusive and people-focused organisation.' Natalie McMurtry is a seasoned healthcare executive with over 25 years of experience as a frontline clinician and senior leader in Canada. Natalie has held several executive roles within Alberta Health Services, including Vice President of Provincial Clinical Excellence. 'The Government is doing its part. Last year we allocated Pharmac its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, and a $604 million uplift to give Pharmac the financial support it needs to carry out its functions – negotiating the best deals for medicine for New Zealanders,' Mr Seymour says.
Scoop
11 hours ago
- Scoop
New Chief Executive For Pharmac
Pharmac's Board has appointed a new Chief Executive to lead the organisation. Canadian Natalie McMurtry will join Pharmac on Monday 15 September after an extensive recruitment search within New Zealand and overseas. Board Chair Paula Bennett says Ms McMurtry brings significant front-line and health leadership experience to the Pharmac role. 'The level of interest in this role and the calibre of applicants was really high but in the end the Board was impressed by Natalie McMurtry's depth of strategic and operational experience, intelligence, people focus and empathetic approach. 'This is exactly what Pharmac needs as a more transparent, inclusive and outward-focused organisation.' Natalie McMurtry is currently the Chief Transition Officer responsible for launching a new Acute Care Agency in Alberta, Canada. Prior to that she was the Assistant Deputy Minister for Pharmaceutical and Supplementary Health Benefits with the Alberta Government. She began her career as a paediatric critical care pharmacist at the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton and has since held a variety of strategic and operational roles across the health system. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from Dalhousie University and an MBA in Innovation Leadership. She says she is looking forward to joining Pharmac. 'I am honoured and excited to be joining the Pharmac team at such a pivotal time. I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to an organisation that plays such a vital role in the health and wellbeing of New Zealanders.' Ms McMurtry will replace Acting Chief Executive Brendan Boyle, who was appointed for a fixed term while recruitment was underway to fill the vacancy left by former Chief Executive Sarah Fitt. Paula Bennett thanked Brendan Boyle for his work in the interim. 'We have been very fortunate to have his extensive public sector experience available to lay strong foundations for the new Chief Executive.'
