Pharmac is looking at ways to improve decision-making processes when buying drugs, after a report heavily criticised its focus on cost and failure to help address health inequities.
An interim report into the agency, released yesterday said there was excessive focus on cost control, decision-making was opaque and slow, and that many believed New Zealand was falling behind in terms of the medicines that were funded
Pharmac chief executive Sarah Fitt said the agency accepted a lot of the observations made in the interim report. Photo: RNZ/Vinay Ranchhod
The review, led by former Consumer chief executive Sue Chetwin, highlighted that the drug-buying body was under-performing in helping to remove inequitable health outcomes.
"We have started that work; we've got a long way to go" - Pharmac chief executive, Sarah Fitt on addressing inequitable outcomes
Pharmac chief executive Sarah Fitt told Morning Report the agency accepted a lot of the observations made in the interim report.
She said Pharmac was always looking for ways to save money but acknowledged communication around the technical process of drug-buying hadn't been great.
"We have set out to actually improve our decision making; make it faster, make it simpler and make it more understandable."
One of the report's findings was that the agency had an "excessive focus on containing costs".
Pharmac operated under a fixed budget set by the government so its only options to fund new medicines were by "getting more money or by making savings", Fitt said.
"We want to fund as many new medicines as we can and we do that through creating savings opportunities."
A lot of the work the agency undertook in making those savings decisions was "quite technical" and involved liaising with a "large clinical advisory network", she said.
But explaining that work to the public and being transparent about the processes involved was something Pharmac needed to get better at.
"We need to do better in that space and we have a work programme underway and are keen to keep making improvements."
Fitt also accepted Pharmac had "a long way to go" to address another of the issues raised in the interim report - that of inequitable outcomes due to the agency's decision making.
She said more Māori staff had been hired by the agency and it also wanted to increase Māori capability across its clinical advisory networks.
"We've got some way to go but we certainly have that commitment."
She referenced a decision earlier this year to fund some new diabetes medicines that included a specific pro-equity criteria for Māori and Pacific populations, and said an increased uptake of the medicines in those groups had already been seen.
One organisation advocating for those impacted by Pharmac decisions felt the draft report did not go far enough.
The Cancer Society said the agency's performance and access to cancer drugs was a major concern and it hoped the final report would be stronger than the interim one.
Chief executive Lucy Elwood said the first independent review of the agency was a major milestone and needed to address the ever-growing chasm between those who could and could not pay for unfunded drugs.
She said patients struggled to access treatments that were considered standard in other countries.
A report offering solutions is due back to the Health Minister in February.