Activity indicators for Australia's PBS

In what is the result of a collaborative project between Australia Department of Health and Aging, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee and the trade body Medicines Australia, the first ever report on Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme activity indicators has been released. The primary purpose of this is to facilitate the identification of trends in the process of adding items to the PBS that may provide the basis for further dialog.

The initiative was welcomed by Medicines Australia, which said this provides greater transparency to PBS outcomes. It allows new insights into the decision-making of the PBAC, the body which assesses the cost effectiveness of new medicines before they are listed.