Australians have better and faster access to medicines than New Zealanders, new study shows

A new study comparing access to prescription medicines in New Zealand with that in Australia highlights the alarming deficiencies of the medicines system across the Tasman. The research, published this week in The New Zealand Medical Journal, found that New Zealanders have access to less than half the number of prescription medicines that Australians can access. It also found that new medicines gain regulatory approval on average nine months sooner in Australia, and are listed for government subsidy almost three years earlier.

The article identifies that some of the products not listed in New Zealand do not have alternatives available locally, and clearly identifies the bottleneck as being within the current PHARMAC system. It also states: "A view expressed consistently throughout the consultation period was that PHARMAC's decision-making processes are insufficiently transparent, are too slow and do not adequately involve clinicians."

"We recognize that the current government has shown a commitment to improving the levels of access that PHARMAC [New Zealand’s health regulatory agency] scan provide by increasing the medicines budget. This has been an important and welcome step towards redressing the situation," commented Medicines New Zealand General Manager Kevin Sheehy.