Pharmac's report 'smoke and mirrors'

Government drug-buying agency Pharmac was yesterday accused of using smoke and mirrors in its annual report to gloss over concerns about access to medicines.

In the past year, Pharmac funded 15 new products and treated an extra 13,000 New Zealanders with subsidised medicines, its annual report released yesterday said.

There was new or improved access to 24 treatments including medicines for hepatitis C, depression, alcohol addiction, breast cancer, childhood arthritis and glaucoma.

The agency also negotiated savings on drugs worth $50.71 million and hospitals were paying more than $10 million less for medicines, the report said.

A three-year plan, funding increases and savings on expenditure would enable Pharmac to provide more subsidised drugs, said chief executive Wayne McNee.

"Over the years, Pharmac has gained the reputation as an organisation that gets a lot of health care out of the money it manages, and this year is a case in point," he said.

But Researched Medicines Industry Association chairwoman Pippa Mackay said yesterday that the report was a "masterly use of smoke and mirrors".

Of 11 medicines subsidised since January, only one was not subject to special authority restrictions, she said.

"Tens of thousands of New Zealanders still will not be able to access medicines for diabetes, HIV/Aids, severe pain or cancer.

"While any subsidy from Pharmac is welcome, New Zealanders have on average had to wait for over two years from first listing to subsidy for these medicines so they can hardly be called new."

In its current annual plan, Pharmac stated a normal growth of 11 per cent, which was off-set by a 9 per cent drop in prices.

Dr Mackay said that left the agency needing a 2 per cent budget increase to fund its current levels, but next year's increase was only 0.5 per cent followed by 1.9 per cent the following year.

"I fail to see how Pharmac can deliver the medicines it is promising based on this formula."

New Zealand no longer had world-class access to medicines, she said.

Analysis of 85 innovative medicines introduced into 25 major markets between 1994 and 1998 showed New Zealand had the third lowest rate with only 28 introduced, Dr Mackay said.

Last year only one new medicine was listed in New Zealand, compared with 30 in Australia.

National's associate health spokesman, Paul Hutchison, said yesterday Pharmac's report had glossed over concerns raised in the past year.

"The review might boast availability of some new drugs but, when it comes to choice, New Zealand's is not as good as Australia's," he said.

- NZPA