Pharmac Consumer Working Group wraps up, job well done

Last year Pharmac appointed the Consumer and Patient Working Group (the Working Group) to help Pharmac reset how it works with patients and consumers, today they met for the last time having achieved that goal, Associate Health Minister David Seymour says.  

“The patient community used to picket outside Pharmac. This group has transformed that relationship by giving patients an ongoing voice at the table when Pharmac makes its decisions,” Mr Seymour says.

“I want to thank Dr Mulholland and all members of the Working Group for their work over the past year. The work done to reset the relationship between Pharmac and the patient community is a big reason for the change in Pharmac’s culture. 

“When new leadership took over Pharmac they set out to change the culture. It was clear that Pharmac could provide a better service for Kiwis. They came up with a 5-year plan to take Pharmac to the level Kiwis deserve. To inform the plan Pharmac conducted a number of reviews, engaged with the patient community, and took part in workshops. 

“For example, two years ago Pharmac hosted the Consumer Engagement Workshops. This put the patient community in a room with Pharmac’s decision makers to answer the question: how can Pharmac do better for Kiwi patients? The patient community told Pharmac the first step was to reset the patient – Pharmac relationship. 

“Pharmac invited workshop participants, in association with the wider consumer-patient representative community, to select the Working Group to help reset the patient – Pharmac relationship. Dr Malcolm Mulholland was selected as the chair. The Working Group was set up for the first 12-month phase in the 5-year plan. The next phase in the plan will be announced shortly.

“The Working Group has shown what’s possible when Pharmac partners with consumer advocates and patients. Their advice helped shape Pharmac’s initial 12-month Reset Programme which has improved patient engagement, transparency, and organisational culture.”

Over the past year, Pharmac has: 

improved how it works with patient advocates by creating a dedicated consumer relations function 
made it easier for patients to give feedback on Pharmac proposals by introducing a new consultation tool and creating better consultation processes 
progressed a refreshed vision and strategy that sets a clear, ambitious direction for the future that fosters trust, collaboration, and innovation 
begun a review of its Exceptional Circumstances Framework, including Named Patient Pharmaceutical Assessments (NPPA)
trialled new approaches to reduce its funding application backlog, including piloting a rapid assessment process 

“The progress so far has been impressive, but there is more work to be done. Listening to the voices of patients and consumers will continue to be at the heart of Pharmac’s work as it launches the next phase of its long-term improvement programme,” Mr Seymour says. 

“Patients are reaping the benefits. Since this Government took over we’ve allocated Pharmac its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, and a $604 million uplift Pharmac. With that money, Pharmac has made 133 decisions to fund or widen access to medicines. This includes decisions on 46 cancer medicines. Over 360,000 patients have benefited.”

The consumer working group members are:

Dr Malcolm Mulholland MNZM – Patient Voice Aotearoa
Libby Burgess MNZM – Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition
Tim Edmonds – Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ
Chris Higgins – Rare Disorders NZ
Francesca Holloway – Arthritis NZ
Trent Lash – Heartbeats Charitable Trust
Gerard Rushton – The Meningitis Foundation
Rachel Smalley MNZM – The Medicine Gap
Tracy Tierney – Epilepsy NZ
Deon York – Haemophilia NZ ...