<< Decision Making Process

Decision Criteria

In deciding which medicines to fund, PHARMAC seeks to balance the needs of patients’ access to healthcare against its responsibilities to the taxpayer. Given PHARMAC is managing taxpayer funding, PHARMAC’s decisions need to represent good value for money for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

When considering which medicines to fund PHARMAC therefore takes into account a range of decision criteria including:

1. The health needs of all eligible people;
2. The particular health needs of Maori and Pacific peoples;
3. The availability and suitability of existing medicines, therapeutic medical devices and related products and related things;
4. The clinical benefits and risks of pharmaceuticals;
5. The cost-effectiveness of meeting health needs by funding pharmaceuticals rather than using other publicly funded health and disability support services;
6. The budgetary impact (in terms of the pharmaceutical budget and the Government’s overall health budget) of any changes to the Schedule;
7. The direct cost to health service users;
8. The Government’s priorities for health funding, as set out in any objectives notified by the Crown to PHARMAC, or in PHARMAC’s Funding Agreement, or elsewhere; and
9. Such other criteria as PHARMAC thinks fit.

All subsidised medicines are published on the Pharmaceutical Schedule, which is managed by PHARMAC.

Page updated on 09 Apr 2008