Advisory groups

Pharmac works with groups of experts to provide advice and recommendations, as needed. A group may be set up for varying lengths of time, depending on the type of activity Pharmac is seeking advice on.

Advisory groups meet as required to discuss issues referred to them by Pharmac. Records of the meetings are published on this website.

Obesity Treatments Advisory Group (OTAG) 

The Obesity Treatments Advisory Group was established in 2025 to provide objective advice to Pharmac as it assesses new obesity treatments and future category management and procurement activities in this area.  

Members of the Obesity Treatments Advisory Group (OTAG) 

• Dr Liza Lack – Clinical Director, National Hauora Coalition – Waikato (Chair, PTAC Member)
• Dr Bruce King (Chair) - Specialist Internal Medicine and Nephrology (PTAC Member)
• Dr Wing Cheuk Chan – Public Health Physician
• Dr Jo McClintock – Clinical Psychologist
• Dr Rawiri McKree Jansen – General Practitioner
• Prof Rinki Murphy – Specialist Diabetes Physician
• Assoc Prof Ryan Paul – Diabetologist and endocrinologist
• Dr James Shand – Endocrinologist
• Dr Samuel Whittaker – General Practitioner

Endomechanical and Electrosurgical Advisory Group (EEAG)

• Professor Brian Anderson (Chair) – PTAC member and Paediatric anaesthesiologist and intensivist, HNZ Te Toka Tumai Auckland
• Dr Andrew Cheng – Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, HNZ Christchurch
• Associate Professor Matthew Clark – Consultant General Surgeon and Surgical Oncologist, HNZ Counties Manukau  
• Dr Tom De Greve – Consultant Gynaecology Oncology Surgery, Women’s Health Services, HNZ Te Toka Tumai Auckland
• Dr James Boyd Haddow – Consultant Colorectal Surgeon, General Surgeon, Quality Improvement Leader, HNZ Southern
• Dr Andrew R Johnston – Consultant Orthopaedic and Sarcoma Surgeon, HNZ Auckland and Clinical Director, North Island Sarcoma Service
• Katherine Lee – Group Manager Theatre Services, HNZ Waitemata
• Dr Prabal Mishra – Consultant Paediatric Surgeon and Urologist, HNZ Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley
• Sarah Tinkler RN – Clinical Nurse Specialist, General Surgery Operating Theatres, HNZ Waitaha Canterbury, Christchurch Hospital

Strategic Medical Devices Advisory Group (SMDAG)

• Samantha Davenport (Representative for Midwifery Leaders) 
• Simon Donlevy (Representative for Chief Operational Officers)
• Craig Green (Representative for Chief Financial Officers)
• Ross Kennedy (Representative for Clinical practice committee) 
• Jayne Ladbrook (Representative for procurement professionals) 
• Kate Gilmour (Representative for Directors of Nursing)
• Sanjoy Nand (Representative for Allied Health, Scientific & Technical)
• Brian Yow (Representative for Chief Information Officers)
• Tim Wood (Representative for General Managers Planning & Funding)
• Currently vacant (Representative for Chief Medical Officers)

Interim Medical Devices Advisory Group (iMDAG)

IMDAG’s role is to support Pharmac as it develops a national approach for hospital medical device management including category management and health technology assessment for medical devices.

IMDAG has been designed as an interim group. This will enable Pharmac to be responsive and adaptive in how it seeks advice as the medical devices programme develops and as Pharmac works closely with its sector partners.

Members of the Interim Medical Devices Advisory Group

• Stephen Munn (Chair, PTAC member) – Transplant Surgeon (retired)
• James Le Fevre (Deputy Chair, PTAC member) – Emergency Medicine Specialist
• Laura Aileone – National Chief Midwife
• Kevin Ellyett – Scientific Director, Respiratory Physiology
• Matthew Schofield – Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Otago
• Matthew Strother – Medical Oncologist and Clinical Pharmacologist (PTAC member)
• Liz Young – Clinical Product Coordinator (Registered Nurse)

Interventional Cardiology Advisory Group (ICAG)

• Professor Scott Harding (Chair) — Interventional Cardiologist
• Dr Seif El-Jack — Interventional Cardiologist
• Ms Sandi Graham — Charge Nurse Manager
• Dr Madhav Menon — Interventional Cardiologist
• Professor Mark Webster — Structural Interventionalist
• Associate Professor Philip Adamson — Interventional Cardiologist
• Dr Andrew Chatfield — Coronary and Structural Interventional Cardiologist
• Ms Victoria Turner — Acting Service Manager Emergency Care and Medicine  

Interventional Radiology Advisory Group

• Professor Stephen Munn (Chair) - Transplant Surgeon (retired),  PTAC member
• Associate Professor Andrew Holden – Director of Interventional Services
• Dr Manar Khashram – Head of Department Vascular Surgery
• Dr Martin Krauss – Clinical Lead Interventional Radiology
• Dr Shueh Hao Lim – Clinical Lead Interventional Radiology
• Trudy Shearer – Charge Medical Imaging Technologist  
• Kelly Teague – General Manager - Interventional Radiology
• Andrea Walford RN – Radiology Clinical Nurse Manager

Inactive advisory groups

COVID-19 Treatments Advisory Group (ad hoc)

• Dr Jane Thomas – Paediatric Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine Specialist (Chair PTAC)
• Dr Brian Anderson – Anaesthesia & Intensive Care Medicine Specialist (PTAC member)
• Dr Kerry Benson-Cooper – Intensivist
• Dr Tim Cutfield – Infectious diseases physician
• Eamon Dufy – Antimicrobial pharmacist
• Dr Gillian Hood – Intensivist 
• Dr Robyn Manuel – (PTAC member)
• Dr Graham Mills – Infectious Diseases physician
• Professor Stephen Munn – Transplant surgeon (PTAC member)
• Associate Professor Marius Rademaker – Dermatologist
• Dr Nigel Raymond – Infectious diseases physician
• Dr Justin Travers – Respiratory specialist

Respiratory Procurement Advisory Group

• Dr Justin Travers (Chair) – Respiratory Physician
• Dr Andrew Corin – General Practitioner
• Betty Poot – Respiratory Specialist
• Ann Wheat – Asthma Nurse Educator/Nurse Manager
• Ann Nguyen – Hospital Pharmacist
• Teresa Chalecki – Nurse Manager
• Dr Phil Weeks – General Practitioner
• Noelene Rapana – Nurse
• Joanna Turner – Pharmacist

Wound Care Advisory Group

• Julie Betts (Chair) – Wound Care Nurse Practitioner
• Alan Shackleton – Nurse Consultant - Wound Care Service Clinical Lead
• Amanda Pagan – Wound Care Specialist Nurse
• Catherine Hammond – Wound Care Clinical Nurse Specialist & Educator
• Emil Schmidt – Nurse Specialist Wound Care
• Jonathan Heather – Plastic Surgeon
• Susie Wendelborn – Specialty Clinical Nurse Wound Care
• Wendy Mildon – Clinical Nurse Specialist Wound Care