Context, Scope, and Crown/Māori partnership

Context for the Engagement Strategy

Pharmac has well-established systems for assessment and procurement of medicines, and growing capability in the field of hospital medical devices. We are actively working to build a more consistent and strategic approach to engaging with our partners and stakeholders.

Pharmac obligations under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 (the Pae Ora Act) provided us an opportunity to strengthen our approach and identify actions to improve our engagement with partners and stakeholders. With Pharmac’s Reset Programme providing the mechanism to further refine and deliver these actions.

This strategy enables and links to existing work across the wider health and public sectors. This includes, but is not limited to:

• internal strategy and policy documents, such as the Equity policy, Māori Responsiveness Model, Statement of Performance Expectations 2025/26 and Statement of Intent.
• external strategic documents, such as the New Zealand Health Strategy, the Code of Expectations for Health Entities’ Engagement with Consumers and Whānau, Government Policy Statement on Health 2024-2027 (with its definition of highest health need populations), and commitments from the independent review of Pharmac.
• external engagement guidance documents, such as Te Arawhiti’s Crown engagement with Māori guidelines and Ministry of Pacific Peoples’ Yavu - Foundations of Pacific Engagement Tool.

Scope of the Strategy

This Engagement Strategy outlines our approach for engaging with external partners and stakeholders and the actions required to strengthen the way we do it.

It informs our approach to engaging with Māori, as part of the Crown’s intention to give effect to the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi, and our health sector partners.

Stakeholders are an external organisation, entity, or individual that may impact or in turn be affected by our work. This includes, but is not limited to, the health sector, Pacific peoples, disabled people and other high health need groups, Government, advocacy groups, industry/suppliers (excluding business services), and consumers/patients and their whānau.

Out of scope for this Strategy is engagement with the media and general public. This engagement is generally one-way (broadcast) and captured in external communications strategies and plans.

Crown/Māori Partnership

We acknowledge the ongoing partnership between the Crown and Māori under the Tiriti o Waitangi. Through our work on behalf of Aotearoa/New Zealand, we strive to improve health outcomes for Māori.

We will continue to align with government priorities including the Pae Ora Act requirement that the Government Policy Statement on Health contains priorities for hauora Maori.