Engaging with consumers

The Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) provides advice to PHARMAC on appropriate processes and plans to better understand consumer and patient perspectives.

Consumer engagement

We strive for good engagement with patients and consumers and aim to continuously improve this work. Examples of recent activities include:

• developing an online Application Tracker where people can search for the funding status of a particular pharmaceutical
• improving the PHARMAC website to make it more accessible, easier to understand and easier to navigate
• greater use of “plain English” in PHARMAC’s consultation documents and other communications
• hosting community forums to provide opportunities for face-to-face interaction; and
• evaluating our activities to learn how to improve the quality of our engagement.

During consultation on funding and policy issues, we seek out consumer views and often give consumers an opportunity to provide their views or submissions to us face-to-face.

Consumers are also important participants in the PHARMAC Forum, where our stakeholders come together to share their views on what we do.

Role of the Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC)

The Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) provides input from a consumer or patient perspective on matters related to PHARMAC’s activities. Its role is to provide advice to PHARMAC on how we can better seek the views of, and be responsive to, consumers. This advice is sought from the Committee in many different areas, including:

• how PHARMAC can obtain and consider consumers’ views on our funding and policy decisions
• PHARMAC’s strategy, policy and operational activities related to funding decisions, and access to and optimal use of medicines
• how PHARMAC can best communicate its decisions, policies and strategies
• how the CAC can engage with consumers to ensure it can provide quality advice to PHARMAC
• educational information to assist patients.

The CAC does not provide PHARMAC with advice on medicine funding applications.

The Consumer Advisory Committee can be contacted by email at cac@pharmac.govt.nz or you can write to the Consumer Advisory Committee at PHARMAC’s postal address.

Relationship to PHARMAC

The Consumer Advisory Committee is an advisory committee to the PHARMAC Board. It provides written reports to the Board, and the CAC Chair attends Board meetings as an observer.

Who are its members?

The Committee is made up of people from a range of backgrounds and interests including the health of Māori people, Pacific peoples, older people and patients with chronic diseases, to name a few.

Current members of the Consumer Advisory Committee.