30.06.2013 Views

How does the operation of PHARMAC's 'Community Exceptional ...

How does the operation of PHARMAC's 'Community Exceptional ...

How does the operation of PHARMAC's 'Community Exceptional ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

<strong>the</strong> treatment <strong>of</strong> cancer in <strong>the</strong> DHB hospitals and/or in association with<br />

outpatient services provided in <strong>the</strong> DHB hospitals. The DHBs could not fund<br />

pharmaceuticals for <strong>the</strong> treatment <strong>of</strong> cancer if <strong>the</strong> treatments were not listed in<br />

<strong>the</strong> Schedule, unless <strong>the</strong> unlisted pharmaceuticals met certain criteria.<br />

<strong>How</strong>ever, <strong>the</strong> DHBs did provide access to unlisted pharmaceuticals for <strong>the</strong><br />

treatment <strong>of</strong> cancer where <strong>the</strong> unlisted pharmaceutical has Cancer <strong>Exceptional</strong><br />

Circumstances (CaEC) approval, Community <strong>Exceptional</strong> Circumstances (CEC)<br />

approval or Hospital <strong>Exceptional</strong> Circumstances (HEC) approval. The DHBs<br />

also funded <strong>the</strong> treatment under <strong>Exceptional</strong> Circumstances policies if <strong>the</strong><br />

treatment was being used as part <strong>of</strong> a bona fide clinical trial which had Ethics<br />

Committee approval. The o<strong>the</strong>r criteria were that <strong>the</strong> drug could be provided by<br />

<strong>the</strong> DHB if it was being used as part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> paediatric oncology service and was<br />

prescribed to treat a child before or on 21 st July 2005.<br />

The most important factor was that if PHARMAC listed a cancer treatment on<br />

<strong>the</strong> Schedule, DHBs had no option but to fund it. Conversely, if <strong>the</strong> treatment<br />

was not on <strong>the</strong> Schedule but <strong>the</strong> drug has CaEC (or o<strong>the</strong>r CEC or HEC)<br />

approval from PHARMAC, <strong>the</strong> DHBs had <strong>the</strong> option to fund, or not to fund,<br />

depending on <strong>the</strong>ir own allocative priorities.<br />

PHARMAC’s Herceptin Decision Making<br />

The decision to fund Herceptin was referred by <strong>the</strong> PHARMAC Board to <strong>the</strong><br />

PHARMAC Community Advisory Committee (CAC). It was also sent for<br />

examination to <strong>the</strong> Cancer Treatment Subcommittee <strong>of</strong> PHARMAC (CaTSoP).<br />

This was a panel <strong>of</strong> experts made up <strong>of</strong> cancer specialists and including o<strong>the</strong>r<br />

senior physicians from <strong>the</strong> New Zealand public health service. This committee<br />

was a subcommittee <strong>of</strong> PTAC.<br />

The material before <strong>the</strong> CAC included information on clinical trials, <strong>the</strong> likely<br />

cost <strong>of</strong> Herceptin and PHARMAC decision making criteria in its ‘Operating<br />

Policies and Procedures’ manual. The CAC was chaired by a community health<br />

advocate, Ms. Sandra Coney.<br />

The following is a quote from <strong>the</strong> minutes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> CAC committee meeting:<br />

The committee noted <strong>the</strong> benefits <strong>of</strong> Herceptin may not be as great as<br />

stated by <strong>the</strong> patient community groups lobbying for funded access. The<br />

133

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!