Some argue the current system of subsidising drugs in Australia needs changing to accommodate new cancer therapies. But two recent drug listings show the current system is working perfectly well.
Weaker regulatory standards in the US can impact health everywhere.
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Intuitively, it might seem desirable to speed up access to medicines. But this means more drugs will be approved that may subsequently prove unsafe or ineffective.
The PBAC must make tough decisions about which cancer drugs to subsidise.
Eric Gaillard/Reuters
Most of us would agree that cancer drugs should be listed on the PBS, no matter how dear. But our health system can’t afford all of them. How then are decisions about which drugs to subsidise made?
A group of oncologists have called on cancer patients to challenge the high prices charged by pharmaceutical companies for new cancer drugs.
ep_jhu/Flickr
Hope, fear, and desperation, along with the unique characteristics of the cancer drug market, create a “perfect storm” that continues to drive up prices for cancer drugs.
Only recently has conversation about access to new drugs been moving to acknowledging the need for a community debate about affordability as well.
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Decisions about public subsidies for high-cost drugs are naturally quite complex. And while patients have increasingly been given a voice in the process, the views of the wider community have generally…
The Australian government pays $50 a month for a drug that costs $2 a month in New Zealand.
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A government-appointed committee makes a recommendation that would save taxpayers $260 million within a year, but it’s ignored. And people at risk of heart attacks lose out. Let me explain via a ripping…
We need a more rational debate about how and where we spend our finite health budget.
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HEALTH RATIONING – a series which examines Australia’s rising health costs and the tough decisions governments must make to rein them it. Any mention of the “R” word in health care immediately brings to…
The biggest delay is arguably at the stage where sponsors can exert the most control over timing.
Chris Kelly
The Australian government introduced a controversial delay to the approval process for subsidised medicines last year, in an attempt to cut costs. We decided to examine the timelines of the approval process…
Infants too young to receive the whooping cough vaccine are at greatest risk.
flickr/rifqy
Recent news reports say the free whooping cough vaccine for parents to protect newborns will be discontinued because it is not effective. Parents who’ve been told this is an important step to protect their…
Dabigatran’s manufacturer didn’t provide PBAC with data comparing its effectiveness to the most inexpensive medication treating the same conditions.
Harveyben
Boehringer Ingelheim, manufacturer of the expensive anti-clotting drug dabigatran, has initiated a lobbying campaign to get it listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The company’s efforts…
Uncertainty about how drugs will be listed on the PBS has patient groups, health professionals and the pharmaceutical industry worried.
LadyofProcrastination/Wikimedia Commons
Any parent who watches kids’ weekend footy knows that if the ref misses a breach of the rules, merry hell breaks loose. But referees are human and sometimes make errors. We forgive the odd one pretty quickly…
Professor of Bioethics & Medicine, Sydney Health Ethics, Haematologist/BMT Physician, Royal North Shore Hospital and Director, Praxis Australia, University of Sydney