Pharmac spin blurs truth

Pharmac is 'spinning' its proposals, and not telling consumers the whole truth about the implications of its new bulk dispensing proposal, Green MP Sue Kedgley said today.

"The truth is that under Pharmac's new proposal, some consumers will end up paying a lot more for their medicines," Ms Kedgley said.

"Pharmac is trying to downplay the impact of their proposal, where most medicines will move from one-monthly to three-monthly dispensing.

"But the truth is that if a doctor issues a three-monthly prescription for certain medicines, such as the blood thinner Warfarin sodium, and requests that the patient picks it up in monthly instalments (so that the pharmacist can check compliance and correct dosage levels), that medicine will lose its subsidy.

"Patients will then have to pay the full cost - often more than twice the price of a subsidised medicine," Ms Kedgley said.

"Pharmac is a government entity, and it is important that it is honest and transparent, and does not try to spin or hide aspects of its proposals," Ms Kedgley said.

Leaked documents show that Pharmac has elaborate public relations plans in place to put the best possible spin on its proposal.

"But it should not allow spin to get in the way of the truth."

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