Hon Peter Dunne
Associate Minister of Health

Friday, 14 August 2009 Media Release

Dunne calls for leadership, vision from pharmacy workshop

Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne is today convening a pharmacy sector workshop aimed at actioning the Medicines New Zealand strategy and getting the most out of the pharmacist workforce.

In his opening address to about 60 representatives of the pharmacy sector, district health boards, primary health organisations and Health Ministry officials, Mr Dunne said they had a tremendous opportunity to make real progress.

“This is a unique opportunity to come up with a road map for the pharmacy sector and the way it will operate and what it can achieve,” Mr Dunne said.

He said the workshop needed to come up with “specific and tangible actions” that can help realise the potential of the pharmacy workforce.

“Medicines New Zealand aims to bring together all the agencies and stakeholders within our medicines system so that New Zealanders experience the best health outcomes they can, from the medicines they use,” Mr Dunne said.

Driven by Mr Dunne, Medicines New Zealand is the first policy document to align the medicines sector and the systems that govern the regulation, purchase, management and use of medicines. It focuses on what is sought from the medicines system and informing the decision-making to achieve that.

He reaffirmed his commitment to driving Medicines New Zealand forward and said that strong sector leadership was “absolutely vital”.

ENDS

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