IMPROVING PATIENT ACCESS TO INNOVATIVE MEDICINES
We already have world-class doctors and healthcare professionals in Australia. Now it’s time to ensure our health workforce has access to top-of-the-line technology and medicines, writes Anne Harris, Board Member of Medicines Australia and Managing Director of Pfizer Australia & New Zealand.
had not increased between 1994 and 2011, the number of hospital days per 100,000 population would have been 10.6% higher, and that the 1994–2011 increase in the number of PBS drugs was associated with a reduction in the number of hospital days in 2019 of 2.48 million.4
AUSTRALIAN PATIENTS ARE being left behind by a system that has failed to keep up with innovations in medicines and technology.
It takes on average 466 days from when a medicine is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to patients being able to access it through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).1
This is almost 100 days slower than the OECD average and more than 300 days slower than Japan, Germany and the UK.2
Timely access to medicines and vaccines can have a life-saving impact. New treatment options not only improve patient health outcomes – they may also take pressure off our healthcare system by keeping Australians out of hospitals.
Research by Prof Frank R. Lichtenberg, published in 2023, found increasing the number of new medicines reduced premature mortality and hospital utilisation. Between 1992 and 2021, the number of medicines available on the PBS increased by 49%. The report estimated that each additional medicine on the PBS for a disease reduced the Years of Life Lost from the disease before age 85 by about 2%.3
In addition, the report estimated the number of hospital days per 100,000 population declined by 4.3% between 2002 and 2019. Lichtenberg estimated that, if the number of PBS drugs
As evidenced in the AMA’s latest public hospital report card, this has never been more important. In the report, AMA President Prof Steve Robson states, hospitals are at “breaking point”. The ability for public hospitals to treat patients on time is in decline – the proportion of people in all triage categories who completed their emergency presentation in four hours or less in 2022-23 was at just 56%, a 5% drop from last year and the lowest number since 2011.5
Bed block, overburdened emergency departments, and ambulance ramping are also symptoms of the impact of Australia’s ageing population who are increasingly presenting to hospitals with complex chronic health conditions.
In 2022, Australians over 65 represented 17.1% of Australia’s total population (compared to 15.9% in 2019), yet this demographic represented 47% of the total patient days occupying beds within public hospitals, according to ABS data.6
The need for vaccines and medicines that keep people living well and out of hospital is critical if we are to alleviate a stretched healthcare system and protect overworked healthcare professionals.
OP ED
#StrongerPBS
Our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme provides subsidised access to 928 different medicines in 5,261 brands, making healthcare more affordable for Australians.7 Every day, more than 800,000 prescriptions are filled across the country.8
But the way in which medicines and health technologies are assessed for inclusion on the PBS has not been comprehensively reviewed in more than 30 years. In this time, science and innovation has evolved significantly.
Consequently, our assessment system is no longer fit for purpose and new technologies that do not align within existing assessment structures and criteria are excessively delayed.
A review of Australia’s Health Technology Assessment (HTA) policy and methods commenced in 2023, with the aim of ensuring our assessment policies, methods and processes keep pace with rapid advances in health technology and barriers to access are minimised. More than 300 organisations and individuals made submissions and provided input into this review, including the Australian Medical Association. Doctors, patients, patient advocacy groups, healthcare companies and consumer health groups have aligned to call for faster access to medicines.
The HTA Review Reference Committee finalised its report and submitted its recommendations to Health Minister Mark Butler on 4
May. The date of publication for the committee’s report and the timeline for the Government’s response has not yet been announced.
To advocate for PBS reform, Medicines Australia launched its #StrongerPBS campaign in mid2023. The campaign has reached more than 2 million Australians and aims to educate people about the PBS and barriers to accessing new medicines. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to support the campaign, by following the campaign social media channels or sharing your own experiences by getting in touch with Medicines Australia.
We already have a world class health workforce in Australia – it’s up to us to ensure you also have the best medicines available to treat your patients when they need them.
And for every Australian, time is life. Medicines Australia needs your help to create a Stronger PBS, so Australians are not waiting to access new medicines that are available much faster overseas. dr.
Anne Harris is a member of the Medicines Australia Board and Managing Director for Pfizer Australia & New Zealand. She believes healthcare spending is an investment in the health and economic prosperity of our nation, not a cost, and that “time is life”.
“Timely access to medicines and vaccines can have a life-saving impact. New treatment options not only improve patient health outcomes – they may also take pressure off our healthcare system by keeping Australians out of hospitals.”
Anne Harris, Managing Director for Pfizer Australia & New Zealand
REFERENCES
1. Medicines Australia, 2023, ‘Medicines Matter 2022: Australia’s access to medicines 2016-2021’, https://www.medicinesaustralia. com.au/wp-content/uploads/ sites/65/2023/04/MedicinesMatter-2022-FINAL.pdf. Accessed 19.04.2024.
2. Ibid.
3.Lichtenberg F. R. (2023).
Number of drugs provided by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and mortality and hospital utilization in Australia, 20022019. SSM - population health, 24, 101514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ssmph.2023.101514
4. Ibid.
5. Australian Medical Association, 2024, ‘2024 Public Hospital Report Card’, www.ama.com.au/sites/ default/files/2024-04/2024-publichospital-report-card.pdf. Accessed 19.04.2024.
6. Ibid.
7. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). (2023, June 30).
PBS Expenditure and Prescriptions Report 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023. PBS. https://www.pbs.gov. au/info/statistics/expenditureprescriptions/pbs-expenditureand-prescriptions-report-1-july2022-to-30-june-2023. Accessed 9.05.2024.
8. Department of Health. (2019). Department of Health Annual Report 2018-19. Retrieved from Department of Health Annual Report. Accessed 09.05.2024.
