Pharmacological and ethical comparisons of lung cancer medicine accessibility in Australia and New Zealand.
J Med Ethics
; 2024 Aug 28.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39209378
ABSTRACT
Gaps in funded cancer medicines between New Zealand and Australia can have significant implications for patients and their families. Pharmac, the New Zealand pharmaceutical funding agency, has been criticised for not funding enough cancer medicines, and a 2022 review identified ethical concerns about its utilitarian focus on efficiency. However, as the costs of new cancer medicines rise along with public and political pressure to fund them, questions about value for money remain critical for health systems worldwide. In this paper, we compare funding for cancer medicines in New Zealand and Australia, specifically medicines for non-small cell lung cancer. We argue that the ethical imperatives on funding agencies to get value for money and provide medicines for patients with cancer underscore the importance of transparent decision-making processes, including identifying and explaining intercountry differences in funded medicines.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
J Med Ethics
/
J. med. ethics
/
Journal of medical ethics
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
New Zealand
Country of publication:
United kingdom