Standing Strong for a #StrongerPBS

There’s no question about it. The Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), is a national treasure. Because it exists, Australians are able to access medicines for a fraction of their cost, typically paying mere dollars for a prescription that otherwise might have cost them hundreds or thousands in out of pocket costs.

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However, the process used to review and recommend medicines for reimbursement hasn’t been revised in over 30 years. Medical innovation has come an exceptionally long way in that time. So has the way we define the value of medicines. And yet, new medicines are still being assessed for reimbursement based on what was relevant to the healthcare system decades ago. The result is today’s more innovative medicines are being held up in lengthy evaluation processes, some requiring multiple attempts at achieving reimbursement. In the worst cases, it can take years with some medicines never getting recommended for reimbursement, and in the meantime, patients have been waiting.?

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It’s time for the PBS to evolve and strengthen for the future of healthcare. This is a future of innovations, which cannot be evaluated based on the cost-effectiveness of how many patients they will treat, but rather on the cost savings they stand to deliver over the long term. Cost savings like reduced hospital stays, reduced reliance on disability schemes, or reduced risk of relapse and ongoing need for treatment. We stand with the #StrongerPBS campaign and its call to dramatically reduce the time it takes for medicines to be reimbursed in Australia.

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Bayer’s tagline, We’ve been patients is a nod to the campaign’s key message, that Australians have to wait patiently – on average 466 days for a TGA-approved medicine to be listed on the PBS. It’s also an acknowledgement that every person is a patient. At some time in our lives, each one of us will require access to a medicine. We all hope and expect that the medicines we need will be listed on the PBS, but what if they aren’t?

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This reality is faced by thousands of Australians each day who are waiting for TGA-approved medicines to be reimbursed, who are paying out of pocket for the treatments they need, appealing for help from patient advocacy groups, or obtaining them through compassionate access programs run by companies like Bayer.

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There are so many disease states for which time is of the essence and every day counts. As we consider the recommendations included in the recent HTA Review, we welcome reforms that seek to improve access arrangements for young Australians and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. We also celebrate the prospect of accelerated access to life-saving medicines for people with extremely rare diseases, along with a more flexible evaluation process for innovative therapies that don’t easily meet the criteria for assessment. For people awaiting new treatments for cancer or degenerative diseases, these reforms hold great promise.

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And yet, we know that true reform requires more than bureaucratic change alone. Greater speed and efficiency are aided by us as the sponsors of medicines and we must play our part to achieve a #StrongerPBS. It is critical for Australia to be ready for the next generation of medicines to come. The future of our healthcare system relies on the work we collectively do today. Learn more and pledge your support at www.strongerpbs.com.au

?#teambayer #strongerPBS

Fanco Sing Ali Akber Rangwala Mitzi Begent Monica Saba Ailish Hanley