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Published on Sep 12, 2024
Authored by Pfizer External Communications Team
How a Stronger PBS can help improve access to medicines for Australians.
The Australian Government subsidises the cost of medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The PBS allows Australians to access medicines without having to pay the full price. For an overview of the PBS and what this means for Australians, watch the video below from the Australian Government Department of Health:
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) – Australia funded the first medicine for Spinal Muscular Atrophy in 2019.
Hepatitis C – Australia was the first country to introduce government-funded new treatment for Hepatitis C.
Cervical Cancer – Australia was the first country to fund a nationwide human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program since 2007.
Cystic Fibrosis – Children aged 6 to 11 with cystic fibrosis were able to access a new medicine via the PBS since 2023.
To learn more about these success stories, visit: https://www.strongerpbs.com.au/successes
Innovative medicines and new technologies are continually being developed. However, even after they have been deemed safe and effective by regulatory agencies, it can take more than a year to be listed on the PBS. It takes on average 466 days from when a medicine is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration to be listed on the PBS.2 Australians often wait three to four times longer to access medicines when compared to residents of other countries, where new medicines are available to the community in as little as 90 days.3
There is room for improvement to make sure patients can access new medicines faster. The collaboration between the medicines industry and Federal Government to help address the impact of COVID-19 demonstrated a shared commitment to make medicines and vaccines available to patients quickly. A similar commitment is needed to help Australians gain timely access to innovative treatments for diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
Having timely access to medicines means that patients will have better health outcomes, return to work sooner, and enjoy an improved quality of life. It can also mean less pressure on primary care (including GPs, pharmacists, and other allied health professionals), as well as specialists and hospitals, ensuring that our healthcare system can meet the demands of a growing and ageing population.
This is an important time for the medicines industry. The system that evaluates which new medicines should be added to the PBS is called Australia’s Health Technology Assessment (HTA). The HTA system has not been comprehensively reviewed in more than 30 years; however, there is currently an opportunity to modernise this scheme. The HTA released its final report with recommendations in September 2024. The Federal Government is considering the report and its recommendations and will release a response.
Medicines Australia developed a Stronger PBS campaign to educate consumers about the PBS and advocate for HTA reform to allow for faster access to the best medicines when Australians need them.
For more information about the Stronger PBS Campaign, visit: www.strongerpbs.com.au.
To learn about the PBS, visit: www.pbs.gov.au/pbs/home.
Image and quote source: Medicines Australia, Stronger PBS Campaign.
Image and quote source: Medicines Australia, Stronger PBS Campaign.
Image and quote source: Medicines Australia, Stronger PBS Campaign.
The Stronger PBS Campaign was developed by Medicines Australia, and is supported by Pfizer Australia.
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