RDNZ CE appointed to new Pharmac Consumer and Patient Working Group

Rare Disorders NZ CE Chris Higgins attended the first meeting of Pharmac’s new Consumer and Patient Working Group yesterday as one of ten appointees representing the patient and consumer community.

The group has been established for a 12-month period to support Pharmac’s reset programme, which aims to improve Pharmac’s transparency and relationship with consumers.

Dr. Malcolm Mulholland of Patient Voice Aotearoa was selected Chair by the wider consumer and patient community. The members of the group are:

• Dr Malcolm Mulholland MNZM - Patient Voice Aotearoa
• Libby Burgess MNZM - Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition
• Tim Edmonds - Leukaemia and Blood Cancer NZ
• Chris Higgins - Rare Disorders NZ
• Francesca Holloway - Arthritis NZ
• Trent Lash - Heartbeats Charitable Trust
• Gerard Rushton - The Meningitis Foundation
• Rachel Smalley MNZM - The Medicine Gap
• Tracy Tierney - Epilepsy NZ
• Deon York - Haemophilia NZ

“I look foreward to working with this group to ensure the rare voice is heard and considered in the development of Pharmac’s new strategic vision and improved processes. I will be regularly consulting with our support groups with medicine access issues to ensure I adequately reflect their concerns over the term of this working group,” says Chris Higgins.

The focus of the first meeting, held on 21 July, was to finalise the Terms of Reference and agree to the group’s first action points. The next meeting is scheduled in two weeks time.