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#pharmac — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #pharmac, aggregated by home.social.

  1. I have gone to war with Pharmac and I have worked alongside Pharmac as part of a reform process. I think it is an important agency, in fact it is critical for healthcare in NZ that it performs well.

    Their health economics failed me of course, by indicating that the cost of my care was worth more than my life. The reason, and I shit you not, was that if I survived the proven and successful treatment options (and I would), I might live so long that I would end up costing the health system more as I grew old. Cheaper to let me die young.

    The economic models used by Pharmac are outdated, are not humane, are poorly understood by staff, and fundamentally flawed by a very narrow focus on the constructed 'benefit' of a human life. Now, imagine training an AI on those models (and all of their past decision making).

    Pardon my French, but fucking hell.

    Article: Pharmac urged to use more AI

    #Healthcare #NZPol #Pharmac

    nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/pha

  2. I have gone to war with Pharmac and I have worked alongside Pharmac as part of a reform process. I think it is an important agency, in fact it is critical for healthcare in NZ that it performs well.

    Their health economics failed me of course, by indicating that the cost of my care was worth more than my life. The reason, and I shit you not, was that if I survived the proven and successful treatment options (and I would), I might live so long that I would end up costing the health system more as I grew old. Cheaper to let me die young.

    The economic models used by Pharmac are outdated, are not humane, are poorly understood by staff, and fundamentally flawed by a very narrow focus on the constructed 'benefit' of a human life. Now, imagine training an AI on those models (and all of their past decision making).

    Pardon my French, but fucking hell.

    Article: Pharmac urged to use more AI

    #Healthcare #NZPol #Pharmac

    nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/pha

  3. Trump's stupid war has sparked medicine shortages in NZ. Pharmac's "Medicine supply notices" page shows all of the currently affected meds with details.

    pharmac.govt.nz/medicine-fundi

    #NZ #Pharmac

  4. Trump's stupid war has sparked medicine shortages in NZ. Pharmac's "Medicine supply notices" page shows all of the currently affected meds with details.

    pharmac.govt.nz/medicine-fundi

    #NZ #Pharmac

  5. ADHD patients face another year of medication shortages in Whanganui

    Wicksteed Pharmacy (Whanganui) and Eliza’s Pharmacy (Waverley) pharmacist Shannon Burroughs said the shortages made filling prescriptions harder and,…
    #NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Medication #2026 #ADHD #Announces #another #continue #expected #face #Health #in #medications #of #patients #pharmac #shortages #some #struggle #throughout #whanganui #will #year
    newsbeep.com/us/556818/

  6. ADHD patients face another year of medication shortages in Whanganui

    Wicksteed Pharmacy (Whanganui) and Eliza’s Pharmacy (Waverley) pharmacist Shannon Burroughs said the shortages made filling prescriptions harder and,…
    #NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Medication #2026 #ADHD #Announces #another #continue #expected #face #Health #in #medications #of #patients #pharmac #shortages #some #struggle #throughout #whanganui #will #year
    newsbeep.com/us/556818/

  7. "Raise $400k or die: The cost of surviving cancer"

    #MarinéLourens, The Press, 2025/04/23

    I'm fed up to the back teeth with news media picking on Pharmac. It's the best the public system can do, while governments allow corporations to patent bits of chemistry. Allowing them to charge economic rents on brand-name drugs. Which competitive markets could offer at a fraction of the price, while still covering their costs and making a profit;

    economicliberties.us/our-work/

    Never even mentioned.

    #Pharmac

  8. "Raise $400k or die: The cost of surviving cancer"

    #MarinéLourens, The Press, 2025/04/23

    I'm fed up to the back teeth with news media picking on Pharmac. It's the best the public system can do, while governments allow corporations to patent bits of chemistry. Allowing them to charge economic rents on brand-name drugs. Which competitive markets could offer at a fraction of the price, while still covering their costs and making a profit;

    economicliberties.us/our-work/

    Never even mentioned.

    #Pharmac

  9. Great news for ADHDers in Aotearoa;

    "Pharmac is now funding a new medicine and has removed renewal criteria for ADHD treatments."

    nzherald.co.nz/nz/could-pharma

    Until recently, people taking ADHD medication have had to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars every 2 years for a medication review. Pharmac is now trusting GPs to do this for their patients, saving hundreds of hours of psychiatrists' time every year.

    (1/2)

    #podcasts #NZHerald #TheFrontPage #ADHD #Pharmac @adhd

  10. Great news for ADHDers in Aotearoa;

    "Pharmac is now funding a new medicine and has removed renewal criteria for ADHD treatments."

    nzherald.co.nz/nz/could-pharma

    Until recently, people taking ADHD medication have had to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars every 2 years for a medication review. Pharmac is now trusting GPs to do this for their patients, saving hundreds of hours of psychiatrists' time every year.

    (1/2)

    #podcasts #NZHerald #TheFrontPage #ADHD #Pharmac @adhd

  11. CW: Another step in the journey to reform Pharmac
    In the conversations I have had with cancer patients, two common themes emerge. First, a deep sense of betrayal that in their time of need, and after having paid years of taxes, the government has treated them like a dog that needs to be put down. The prevailing attitude from cancer patients towards the government is, “they don’t care. I’m going to die, so why delay the inevitable?”.

    Second, they are immensely proud of advocating for change and do so in the hope that one day Pharmac will become patient-focused, and others won’t have to suffer the same cruel fate and beg for their lives, or the lives of those they love.

    Malcolm Mulholland from the group 'Patent Voice Aotearoa' is presenting a submission to Parliament today to increase Phrmac's funding.
    #Pharmac, #Health, #DrugFunding, #myeloma, #BloodCancer

    The Post: Another step in the journey to reform Pharmac

  12. Looks like there has been a Frank Exchange Of Views™ and #Pharmac's HRT decision is going to be ... reconsidered. Thanks to all who supported this call.
    rnz.co.nz/news/political/53546

  13. Amazing how a drug's users can realise a problem with an alternative and organise against it before #Pharmac develops an awareness of the scale of the problem. Whoever is doing their consulting needs a large amount of delta v applied to their underside.

    The HRT petition cleared 10,000 signatures today. Keep 'em coming.

    rnz.co.nz/news/national/535098

  14. Amazing how a drug's users can realise a problem with an alternative and organise against it before #Pharmac develops an awareness of the scale of the problem. Whoever is doing their consulting needs a large amount of delta v applied to their underside.

    The HRT petition cleared 10,000 signatures today. Keep 'em coming.

    rnz.co.nz/news/national/535098

  15. CW: NZPol Pharmac funds continuous glucose monitors.

    @ClareBear The Pharmac decision to fund the huge costs of being a type 1 diabetic is so long overdue. This is a no fault condition and the cost of keeping up with the technological improvements are high. Should have happened long ago. Will make a serious difference to budgets in our household.
    #Pharmac #diabetes

  16. The second one is that public debate, including on health policy, has been kept between a very narrow set of goalposts. Fixing Pharmac is the most ambitious thing the panelists can come up with. No discussion of abolishing drug patents - as we have with software patents - so our health system can manufacture the medicines we need at cost.

    #Pharmac #DrugPatents

  17. The second one is that public debate, including on health policy, has been kept between a very narrow set of goalposts. Fixing Pharmac is the most ambitious thing the panelists can come up with. No discussion of abolishing drug patents - as we have with software patents - so our health system can manufacture the medicines we need at cost.

    #Pharmac #DrugPatents

  18. My cartoon in today's thepost.co.nz/world-news/35029

    13 new cancer drugs promised by The National Party on the campaign trail... no where to be seen in this year's budget. As some in the media & public have said, cruel sick lies.

    #NationalParty #Budget2024 #NzPol #NicolaWillis #EditorialCartoon #PoliticalCartoon #Pharmac

  19. "... because Bennett will now be governing a public agency specially designed to have an arms-length relationship with the government of the day, to retain public confidence in Pharmac’s integrity, she will have to display total independence from the ministers that she is closely associated with."

    #BryceEdwards, 2024

    democracyproject.nz/2024/04/30

    #PublicService #Pharmac

  20. "... because Bennett will now be governing a public agency specially designed to have an arms-length relationship with the government of the day, to retain public confidence in Pharmac’s integrity, she will have to display total independence from the ministers that she is closely associated with."

    #BryceEdwards, 2024

    democracyproject.nz/2024/04/30

    #PublicService #Pharmac

  21. My cartoon in today's thepost.co.nz/nz-news/35026098

    Jobs for the boys & girls... Paula Bennett gets the top job at Pharmac. Will she bring that sparkle of late night TV Quiz shows to her new role? Let's hope not...

    #NzPol #PaulaBennett #Pharmac #Aotearoa #NewZealand #PoliticalCartoon #EditorialCartoon

  22. Coalition nepotism,
    fuelled by oil, mining & tarmac.
    Now in an insult to everything decent,
    Pullya Benefit's been given Pharmac.

    🤢 🤢 🤮

    odt.co.nz/news/national/paula-

    #NZPol #Pharmac

  23. Coalition nepotism,
    fuelled by oil, mining & tarmac.
    Now in an insult to everything decent,
    Pullya Benefit's been given Pharmac.

    🤢 🤢 🤮

    odt.co.nz/news/national/paula-

    #NZPol #Pharmac

  24. #Pharmac must be not be allowed to force patients to change medications. When they change what drugs they fund, that needs to apply only to new prescriptions. Especially when those drugs are for brain-related conditions, which can be incredibly sensitive to small changes.