The Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) congratulates the Minister for Health and Ageing on her announcement that consumers and other stakeholders will now be able to comment on medicines being considered for listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). 

CHF has advocated for more transparency around the PBS listing process for several years. It provided input for this initiative to the Australian Department of Health and Ageing based on the
need to add the consumer experience to the evidence base.

‘The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) makes final decisions about which medicines are listed on the PBS. It has a consumer representative, but this initiative allows more direct consumer input into the decision-making process,’ CHF Executive Director Helen Hopkins said.

‘The PBAC meeting agenda will be publicly available on its website six weeks before each meeting, stating which medicines are being considered. Consumers and others will have access to an online form for the following two weeks to comment on how consumers, their family and carers would benefit from PBS listing. Comments will be examined by the PBAC and the pharmaceutical company that applied for the PBS listing before the meeting.’

Ms Hopkins said this was a significant improvement in transparency around the PBAC process, and followed other consumer-driven improvements.

‘The release of public summary documents by the PBAC after decisions had been made has helped consumers understand the decision-making process and the reasons why medicines are approved or
rejected.  The inclusion of a consumer representative on the PBAC has led to robust debate about the availability of medicines and how to improve access to medicines,’ she said.

‘A CHF pilot project with the PBAC to test consumer impact statements has shown the value that consumer experiences can add to the decision making processes. The statements look at the impact
of specific conditions on people’s daily lives that can be taken into account by the PBAC when looking at medicines to treat those conditions.’

Outgoing CHF Chairperson Mitch Messer is the current consumer member on the PBAC. 

For further information contact:
Helen Hopkins, CHF Executive Director, on 0412 065 957