Anaphylaxis sufferers can now have peace of mind knowing
from today they will have access to two funded EpiPens,
which would otherwise cost between $100 – $350 and last for
12-18 months.
This announcement comes following a
consultation from Pharmac last year.
Bindi Norwell,
ProCare Group CEO, says: “We are delighted Pharmac has
agreed to fund two EpiPens for anaphylaxis sufferers from
today. This is a huge relief for whānau who live with
someone or experience anaphylaxis themselves. For some, the
financial burden was forcing them to make the difficult
decision to risk going without it.”
Allan Moffitt,
Clinical Director at ProCare, says: “This announcement
will grant peace of mind to those who have underlying health
conditions and our Pacific people, in particular, who are
more than twice at risk of having anaphylaxis through food
allergy than our Māori or Asian
populations*”.
“Given the increasing incidence for
food allergies and anaphylaxis (for some populations this
has increased three-fold in the past ten years), we are very
pleased to see Pharmac has moved to subsidise this
lifesaving treatment,” concludes Moffitt.
ProCare
made a submission in support of this proposal in October
2022, noting initial concerns around the strain on General
Practitioners to prescribe the medication, health literacy
of the community, and additional auto-injectors for
particularly vulnerable populations.
Pharmac noted
several of ProCare’s recommendations and have adjusted the
prescribers to include relevant health professionals as well
as General
Practitioners.
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