Tens of thousands of New Zealanders living with asthma
are set to benefit from long-awaited changes that will make
it easier to access essential, lifesaving treatment, marking
a major step forward for asthma care in New
Zealand.
Effective from August 1, people who use a
2-in-1 inhaler to manage their asthma will be able to
collect a three-month supply in a single pharmacy visit,
rather than returning monthly for repeats. This change is
expected to benefit about 120,000 New Zealanders.
The
move directly aligns with the New Zealand Adolescent and
Adult Asthma Guidelines, which are developed and maintained
by the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ. The guidelines
recommend the 2-in-1 inhaler as the frontline treatment for
most adolescents and adults with asthma, used both as a
preventer and a reliever.
Foundation Chief Executive
Ms Letitia Harding says this decision will make a huge
difference to the 1 in 8 Kiwis living with
asthma.
“When someone is having an asthma attack, they
need treatment immediately – there’s no time to get a
prescription filled.
“Patients often need
to keep their reliever inhaler in multiple places – at home,
school, work, their car – so enhancing access to life-saving
asthma medicine will undoubtedly reduce the morbidity of
asthma in New Zealand.”
The change would
make asthma management significantly easier, particularly
for families facing transport barriers or juggling multiple
repeat prescriptions, Ms Harding says.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
“When you have
to visit the pharmacy every month, it becomes a real
burden.
“Allowing people to collect three months’
supply at once removes that hurdle and supports better
treatment adherence.”
Foundation Medical Director
Professor Bob Hancox says the move is a good example of
evidence-based, patient-centred care.
“For the past
five years, our guidelines have recommended 2-in-1
anti-inflammatory reliever inhalers for most adults and
adolescents with asthma, as they are much better for
preventing exacerbations than the traditional blue
relievers.
“As well as benefiting patients, this
decision will reduce the burden on the health system by
preventing asthma exacerbations and hospital
admissions.”
Pharmac is also proposing that medical
centres be allowed to supply a number of inhalers directly
under a Practitioners Supply Order (PSO), enabling
healthcare practitioners to supply patients with inhalers
for emergency treatment.
These changes come at a
critical time. New Zealand continues to have some of the
highest asthma rates in the developed world, with 1 in 8
people affected and 96 deaths each year (almost 2 people
each week).
The total economic cost of asthma to New
Zealand’s health system is estimated at $1.2 billion
annually.
© Scoop Media
Discussion about this post