Pharmac Proposes To Widen Access To Urinary Tract Infection Treatment And Fund A New Epilepsy Treatment

Pharmac – Te Pātaka Whaioranga is consulting on improving access to treatment for urinary tract infections, as well as providing another treatment option for people with some types of epilepsy.

Consultation on Pharmac’s funding proposal for these medicines is now open and will close on Thursday, 1 August.

Pharmac’s Senior Therapeutic Group Manager / Team Leader, Alexandra Compton, says over 2,900 New Zealanders will benefit from these treatments in the first year of funding, if the proposal is approved. That includes an estimated 2,600 people with urinary tract infections and about 300 people with epilepsy.

“For many people a urinary tract infection is something that’s easily treated with antibiotics from your GP or pharmacist, but some people currently require treatment in a hospital,” she says.

“Our Anti-Infective Advisory Committee has told us that providing the medicine fosfomycin in the community would make a big difference for this group of people. In fact, we think this proposal would reduce the number of people needing to go to the hospital for treatment for their urinary tract infections by 80%, which is an amazing outcome for patients and the health system.”

This consultation also proposes funding zonisamide to treat some forms of epilepsy.

Epilepsy New Zealand CEO Ross Smith believes this is a step forward for treating epilepsy in New Zealand.

“This is great news! It’s been a long time coming, and I am sure it will benefit some people who are having a tough time gaining control,” he says.

Pharmac would like to hear from people who have experienced urinary tract infections or epilepsy, their whānau, clinicians and others in the health sector about the proposed eligibility criteria for both of these medicines.

The Government provided additional funding to Pharmac in June 2024 to fund new medicines and to widen access to medicines that are already funded. The funding boost covers medicines for both cancer and non-cancer health conditions. More information is at https://pharmac.govt.nz/news-and-resources/news/q-and-a-budget-increase.
 

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