Search

Objective The objective of this study was to explore general practitioners' opinions regarding access to medicine issues in New Zealand ( NZ). Methods In NZ, general practitioners' ( GPs) practices are enrolled with primary health organisations ( PHOs). GPs were asked to complete a questionnaire while attending a monthly PHO meeting during August- October 2010. Of the 11 PHOs invited to participate, two declined. Two hundred and twenty-five questionnaires were distributed at the PHO meetings and 173 completed questionnaires were returned (response rate of 77%). Key findings Half (53%) of the GPs agreed that the range of medicines available in NZ was adequate to treat all health conditions; however, 54% felt that NZ takes too long to register newer medicines available in other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Seventy-five per cent had wanted to prescribe a medicine that was not fully funded in NZ in the 6 months prior to the survey. Over half (58%) believed that government policies of sole supply and reference pricing negatively impacted on clinical decisions. Fifty-six per cent believed that the Pharmaceutical Management Agency of New Zealand ( PHARMAC) was effective in managing the budget for community medicines. Conclusion GPs have the opinion that the medicines are sufficiently available to treat the conditions they saw in their daily practice. However, the majority of the GPs felt that the NZ is slower to fund new medicines. This study highlights that PHARMAC can enhance its relationship with prescribers in NZ, including clarifying channels of communication, funding new medicines and participation in the decision-making process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Zealand may be the next national jurisdiction where non-medical cannabis use and supply will be legalized. While the current New Zealand government's plans for possible cannabis legalization were rather unclear for some time, initial details on proposed key parameters (for example, age limits, production and supply modes, use restrictions) of a possible cannabis legalization framework have recently emerged. We provide initial basic examination and contextualization of the proposal's select key details, both vis-a-vis select legalization frameworks as they exist in other jurisdictions as well as in reference to key parameters of policy and controls governing other legal psychoactive substances in New Zealand. Overall, the proposed framework for non-medical cannabis legalization in New Zealand resembles other (e.g., Canada's) legalization models in spirit and main proposed regulations. There are, however, several proposed regulation elements where questions regarding both feasibility and/or policy coherence concerning other psychoactive substance areas arise and likely to lead to challenges or problems in practice. Evidently, substantially more thinking, consideration and development need to be invested towards a more complete and workable public health-oriented framework and roadmap for cannabis legalization in New Zealand. Furthermore, possible cannabis legalization reforms hinge on the successful outcome of a public referendum (in late 2020), adding the acute need for substantive pre-referendum public education as well as overall extrinsic uncertainty regarding the prospects of actual and material policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]