Auckland region dispensing data for emtricitabine with tenofovir disoproxil

15 February 2021  

Dear [name and contact details]

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Thank you for your request dated 14 January 2021 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to emtricitabine with tenofovir disoproxil, also referred to as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). You asked for:

[information] to help understand what percentage of people are accessing PrEP via primary healthcare vs Auckland Sexual Health. …information both on medications dispensed and the Special Authority numbers obtained.

Information on medications dispensed would tell us who is taking HIV PrEP. However tenofovir/emtricitabine is also taken in conjunction with other HIV medications for treatment of HIV, so would it be possible to separate out somehow those people who were being dispensed tenofovir/emtricitabine in isolation from other HIV medications?

Information on the Special Authority for tenofovir/emtricitabine would give us information about how many people were initiating HIV PrEP (initial applications) vs taking on-going HIV PrEP (repeat applications).

Please find dispensing information for emtricitabine with tenofovir disoproxil attached with this response.

We require additional time to research and collate the Special Authority application information requested. We will collate this information and forward it to you as soon as possible and without undue delay.

Please note that PHARMAC approaches its assessment of requests for information under the OIA on the basis that, once released, the information becomes publicly available - in other words once we release the information to you it becomes available to any other party in that exact form (whether by you distributing it to others or by virtue of us receiving the same request from a different third party).

We have made some adjustments to the data provided where patient totals are equal to or less than 10 (displayed as <10) as we consider this is necessary to protect the privacy of those patients (section 9(2)(a)).

As required under the OIA, we also considered whether, in the circumstances, the withholding of this information was outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make this information available.  In this case we did not consider that the public interest outweighed the reasons for withholding the information.

Please note you have the right, by way of complaint under section 28(3) of the OIA to an Ombudsman, to seek an investigation and review of our decision.

We trust that this information answers your queries. We are making our information more freely available, so we will now publish selected OIA responses (excluding personal details) on our website. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about this.

Yours sincerely

Rachel Read
Manager, Policy and Government Services