Sildenafil

5 December 2019

[name and contact details redacted]

Dear [name redacted]

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Thank you for your request dated 7 November 2019 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA).  You asked for data on sildenafil usage in various clinical settings.

The requested data is provided below.

Please note that only one brand of sildenafil was subsidised during the requested time periods, and that one unit is one pill.

Erectile dysfunction due to spinal cord injury, has not been a funded indication for the requested time periods and on this basis the information does not exist and therefore this part of your request is refused under section 18(g) of the OIA, as the information is not held by PHARMAC, and we have no reason to believe it is held by another agency. 

Community usage

Units Dispensed

Number of Patients

Hospital usage

Hospital purchasing data provided to PHARMAC does not capture what indication the medicine is used for, nor any information on the patients receiving it. On this basis this part of your request is refused under section 18(g) of the OIA, as the information is not held by PHARMAC, and we have no reason to believe it is held by another agency.

We have however provided the total number of units of sildenafil dispensed in DHB hospitals for the requested time periods, which we hope is of assistance.

Hospital Units Dispensed

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

Alison Hill
Director, Engagement and Implementation