Increasing our contribution to health equity
Together, we’re in a better position to contribute to and facilitate change.
Medicines are the most common treatment intervention in the health and disability system. They can, and often do, make a huge difference to health outcomes. But many people are still missing out on the potential benefits, and some people are missing out more than others.
The causes of inequitable health outcomes are complex and include wider determinants of health, such as education, housing, nutrition, income, and language barriers. For Māori, historic and ongoing impacts of colonisation are a major contributor.
As a Tiriti o Waitangi partner, achieving health equity for Māori is a key priority. We also need to better meet the needs of Pacific peoples, disabled people, and other groups who face barriers to accessing or using medicines.
We make medicines available through our assessment and decision-making processes and we work hard to minimise barriers to access and support optimal use. But there’s still more we can do, and we can’t do it alone.
The Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act made addressing health inequity a priority for the health and disability system. the establishment of new national entities has increased our ability to effectively collaborate and coordinate across our work.
Together, we’re in a better position to contribute to and facilitate change.
Increasing our contribution to health equity
In response to the Te Pataka Whaioranga - Pharmac Review, the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act and the interim government Policy Statement on Health, we are:
- including population needs, and equity impacts, in our assessment and decisionmaking processes – like the
work we’ve done with the influenza vaccine. - supporting the health and disability system by monitoring medicines uptake and use - like the data insights work we’ve done on gout.
- working with partners from the health and disability sector, like Matui, to improve access to and the optimal use of medicines.
- and increasing diverse voices in our work and being more visible to priority communities – like our work with the Consumer Advisory Committee