Professor Lloyd. Sansom AO
Chair,Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.

THE PLACE OF PHARMACEUTICALS IN A PUBLIC HEALTH STATEGY

Pharmaceuticals play a central role in the management, treatment and prevention of disease.The selection of which drugs receive PBS subsidy is based on the evaluation of the medicine's effectiveness,cost effectiveness and its place in therapy.As part of the analysis the medicine is compared with other pharmacotherapeutic agents which it is likely to replace or other appropriate non-pharmacological interventions eg surgery,standard medical care. However in the subsidy of medicines which assist in addressing public health issues eg smoking,obesity or alcohol abuse,little thought has been given to examining the cost effectiveness of these agents compared to public health programs.It is now opportune that these areas are addressed to determine whether the expenditure of public funds for subsidy of pharmaceuticals in isolation from other programs is appropriate and what mechanisms may be necessary to further this debate.

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