The commitment to a 180-day timeline for reimbursement decisions by the first quarter of 2029 will require more resources, the Clinical Director of the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics (NCPE) has told this newspaper.
The commitment is part of the framework agreements for the supply and pricing of medicines the Government recently signed with Medicines for Ireland and the Irish Pharmaceutical Health Association.
The agreement promises a structured process towards achieving a 180-day timeline for reimbursement decisions by the first quarter of 2029.
According to the Government, this will accelerate patient access to new treatments.
“The real challenge will be about getting the assessments done, to get the price negotiations done in that narrow time frame,” Prof Michael Barry told the Medical Independent (MI) at the recent conference on access to medications at the RDS in Dublin.
“But look, we’re moving towards it [the 180-day target]. It’s planned to be introduced by quarter one in 2029. We will do everything we possibly can to make sure we reach that.”
He welcomed the fact that the HSE drugs group and the HSE Corporate Pharmaceutical Unit have received increased resources in recent years.
But the new target would require further funding.
“It will require resourcing, not only for the NCPE, but also for the HSE [CPU] and indeed the [HSE] drugs group,” according to Prof Barry.
“For all components of the reimbursement chain.”
Separately, this newspaper asked the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill about the 180-day commitment and resources at the recent Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation’s Annual Delegate Conference in Dundalk, Co Louth.
The Minister pointed out the NCPE team has approximately doubled over the past two years.
“So already huge resources have gone that,” the Minister told MI.
“And we have to continue to work towards the 180 days.”
See news feature in the 19 May edition of the Medical Independent
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