15 August 2005
GP prescribing gives easier access to two drugs
People will be able to have easier access to two more drugs from 1 September.
Changes to access criteria by drug funding agency PHARMAC will see the antidepressant venlafaxine (Efexor XR) and the
anti-fungal treatment terbinafine (Lamisil) able to be prescribed by general practitioners.
Currently venlafaxine must be prescribed by a psychiatrist while terbinafine prescriptions have to come from a
specialist, such as a dermatologist.
The steps are the latest in giving patients easier access to funded medicines.
PHARMAC Medical Director Dr Peter Moodie says that giving general practitioners the ability to prescribe both
venlafaxine and terbinafine will effectively speed up the process of patients gaining access to them.
"In some areas of New Zealand it can be difficult to find a suitably qualified psychiatrist to prescribe venlafaxine.
For patients in these areas, being able to have a vocationally-registered GP prescribe the drug will enable them to
access it more quickly," Dr Moodie says.
Venlafaxine will continue to be targeted to patients with severe depression, but improving access will enable them to
have more rapid access to an important treatment option, Dr Moodie adds.
The changes are the latest steps PHARMAC is taking to make it easier for patients to have easier access to subisided
medicines, and to reduce paperwork for doctors. Earlier this month PHARMAC announced changes in access to the
cholesterol-lowering statin atorvastatin (Lipitor) and treatments for glaucoma (bimatoprost lantanoprost and
travoprost).
ENDS