Medicines and Therapies

Authorities in the Australian state of Victoria now have instant access to prescription data for high-risk medicines, and on this side of the Tasman, the Medicines Classification Committee is considering introducing a similar system

Pharmac’s proposed medicine funding overhaul is a PR stunt offering little action to address funding for medicines New Zealanders need, critics say 

Pharmac is defending its process for switching from branded to generic medicines in the face of a petition calling for a public inquiry into the agency’s generic medication patient safety protocols 

A resthome on Auckland’s North Shore twice provided an elderly resident with the wrong medication, in breach of her rights 

New Zealand may have side-stepped an opioid death epidemic, but zopiclone and clozapine death figures spark alarm 

Supermarkets in Auckland were this morning selling dextromethorphan-containing cough medicines at marked-down prices, five days after a sudden law change making these items pharmacist-only

Some pharmacies unknowingly continued to sell products illegally this week after Medsafe announcements failed to filter through

Rationing of the widely used oral contraceptive pill Levlen ED looks set to end on Friday, almost a month earlier than expected