A hard hitting article by Jody Hopikinson of Pharmacy Today talks about the proposed changes to the prescribing criteria for key medications for type 2 diabetes (empagliflozin (Jardiance), empagliflozin with metformin (Jardiamet), dulaglutide (Trulicity) and liraglutide (Victoza)). In the article she interviews Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa Board Chair, Dr John Baker and others who are extremely disappointed in what Dr Baker describes as "a great leap backwards" from Pharmac.
The essentials from the article are "Māori and Pacific people will be more likely to die should a Pharmac change to a Special Authority ethnicity access criteria be reversed" and the "proposal will continue the health system’s better care for the “worried European well” at the expense of care for Māori and Pasifika" according to Dr Baker.
Submissions through the Pharmac online consultation process are due by Thursday 28th May through this link here https://consultations.pharmac.govt.nz/medicines/2026-05-diabetes/. There are a number of organisations, health related entities and representative groups and individuals strongly encouraging submissions against the proposed change, and examples of text and rationale being used can be found online.
