ProCare, a leading healthcare provider, is delighted to receive confirmation from Pharmac that the life-changing drug Trikafta, which can add up for 27 years of good health for those with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), is being funded for eligible patients from 1 April 2023.

Prior to this announcement from Pharmac, CF patients using Trikafta had to privately bear the cost of this treatment, more than $300,000 a year.

ProCare Group CEO, Bindi Norwell, says “This is wonderful news for CF patients and their whānau. We know many CF patients have a close relationship with their GP, many of whom have treated their patients their entire life. It was a no-brainer for ProCare to support funding that would make a huge different to CF patients’ lives.”

Dr Allan Moffit, Clinical Director for ProCare, says “Apart from the physical effects of living with CF, there are wider mental and emotional impacts for patients and their families, and the medical burden on patients who have to take multiple medications every day. Funding Trikafta will significantly reduce not only the physical toll of having CF, but also the mental and emotional toll.”

One area ProCare had highlighted as part of its submission to Pharmac, was that they re-consider the recommendation that prescriptions would be “sent to and collected from Te Whatu Ora hospital pharmacies”. Whilst they have acknowledged this in the response to consultations, if we are to truly put whānau at the centre of healthcare in Aotearoa, then we should endeavour to make this medication available at patients’ local or community pharmacy.

The administrative ‘cost’ of dealing with CF is already high enough without asking patients to visit hospital pharmacies which are not always in convenient locations and more often than not incur a higher than usual cost for parking.