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The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and implications for paediatric prescribing
Yashwant Sinha1, Jo-Anne E Brien, Jonathan C Craig
1Centre for Kidney Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, NSW, Australia. yashwans@chw.edu.au
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health
|June 4, 2009
Summary
Access to new medicines for children in Australia is limited as most applications target adult conditions. Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) processes help improve children's access by removing age restrictions.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Paediatric Pharmacology
- Health Policy
Background:
- The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) influences medicine access in Australia.
- Understanding PBAC decisions' impact on paediatric medicine access is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) decisions' impact on children's access to medicines listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).
Main Methods:
- Analysis of PBAC public summary documents (July 2005-November 2006).
- Comparison with Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) recommendations for paediatric use.
- Assessment of medicine cost, therapeutic class, and concordance between TGA and PBS information.
Main Results:
- Only 7% of 102 submissions were for new paediatric indications.
- 60% of submissions lacked age specification, targeting adult conditions.
- Listings specifically including children were more likely to be recommended.
- Fair concordance (kappa 0.21) between TGA and PBS information on age, with 46% of recommendations being age-unrestricted versus adult-only TGA information.
Conclusions:
- Children's access to new subsidised medicines in Australia lags behind adults.
- PBAC processes can enhance paediatric access by avoiding age restrictions on PBS listings.
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