95bFM Pharmac announces changes to ADHD medication availability and funded treatments
9 December, 2024
Interview by Joel Armstrong, adapted by Marlo Schorr-Kon
Pharmac has announced it will be funding a new ADHD medication: Lisdexamfetamine, which is currently not available in Aotearoa, as well as removing the renewal criteria for funded ADHD treatments.
Lisdexamfetamine has been reported to have fewer side effects to medication that is currently available for those who have ADHD.
As well as this, the renewal criteria for funded treatments, such as dexamfetamine, methylphenidate, and modafinil, would mean that once approved, medical professionals qualified to distribute the medication can do so without being required to need input from a specialist every two years, as the current system enforces.
Pharmac says that by removing the renewal criteria for funded ADHD treatments, this would help 13,000 people in five years.
ADHD New Zealand spokesperson, Darrin Bull, told 95bFM’s The Wire that this will reduce barriers to obtaining medication.
He says the availability and cost of psychiatrists in New Zealand are the most significant barriers to prescription renewal, with some people reporting waits of “six to nine months”.
“It has been suggested that the cost is somewhere around $300 to $1,000.”
Regarding Lisdexamfetamine, ADHD New Zealand has been working on the availability of the medication over the past decade, only starting getting traction at a hui in Parliament in 2022, with Bull acknowledging the support Pharmac provided during the hui.
“I really take my hat off to [Pharmac and] how they listened to us.”
Despite these developments, Bull says there are many ways to support people living with ADHD.
“Counseling and coaching is really important. We are aware that mental health issues of ADHD adults in particular are really significant, so it's important to step into issues such as depression, anxiety, and not being able to sleep with your doctor.”
