Pharmac expands online medical device list

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth 

Pharmac has expanded its national medical device list to more than 220,000 items and is moving away from calling it a ‘closed list’.  

Pharmac's director of medical technology assessment Catherine Epps says this single list gives national visibility of hospital medical devices online for the first time.

Speaking at the 2025 MTANZ conference in Auckland, Epps said said Pharmac defines medical devices as technologies used to diagnose, monitor, treat, prevent or support health needs and its scope covers devices used by Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, and for patients to use in their homes.

She said the list aims to support better planning and investment decisions and guide future purchasing. 

While it is the foundation for a single national list for public hospitals to use to select medical devices, Health NZ is not restricted to only ordering from the list.

"Using a single national list brings greater transparency to what is used and funded in public hospitals," Epps said. 

"This will support consistent access, reduce duplication and improve equity across the country, no matter where you live."

Pharmac is moving away from using the term 'closed list' following industry feedback, and the national list will be continuously updated to reflect changes in medical technology and public health needs.

"We will cease referring to a closed list over the next few months and instead describe the national list of medical devices," Epps said.

Epps said Pharmac acknowledges that gaps remain in the data and plans to continue engaging with suppliers to address these issues.

She said Pharmac works closely with Health New Zealand on national processes for evaluating health technologies, adding that several health technology assessments for medical devices are currently underway or completed.

"We want to understand what the gaps are and where potential might be for the use of medical devices, for example, in changing approaches, models of care or locations of treatment," Epps said.

She added that Pharmac is working to be more responsive to industry and has ramped up its supplier engagement, holding over 294 meetings in the last 12 months. 

Pharmac board chair Paula Bennett also spoke at the conference and addressed the ongoing question of which organisation will procure medical devices. 

She said whether this ultimately ends up with Pharmac or with Health NZ, she wants a quick decision as the ongoing uncertainty has left Pharmac staff worried about their jobs for more than a year.

"We need to make a call on this. Whatever we decide, as long as it is in New Zealand's best interests, we will adapt and move forward," she told the audience.

Bennett said Pharmac is bringing in new leadership, upgrading tech systems, and working on better relationships with stakeholders. The new chief executive, Natalie McMurtry, is due to start in mid-September 2025.

Image: Pharmac's director of medical technology assessment Catherine Epps speaking at the 2025 MTANZ conference in Auckland

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