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Time for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee to set its own agenda

Wendy L Lipworth, Ian Kerridge and Richard O Day
Med J Aust 2012; 196 (6): . || doi: 10.5694/mja12.10152
Published online: 2 April 2012

Drug subsidy recommendations should be informed by active assessment of current evidence and emerging treatments

Decisions about which medicines should be subsidised by the Australian Government on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) are based on recommendations made by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) — an independent statutory body appointed by the government.1


  • 1 Australian Institute of Health Innovation, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW.
  • 2 Centre for Values, Ethics and the Law in Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
  • 3 Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, NSW.


Correspondence: w.lipworth@unsw.edu.au

Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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  • 10. O’Malley SP, Jordan E. Horizon scanning of new and emerging medical technology in Australia: its relevance to Medical Services Advisory Committee health technology assessments and public funding. Int J Technol Assess Health Care 2009; 25: 374-382.
  • 11. Morgan S, Boothe K. Prescription drug subsidies in Australia and New Zealand. Aust Prescr 2010; 33: 2-4.

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