PBS reform — a missed opportunity?

Abstract

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) reform package was announced in 2006 and was designed to save the government significant expenditure on the PBS through mandatory price cuts and price disclosure arrangements for multibrand products. Perhaps most significantly, the formulary was spilt in two with no linkages between the formularies on either price or therapeutic outcome. This article examines the potential impact of these changes on the PBS and pharmaceutical policy in Australia more broadly.