12358 (2026). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health

12358 (2026). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health: Which essential medicines have the lowest stored domestic supply in the event of an import or distribution disruption caused by a fuel crisis?

Hon David Seymour: All medicines are important in supporting delivery of health services. Any supply issues that arise are triaged by Pharmac based on clinical impact, and management response is tailored to the clinical use. Pharmac seeks clinical advice from internal and external experts on the clinical impact of the issue which informs how they develop management solutions. There are 21 specialist clinical advisory committees (including specialty clinical areas such as cancer, anti-infectives, neurology) to support the work in this space. Pharmac has contractual arrangements with suppliers to hold certain amounts of stock in the country. Typically, this is two months for medicines. If a suppliers’ stock fall below these levels they are contractually obligated to notify Pharmac.