NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Pharmac has national contracts for 70 percent of medical devices used by Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora and is working to cover the full scope.

Catherine Epps, Pharmac director of medical devices, told the MTANZ Conference on June 24 that the definition of medical devices used by the agency includes ‘software as a medical device’ that is intended for a therapeutic purpose.

“Both artificial intelligence and precision medicines are two emerging areas which will have a significant impact on us, which may or may not come into our medical devices scope, and this will largely depend on the use and the application of the device itself,” she said.

Only medical devices used by Health NZ Te Whatu Ora in hospitals or specialist services are within Pharmac’s scope.

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