A new centrally managed funding system for MS medications delivered via hospital-only infusions (currently Tysabri and Lemtrada) has now been established. These medications will now be reimbursed by the National Drugs Management Scheme (NDMS) rather than by individual hospitals.
MS Ireland warmly welcomes this news, which represents a major step forward in our ongoing efforts to ensure that all people with MS have access to the right treatment for them, at the right time. Under the previous funding system, many people were unable to access the treatment that had been prescribed for them because the hospital they attended did not have the money in the budget. The establishment of the NDMS should address these inequities and help to ensure fair access based on clinical need, not funding availability.
MS Ireland would like to sincerely thank the HSE for listening to the concerns raised by MS Ireland on behalf of people with MS, and the Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI) for supporting us in raising the issues with the HSE. In particular we would also like to note the considerable work undertaken by the National Clinical Programme for Neurology, under the direction of Professor Tim Lynch, in the establishment of the new system. We would also like to acknowledge and thank all the people with MS and their families who participated in our Access to Medicines campaign and who fought hard on their own behalf and on behalf of others to access the treatments they need.
MS Ireland has developed a Q and A document for people with MS on how the new system will work – this can be accessed here
Further information on the NDMS is available in this Patient Information Leaflet. The HSE will also shortly be launching a new website on the scheme: