Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 12 July 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Evaluating Orphan Drugs: Discussion

9:00 am

Mr. Shaun Flanagan:

That is the first thing. The matter of drugs within the HSE is not a binary cost effective "Yes" or "No" test. There is a list of seven criteria which the HSE has to consider. The HSE has to balance the magnitude of a clinical effect, of cost effectiveness, of the budget impact and of the unmet need, and has to try to arrive at a blended decision for a drug.