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Delays in adoption of statins on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme: Reflections of a John Snow Scholar

This article is sponsored by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians

The evidence for using statins in diabetic patients with normal cholesterol levels to prevent myocardial infarction or stroke was firmly established in 2002 with the publication of the Heart Protection Study. This large, prospective controlled trial found a relative risk reduction attributable to statins of around 25% in this and other population groups. [1] Statins were not subsidised for this indication in Australia until 2006. [2] I conducted a research project that sought to quantify the effect of this delay in terms of the number of cardiovascular events that might otherwise have been prevented if the subsidy for statins had occurred in 2002, when the evidence for this indication became available.

Completion of the project provided me with a more complete understanding of the use of the breadth of data sources available to synthesise an answer to the research question: what was the impact of the delay in subsidising statin drugs for diabetics with normal cholesterol from 2002 to 2006, in terms of cardiovascular outcomes? It also gave me valuable insights into the public health implications of the decisions of Medicare Australia relating to the funding of drugs, such as those for lowering cholesterol for the primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.

As an unusual research question, for which I could find little precedent in the published literature, it posed a challenge in terms of designing some means of answering it and required a creative approach. I used baseline cardiovascular risk data from the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study, [3] statin-related risk reduction data from the Heart Protection Study, [1] and epidemiological data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ National Health Survey. [4] For one part of the study I also referred to unpublished data from the Perth Risk Factor Survey.

In order to integrate these data to provide an answer to my research question, I had to learn statistical methods and familiarise myself with software that I had never previously used, which was also very challenging and at times frustrating, although good supervision helped to somewhat offset this! I have no doubt that the skills learned will be of use in the future. I then had to present my research methodology and findings in the format of a journal article.

The project allowed me to learn about access to pharmaceuticals in Australia and how the decision-making process is conducted for subsidising medicines for particular patient groups. I gained…