21 January 2026
Elspeth Baker-Vevers
ADHD Inquiry New Zealand
Via email: [FYI request #33090 email]
Tēnā koe Elspeth
Request for information: Information held on ADHD
Thank you for your request dated 2 December 2025 under the Official Information Act 1982
(OIA) for information held by Pharmac to help identify how ADHD is currently recognised
within existing systems.
On 11 December 2025, we contacted you to seek refinement of your request. This was
because the scope of information requested, together with the 10 year time frame specified,
meant that your request would be refused under section 18(f) of the Act under the ground of
substantial collation or research.
You responded on 16 December 2025, clarifying the intent of your request; however, the
scope of your request was not refined.
We have responded to the aspects of your request that we are able to provide at this time.
The information relevant to Part 2 and 8 of your request wil be released separately.
Extension of your request – Part 2 & Part 8
Below we have responded to the parts of your request we can and you wil have the
information released for part 2 & 8 of your request in due time as Pharmac have decided to
extend the period of time available to respond to your request under section 15A of the
Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act) as necessary consultations are required before we can
make a decision on your request.
You can now expect a response to your request on, or before, 19 February 2026.
You have the right, under section 28 of the Act, to ask the Ombudsman to review my
decision to extend the time available to respond to your request.
Our response
You requested:
This request covers the period 1 January 2015 to the date this request is received.
1. Policies, Funding Criteria, and Decisions Any policies, clinical criteria, funding
criteria, PTAC/PTAC Subcommittee advice, Schedule decisions, or internal decision
documents since 2015 that relate to ADHD medicines, including both stimulant and
non-stimulant classes.
2025-26-114
This part of your request is refused under section 18(f) of the Act as the information
requested requires substantial collation. As indicated our preliminary search for information
provided in our document management system yielded over 5,000 results.
2. Funded Prescription Data
Annual counts of funded prescriptions for ADHD relevant medicines (e.g.,
methylphenidate formulations, dexamfetamine, lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine,
guanfacine), broken down by:
-medicine type
-age
-sex (as recorded in NHI/dispensing datasets) -region -ethnicity for each of the past
ten financial years, or for as many years as data are held in this form.
Please see the attached spreadsheet which covers dispensing data on ADHD medications,
this covers the period of 1 January 2024 – 30 June 2025.
The rest of part 2 of your request wil be answered in due time as we do hold some of this
information. Please see the extension notification information at the beginning of this letter.
3. Equity, Access, and Barriers
Any advice, analysis, reports, or correspondence discussing:
-barriers to equitable access
-cultural-safety considerations
-regional variability
-prescribing constraints
-unmet need
-delays in access or inequities relating to ADHD medicines
Refused under section 18(f) as the information requested cannot be made available without
substantial collation or research. As it would require Pharmac to review a significant volume
of documents for the period 2015 – 2025 to identify any material within scope of this request.
4. Data Gaps and System Limitations
Any internal documents, memos, or correspondence noting:
-gaps in ADHD-related medicine data
-limitations in monitoring or reporting
-issues with categorisation or coding of ADHD medicines -constraints preventing
Pharmac from analysing ADHD-related access or outcomes
This part of your request is refused under section 18(e) of the Act as the information
requested does not exist.
5. Equity or Effectiveness Monitoring
Any evaluation, monitoring, or review reports produced or held by Pharmac that
assess:
-equity of access to ADHD medicines
-effectiveness or appropriateness of funded ADHD medicines -distributional impacts
(e.g., Māori, Pacific, or high needs communities)
Our team has not done monitoring and evaluation of uptake of ADHD medicines. However,
we have been working on baseline prescribing data for 2025.
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We have also had meetings with the Ministry of Health (MoH) around evaluation of the
uptake and use of ADHD medicines post 1 Feb 2026 with the prescriber changes. The MoH
are taking a lead on this, however our team together with analysis at Pharmac wil be
contributing to the monitoring framework. We have previously used t
he Medicines Access
Equity Monitoring and Outcomes Framework for this type of work.
This aligns with Pharmac’s
Equity Policy.
We are also planning this year to commission focus groups with populations of highest health
needs to ascertain:
1. What are the opportunities and barriers to accessing and using ADHD meds
2. If our messages are reaching these population groups
3. How we can improve our communication and education.
6. Supply Disruptions
Any supply disruption notices, risk registers, internal discussion, or correspondence
with manufacturers or distributors regarding ADHD medicines since 2015.
Please see attached Appendix 1 Extract of ADHD Medicine supply and shortage issues.
Please note that this information covers the period 1 January – October 2025. We have
decided to release the relevant information requested, subject to information being withheld
as noted. The relevant grounds under which information has been withheld are:
• section 9(2)(b)(i ), to protect the commercial position of the person who supplied the
information, or who is the subject of the information
• section 9(2)(g)(i), to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs through the free
and frank expression of opinion
• section 9(2)(j), to enable negotiations to be carried on without prejudice or
disadvantage
Information for the period 2015 – 2024 is declined under section 18(f) as the information
requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research
Management of the ADHD supply issue
We know that getting ADHD medicines has been difficult, with dif erent brands and strengths
being unavailable at times. This has been a global issue with demand increasing worldwide.
On 29 October 2025 we announced funding for an alternative brand of medicine for people
with ADHD and narcolepsy. Details of this funding decision are available on the Pharmac
website.
https:/ www.pharmac.govt.nz/news-and-resources/consultations-and-decisions/2025-10-
decision-to-fund-a-new-brand-of-methylphenidate-
hydrochloride?keyword=ADHD&type=all&page=1
In addition, on 20 November we proposed to fund another new brand of medicine for ADHD
and narcolepsy. If approved by the Pharmac Board it would be funded from 1 July 2026.
Details of this funding proposal are also available on the Pharmac website.
https:/ www.pharmac.govt.nz/news-and-resources/consultations-and-decisions/2025-11-
proposal-to-fund-another-new-brand-of-methylphenidate-
hydrochloride?keyword=ADHD&type=all&page=1
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Current supply of ADHD medicines
Pharmac is working closely with suppliers and clinicians to manage an ongoing, global issue
affecting methylphenidate (ADHD and narcolepsy medicine). We have a webpage dedicated
to this supply issue and is regularly updated to include current stock levels and when the
next shipment wil arrive in New Zealand. Again, further details are available on the Pharmac
website. Pharmac does have regular supply notices that go out to the public for ADHD
medicines (the pharmacy updates, and also the supply issues update that goes to the Board
every meeting).
https:/ www.pharmac.govt.nz/medicine-funding-and-supply/medicine-
notices/methylphenidate
Changes to regulatory and funding restrictions for stimulant medicines for ADHD
You may also be interested in the descisions underway by Medsafe and Pharmac as we are
making changes to the regulatory and funding restrictions that determine who can prescribe
the stimulant medicines methylphenidate, dexamfetamine and lisdexamfetamine. These
medicines are used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
We expect that these changes wil make it easier for people to be diagnosed and prescribed
treatment for their ADHD.
These changes wil take effect from 1 February 2026. Further information relating to this
change is available on the Pharmac website.
https:/ www.pharmac.govt.nz/news-and-resources/consultations-and-decisions/2025-06-
decision-to-change-the-regulatory-and-funding-restrictions-for-stimulant-medicines-for-adhd
7. Categorisation if Not ADHD Specific
If Pharmac does not hold ADHD-specific material for any of the items above, please
confirm this and indicate how such medicines or data are categorised in Pharmac
systems (e.g., under mental health, paediatrics, neurodevelopmental conditions, or
pharmaceutical groupings).
ADHD medicines are under therapeutic group 3 level on the Pharmaceutical Schedule as
"Stimulants/ADHD treatments".
8. Co-prescribing or Sequential Prescribing (Dispensing Data Only) Please provide
any existing dispensing datasets, summaries, or internal information held by Pharmac
showing co-prescribing or sequential prescribing patterns involving ADHD medicines
(e.g., dispensing alongside or following antidepressants or anxiolytics).
I am not requesting any new analysis or evaluation, only information already held.
If Pharmac holds only raw dispensing combinations (and no analysis), please confirm
this. If Pharmac does not hold such information, please confirm this and note whether
data structures would allow such analysis if commissioned.
Part 8 of your request wil be answered in due time as we do hold some of this information.
Please see the extension notification information at the beginning of this letter.
9. Gaps / Non-collection
If Pharmac does not hold some or all of the information requested, this absence also
helps clarify how ADHD medicines are tracked and managed across the system.
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Please confirm if the information is not held, and include any documents recording:
-decisions not to collect ADHD-related information -decisions to aggregate ADHD
medicines under other categories -known limitations in data, reporting, or tracking
Pharmac does not hold any documents on decisions not to collect data, therefore 18(e) of
the Act applies.
Please note, you have the right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman about our response
to your OIA, under section 28(3) of the OIA. Details of
how to make a complaint are on the
Ombudsman’s website.
To make information more freely available, we publish selected OIA responses (excluding
personal details) on our website. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about
this.
Nāku noa, nā
Oliver Whitehead
Team Leader, Government Services
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