Thousands of patients throughout New Zealand living with chronic medical conditions may no longer have to pay for the delivery of funded medicines to their homes, NZ Herald has reported. A new initiative by Zoom Pharmacy aims to reduce inequity in healthcare, especially for Māori and Pasifika, as eligible patients can get “prescription and OTC medicines to their homes free of charge”. The move by Zoom, an independent company, follows the removal of $5 prescription copayments by the NZ Government, last month. Zoom pharmacist Din Redzepagic (pictured) says although fully funded, accessing medicines can incur indirect costs for patients, which creates barriers for some of society’s most vulnerable. “Our research shows around 30% of prescriptions are not filled, and we know that indirect costs are a significant impediment for the hundreds of thousands of patients with non-acute medical conditions who need to take prescription medicine daily. “Every time a patient needs to take time off work, put petrol in their car and drive to a pharmacy to pick up a script it represents an indirect cost to access medicine.” A spokesperson for the Pharmacy Guild of Australia has responded to this increased accessibility in neighbouring New Zealand, saying that in Australia “the Guild has led our ‘Affordable Medicines Now’ campaign for a number of years and we are still advocating for an even lower co-payment of $19 to help make medicines more affordable for everyone”. “What will NOT help vulnerable and elderly patients is the Albanese Government’s destructive 60-day dispensing policy, which is being rushed in without consultation and at the expense of the viability of community pharmacies, and our ability to provide complimentary services such as free home delivery of medicines.” MEAN WHILE, CVS Health is laying off 5,000 employees in the US as part of an effort to shed costs, though it will not affect pharmacies according to reports from American Broadcasting Company News. Pfizer also said it will launch a cost-cutting program if its COVID-19 vaccine and antiviral treatment keep underperforming expectations in the coming months due to plunging demand in the US, Reuters has reported.