Previously reported evidence found large inequities between Māori and non-Māori for dispensings of prescription medicines in NZ in 2006/07 (Metcalfe et al., 2013; Horsburgh & Norris, 2013). This paper presents updated data on Māori:non-Māori inequities in disease burden-adjusted medicines access in 2012/13, and changes over time. In analyses adjusted for age, population and burden of disease (i.e. health loss, in disability-adjusted life years [DALYs]), large inequalities remained for Māori compared with non-Māori; there was virtually no improvement since the last report. In 2012/13, there was a shortfall of 41% in pharmaceutical treatments that Māori failed to receive, had those treatments been dispensed at rates equitable to non-Māori. This relative gap between Māori and non-Māori was nominally worse than the 37% reported for the medicines available in 2006/07, but not statistically significant. The report concludes that while the interpretation of the data is hampered by various complexities and limitations, nevertheless, large inequities remain in access and persistence across many therapeutic groups.
