OBJECTIVES: The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) in Australia considers ‘consumer comments’ in its appraisals, acknowledging that patient perspectives and physician knowledge are important guiding factors for Health Technology Assessment (HTA) decisions. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with the presence of consumer comments in Australian HTA and assess their impact on PBAC decisions.

METHODS: Public summary documents published by PBAC between March 2015 and November 2016 were searched. Only appraisals on major submissions (for new medications or when substantial changes are made to current listings) were reviewed; appraisals informed by minor submissions and resubmissions were excluded. Information on consumer comments, indications and PBAC decisions were extracted.

RESULTS: The search yielded 141 PBAC summary documents, out of which 59% included consumer comments from patients, healthcare professionals, and patient organisations. The inclusion of consumer comments increased by 28% between March–November 2015 and March–November 2016. When stratified by indication (excluding 7 submissions relating to vaccinations), consumer comments were 22% more prevalent in appraisals of oncology treatments (34/45) than non-oncology treatments (48/89) and 19% more in those of rare diseases (25/33) than non-rare diseases (57/101). When stratified by the type of subsidy listing, the proportion of appraisals that included consumer comments was similar (new listing: 57%; change of listing: 62%). Of the submissions that included consumer comments, 39% received a positive recommendation, which was lower than that seen in submissions that did not include consumer comments (57%).

CONCLUSIONS: The inclusion of consumer comments was more prevalent in drug appraisals for cancer and rare diseases compared to other therapeutic areas. The presence of consumer comments appeared to be associated with lower chances of a positive PBAC decision. Additional analyses will be conducted to further explore the impact of consumer comments on PBAC decision-making.