Accuretic is a medicine used to treat 36,000 New Zealanders with high blood pressure and heart failure. Pharmac has informed us supply in New Zealand is about to be disrupted.
From August 2022, supplies of Accuretic tablets will begin to be disrupted. Accuretic tablets are used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). Lowering blood pressure reduces your risk of heart attack and stroke.
When you are next due a repeat supply of Accuretic, you need to talk to your healthcare professional to get a prescription for a new high blood pressure medicine. (Pharmac is working on options to make sure there are no extra costs involved).
You should keep taking Accuretic as prescribed until you have your new treatment.
If you are taking Accuretic you need to book a GP appointment to change your medication as soon as possible. There will be no charge for the GP appointment.
Pfizer has not provided a timeframe for the availability of non-contaminated stock of quinapril with hydrochlorothiazide for the New Zealand market. They have indicated that it could be more than 12 months.
Recent batches of Accuretic have been found to contain small amounts of a contaminant, and medicine safety regulators have determined that long-term exposure to this substance may increase a person’s risk of getting cancer. The risk is similar to that of regularly eating burnt toast so nothing to panic about, but your doctor will change you to a better option.
For more information about the issue and what support is available, visit the Pharmac website or Health Navigator.