High Cost Drugs – Republic of Ireland
NCPE Director Questions Value of Early Access Proposals
In a separate RTÉ interview broadcast 21 June 2026, NCPE Director Professor Michael Barry questioned proposals for earlier access to new medicines ahead of full reimbursement assessment. He noted that for several rare disease drugs assessed this year, none had demonstrated an overall survival benefit, and argued that early access without a negotiated price reduction […]
Minister Signs Off End-to-End Review of Drug Approval System
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill announced on RTÉ’s Prime Time, broadcast 11 June 2026, that she has signed off the tender for an end-to-end review of Ireland’s system for approving access to and funding for new drugs and medical treatments. The Minister said she approved the tender details the previous week and that the […]
617-DAY ACCESS GAP — BLUETEQ CLOSES THE FINAL PHASE
New market opportunity for HSE: a single national platform for all Managed Access Protocols.
- Collect HSE Drugs Group eligibility criteria evidence directly from Clinicians in real time
- Using Auto-Approval, ensure Clinicians receive approval to treat immediately — closing the post-approval delay
- Keep a complete audit trail — generating the real-world evidence the NCPE needs
- Validate/Challenge provider invoices — real-time oversight of €3.3bn HSE medicines spend
Introduction
Paperless Solution - For Hospitals AND GP Practices
Blueteq is fully configurable to reflect HSE Drugs Group reimbursement decisions — the same way it reflects NICE decisions in England and SMC decisions in Scotland. Ireland's 30+ Managed Access Protocols (MAPs) are each currently hosted on bespoke, separately built online portals. Blueteq provides a single national platform that can host any MAP — so that when a new medicine is approved, the governance infrastructure is already there, not something that has to be built from scratch.
Request History & Document Storage
The Blueteq HCD system provides a complete patient history storing and displaying all information and documentation in one place in a paperless environment. For Ireland, this means patient-level data linking demographics, diagnosis, medication, and expenditure — data the HSE currently struggles to produce systematically.
Customised Reporting for the HSE
A full range of reports are available on demand. The HSE CPU and HSE Medicines Management Programme gain real-time oversight of which medicines are in use, for which patients, against which MAP criteria, and at what cost — across all hospitals, in a single dashboard.
Without Blueteq
617 days from EMA approval to patient access — an IPHA survey found the average is 617 days, nearly four times the statutory 180-day target; Blueteq addresses the final phase of this delay, between the reimbursement decision and the first patient treated.
No national governance system for post-approval prescribing — once the HSE makes a reimbursement decision, there is no national system ensuring medicines reach the right patients consistently and on record.
Each new MAP requires a bespoke IT build — the MMP must build a new online portal for each new medicine; with 30+ MAPs and a growing pipeline, this approach is becoming unsustainable.
Real-world evidence difficult to generate — without a structured system, the data needed to support future NCPE assessments and commercial negotiations is not being collected systematically.
For Commissioners / Stakeholders
- Save on invoice values through discrepancy detection
- Reduce unnecessary spending via eligibility gate-keeping
- Maximise budget impact on patient care
- Match invoices to requests in minutes
- Combined clinical + financial data in one secure system
- Advanced reporting drives quality improvements
For Hospitals / Providers
- Streamline workflows — average form 5–10 minutes
- Treatments guaranteed to align with HSE MAP criteria
- Prompt payment ensured for all authorised requests
- Simplified submissions through one unified platform
- Precise eligibility forms based on each patient's criteria
- Full visibility of request status and historical data
"A year can make a big difference in a patient's life."
€3.3bn
Annual HSE medicines spend
617 days
Average EMA to patient access
30+
Managed Access Protocols
180 days
Statutory access target
WHY CHOOSE US
Unique Benefits Summary: High Cost Drugs - Republic of Ireland
- Configured for HSE Drugs Group and NCPE criteria — same approach as NICE in England, SMC in Scotland
- Single platform for all MAPs — replaces bespoke IT builds; new medicines added in days, not months
- Closes the post-approval delay — 3 to 6 months saved versus a bespoke MAP portal build for each new medicine
- NI DoH Medicines Access Review (2025) recommends Blueteq by name for Northern Ireland
- Real-world evidence captured systematically — to support NCPE future assessments and commercial negotiations
- Programme for Government 2025 commitment to review drugs reimbursement — Blueteq provides visible reform
- Import and adapt 200+ forms from England and Wales — no need to build a form library from scratch
- No software to install and maintain locally — web-based system, simple subscription basis
- Employee-Owned. UK-Based. GDPR-compliant under UK Adequacy Decision
UK-Based. Employee-Owned. Independently Governed.
Blueteq is an employee-owned company headquartered in Havant, Hampshire. All data is held on Blueteq’s own UK infrastructure, subject to UK law and governance. There are no external shareholders, no overseas parent company, and no venture capital or private equity interests.
