Dunedin GP Sue Wilthert, who is funding her own 12-month Herceptin treatment. Photo by Jane Dawber.

New, expensive medical drugs swamping the market have become an issue New Zealanders need to tackle as a society, health professionals say, and they want to stimulate public debate on the controversial issue.

Two Dunedin doctors spoken to by the Otago Daily Times said a small country like New Zealand could not afford all of these medications, so public debate was needed on how to rationalise spending the health budget.

Otago District Health Board chief medical officer Richard Bunton recently warned about an impending ‘‘tsunami'' of new, expensive medical drugs.

Health boards would be financially crippled if they did not take a proactive approach to develop processes for dealing with requests for high-cost drugs, he said.

Dunedin GP Sue Walthert, who is paying for her own non-government subsidised breast cancer treatment, welcomed Mr Bunton's public stance.

‘‘When I read Richard Bunton's words about this tsunami of drugs I thought: ‘Thank God he is actually coming out and saying this in public'.

‘‘What I think is really good is that will have opened this debate up to the public.''

Dr Walthert has chosen to pay $50,000 for her own 12-month Herceptin treatment, but before that had received nine weeks of government-funded Herceptin treatment, which she estimated would have cost about $12,000.

Herceptin was not the only drug with a five-figure price tag and there were other even more expensive cancer drugs ‘‘just around the corner'' which people were going to want.

Dr Walthert also questioned the Government subsidising drugs for complaints that were mainly the result of over eating, under-exercising, smoking and drinking alcohol, which could have been prevented through simple self discipline.

South Dunedin GP Jill McIlraith said New Zealand could not afford all new medical advances, and to pretend otherwise was farcical.

‘‘We, as a community and a society, need to be more upfront about the fact we are not going to be able to afford everything and we are going to have to rationalise things.

‘‘It is frustrating as a GP and sad, but we all know we are not going to be able to do everything for our patients.''

Minister of Health David Cunliffe was approached for comment but declined to respond.