Patient views will for the first time be heard in negotiations between the Department of Health and ABPI about Value-Based Pricing (VBP).
In a joint announcement, the two bodies have said that they will hold separate meetings with other parties on VBP rather than keeping discussions - as they are now - behind closed doors.
“The content of these meetings will be reported back to meetings of the negotiating teams for their information to ensure an holistic basis of common understanding for a new scheme,” the statement said.