During the round table discussion, the participants of the health care system looked for solutions to change the situation and ensure equal access to innovative treatment for patients.
The event was initiated by the Oncology Patient Support Association (POLA) and the Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry Association (IFPA). It was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Government, the State Sick Fund, the Seimas, patient organizations, the medical community and the pharmaceutical industry.
GDP has quadrupled, but health indicators do not show this
POLA director Neringa Čiakienė, who started the discussion, pointed out that this year’s commemoration Lithuanian on the 20th anniversary of joining the European Union (EU), talking about the country’s achievements in the context of the entire community makes more sense than ever.
“In twenty years, Lithuania’s gross domestic product per capita has increased more than four times. According to this indicator, we are currently ahead of countries such as Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Unfortunately, when we look at health indicators, we do not see the results of this growth. For example, according to the average life expectancy together with Rumunija and Bulgaria are EU outsiders”, said N. Čiakienė.
More funding is needed
When discussing the reasons why Lithuania lags behind other EU countries in terms of health indicators, the head of POLA mentioned the unavailability of innovative medicines. She was seconded by IFPA director Jūra Smilgaitė.
“According to how many innovative medicines in Lithuania is included in the compensatory lists, we have been one of the last countries in the EU for several years in a row. In June, the 2023 WAIT study on access to innovative medicines will be officially presented results, but there is no indication that recent data It will be at least a little more favorable for Lithuania”, said J. Smilgaitė.
Deputy Minister of Health Aurimas Pečkauskas also commented on the availability of innovative treatment in Lithuania. He emphasized the size of the country’s budget.
“We are very clear about the concerns of patients in our system and we want every healthcare professional to have the ability to prescribe the most appropriate treatment for patients.” However, the reality is that resources, as in every system, are limited, so choices must be based on certain priorities. We have to understand that no matter how efficiently we use the finances, we cannot have the same expectations when allocating twice as much to the health system as the old European countries”, emphasized A. Pečkauskas.
In order to tackle the problem, it needs to be visible
The unavailability of innovative medicines also poses challenges for healthcare professionals. They have to face situations when, knowing that a medication suitable for the patient exists, they cannot prescribe it, because the medication is not reimbursed in Lithuania.
Speaking about how to solve this problem, the head of the National Cancer Institute, Dr. Valdas Pečeliūnas said that it is important to create a tool that constantly reminds about the situation of unavailability of medicines.
“The solution to any problem begins with its clear identification. A scoreboard should appear in Lithuania, where we can see how many new medicines have been registered at the European Medicines Agency, how many applications have been submitted, how many have been evaluated, how many have not been approved and why. Such a scoreboard would be extremely painful for both politicians and patients, but by seeing eye-popping information every day, we would encourage society and the state to devote more resources to solving the problem,” said Dr. V. Pečeliūnas.
According to the international study WAIT 2022, of the 168 medicines that were approved by the European Medicines Agency in 2018-2021. registered as innovative, only 21 are compensated in Lithuania. For comparison, as many as 147 preparations are available to patients in Germany, the average of EU countries is 76.
