A working meeting of the management of the Center with representatives of the World Health Organization took place at the Center within the framework of the mission on financing of medicinal products.
The focus of attention is on improving patients' access to medicinal products and the further development of an evidence-based policy in the field of medicinal products.
WHO representatives presented the preliminary results of analytical work on the financing of medicinal products in Ukraine, carried out within the framework of the joint WHO and World Bank Health Financing Review, as well as international practices and recommendations.
During the meeting, key issues of the further development of the Affordable Medicines programme and patients' access to the necessary treatment were discussed, in particular:
- expansion of the programme and of the list of medicinal products subject to reimbursement, and its alignment with the National List of Essential Medicines, the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and clinical guidelines/protocols/standards of treatment;
- approaches to the selection of medicinal products for inclusion in the programme, the role of health technology assessment, priority setting and the use of evidence-based data;
- pricing, reimbursement and availability of medicinal products;
- availability of reimbursed medicinal products in pharmacies;
- financial protection of patients and reduction of out-of-pocket expenses;
- sustainability of the program's funding, the budget impact of its further expansion and possible approaches to improving the efficiency and availability of medicines provision.
We focused separately on how international experience and analytical data can be used for the further development of state policy in the field of medicinal products. It is important that decisions on the financing and coverage of medicinal products are based on evidence and at the same time contribute to the real availability of the necessary treatment for patients.
It is precisely in this process that the Center plays an important expert role. As an authorized body, the Center conducts health technology assessment, analyzing, in particular, the comparative clinical efficacy and safety of medicinal products and their economic feasibility. Based on the results of HTA, conclusions and recommendations are formed that are used in decision-making on the expansion of the National List of Essential Medicines, the "Affordable Medicines" reimbursement program, state procurement, as well as the possibility of applying managed access agreements.
During the meeting, the representatives of the State Expert Center presented their technical vision of the preliminary conclusions and recommendations of the WHO and discussed opportunities for further analytical and expert cooperation, in particular regarding the use of HTA results for decisions on financing medicinal products and other priority areas.
For the State Expert Center, participation in such a professional dialogue is important primarily from the standpoint of developing evidence-based approaches: decisions on access to medicinal products must take into account their clinical value, economic feasibility, and accordingly the needs of patients and the rational use of healthcare system resources.
The meeting was attended by the Director of the State Expert Center Edem Adamanov, Deputy Director for Health Technology Assessment and Clinical Trials Yevheniia Ishkova, Director of the Department of Health Technology Assessment Oresta Piniazhko, Head of the International Cooperation and European Integration Division Olha Sadovnycha.
From the WHO – Luka Voncina, former Deputy Minister of Health of Croatia, senior WHO expert; Rasmus Gjesing, WHO Regional Adviser for Access to Medicines and Medical Devices of the WHO Regional Office for Europe; Triin Habicht, senior WHO health economist; Solomiia Kasianchuk, specialist in health system financing.
The Center and the WHO agreed to continue professional dialogue on the use of evidence-based approaches in medicinal product policy, financing and reimbursement – with a focus on enhancing access to medicines for Ukrainian patients.
