Draft law was created without any input from the system partners. Highly necessary adaptations should have an impact on therapy decisions.
The need for clarification in this matter is indeed great. This is demonstrated by the enormous outcry of the last few days, for example from patient representatives and medical societies. It’s literally about the lives of patients. However, this ministerial offer of talks can only be useful if it is made in good time, i.e. sufficiently before any parliamentary resolution is passed. This is the only way the criticism expressed about the draft can be incorporated into the final legal form. If that doesn’t happen, one thing will definitely happen: a deterioration in hospital care. Because doctors are deprived of the ability to decide on therapies
Mag. Alexander Herzog, Secretary General of PHARMIG
Vienna (OTS) – Federal Minister Rauch announced today in the Ö1 lunchtime journal that he would finally like to hear critical voices about the planned evaluation board for medications in the hospital sector. Alexander Herzog, Secretary General of PHARMIG, comments on this as follows: “The need for clarification in this matter is indeed great. This is demonstrated by the enormous outcry of the last few days, for example from patient representatives and medical societies. It’s literally about the lives of patients. However, this ministerial offer of talks can only be useful if it is made in good time, i.e. sufficiently before any parliamentary resolution is passed. This is the only way the criticism expressed about the draft can be incorporated into the final legal form. If that doesn’t happen, one thing will definitely happen: a deterioration in hospital care. Because doctors are deprived of the ability to decide on therapies
.“
Even if the decisions of the planned evaluation board are only intended to have a recommendatory nature, this will still put a lot of pressure on those who have to deal with these requirements. “The expectation is that these recommendations will be followed. Otherwise such a board would become absurd,” Herzog points out.
Despite all of Federal Minister Rauch’s assurances, the introduction of the assessment board will inevitably mean that vital therapies will only be made available to patients with a delay – if at all. Herzog says: “The consultation time that this board takes to make a therapy decision in a months-long bureaucratic process is at the expense of the patients. And this is especially true when it comes to illnesses, where every day can often be life-deciding.”
According to Herzog, they would like to return to Minister Rauch’s offer to listen to critical voices: “We are always available for constructive criticism. Ultimately, all of us in the healthcare system must be concerned with ensuring the best possible care.”
About PHARMIG: PHARMIG is the voluntary interest group of the Austrian pharmaceutical industry. The association currently has around 120 members (as of December 2023), who cover a good 95 percent of the medication market. PHARMIG and its member companies stand for the best possible security of supply of medicines in the healthcare system and ensure social and medical progress through quality and innovation.
Questions & Contact:
PHARMIG – Association of the Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry
Peter Richter, BA MA MBA
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