Reforms necessary in public sector pharmaceutical financing

ISTANBUL

There has been a 700 million Turkish Lira fall in public sector pharmaceutical spending over the past three years.

Few policies and reforms are necessary to lower pharmaceutical prices and also help control supply and demand in the sector, thereby resulting in sustainable public sector pharmaceutical financing, said a Deloitte Turkey report published yesterday. The report also sketched a road map with recommendations for achieving a more sustainable financing model.

According to the report, Turkey has recently implemented health reforms that allow citizens better access to healthcare, but that economic sustainability is crucial for both the pharmaceutical sector and the public sector.

Teamwork a must

The report stressed that sustainability can only be achieved with the integration of all major players, including the public sector, companies and individuals.

It focused on structural recommendations like pharmaceutical pricing, repayment mechanisms, patient payment structures, encompassing health insurance, the management of the chronically ill, treatment manuals for doctor subscriptions and improving education for the public on healthcare matters.
In the past three-year period there has been a 700 million Turkish Lira fall in public sector pharmaceutical spending. According to the report, the pharmaceutical sector and the government had agreed to spend 46.8 billion liras on public sector pharmaceutical spending, but in actuality the figure is projected to be around 46.1 billion liras. As a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), public sector pharmaceutical spending has dropped from the 1.4 percent of GDP range in 2010 to a projected 1.17 percent of GDP in 2012. The report, therefore, stresses that this fall in public sector pharmaceutical spending both as a whole and as a percentage of GDP hints at the need for increased sustainability.

In terms of the financing model, the report called for the periodic examination of public sector pharmaceutical spending in a transparent and objective fashion.

It also urged for the efficient usage of limited resources to receive the best healthcare and limitations on unnecessary demand for pharmaceuticals, thereby ensuring that drugs are dispensed on a rational basis and a search for alternative sources of financing or new resources is completed.