Assessing the value of medicinal innovation in an era of increasing austerity

Το άρθρο παρουσιάζει τα επικρατέστερα συστήματα ρύθμισης της αγοράς φαρμάκου διεθνώς, δίνοντας έμφαση σε αυτά που επιβραβεύουν την καινοτομία και αναδεικνύουν τοσημαντικό ρόλο της Αξιολόγησης της Τεχνολογίας Υγείας (ΑΤΥ). Η ανασκόπηση των διεθνώνπροτύπων κρίνεται ιδιαίτερα σημαντική για τηνπαρούσα πολιτική και οικονομική συγκυρίαπου αντιμετωπίζει η χώρα. Γι αυτό το σκοπό,στο άρθρο επιχειρείται κριτική προσέγγιση τωνπρόσφατων μεταρρυθμίσεων στην Ελλάδα,πρώτον ως προς την επίτευξη ή μη των στόχων των πολιτικών συγκράτησης και ελέγχουτων δαπανών υγείας, και δεύτερον ως προς ταδυνητικά οφέλη που θα προκύψουν από τηνεφαρμογή της ΑΤΥ στη χώρα.In this paper an overview of the rewardinginnovation pharmaceutical regulatory systemshas been presented, focusing on the emergingrole of innovation and health technologyassessment (HTA). Ιn a time of political andfinancial turmoil, benefits could be obtainedthrough the pooling of resources andexperiences among various countries. For thispurpose, recent major pharmaceutical reformsin Greece have been critically discussed takinginto consideration the dynamic and complexenvironment among cost containment measuresand the recent implementation of HTA incombination with some of the critical factorsthat influence today’s key decision makers, suchas the economic crisis, increasing austerity aswell as political and international pressures

Primary Health Services Utilization in Greece: Studying the Past for Planning the Future

Σκοπός του συγκεκριμένου άρθρου είναι η μελέτη της χρήσης των πρωτοβάθμιων υπηρεσιών υγείας στην Ελλάδα. Για το σκοπό αυτό αναλύθηκαν, μέσω των μεθόδων Logistic και Linear Regression, δεδομένα από πανελλαδική έρευνα η οποία υλοποιήθηκε το έτος 2006. Η πιθανότητα χρήσης υπηρεσιών υγείας προσδιορίζεται από το φύλο, την ύπαρξη χρόνιας νόσου, το αυτό-αξιολογούμενο επίπεδο υγείας και την ηλικία, ενώ ο λογάριθμος του αριθμού των επισκέψεων προσδιορίζεται από το φύλο, την ύπαρξη χρόνιας νόσου, τη γεωγραφική περιφέρεια, το εισόδημα και την αντίληψη σχετικά με την απειλή από τα ιατρικά προβλήματα. Η χρήση πρωτοβάθμιων υπηρεσιών υγείας συσχετίζεται επομένως με τις αντιλήψεις των ατόμων αλλά και με παράγοντες οι οποίοι εκφράζουν τις ανάγκες υγείας ή το κοινωνικοοικονομικό επίπεδο.The objective of this paper is to study healthcare utilization in Greece. Thedata were derived from a national survey conducted in 2006, and analysed through Logistic and Linear Regression. The likelihood of primary healthcare utilization is determined by the gender, the existence of a chronic disease, the self-rated health and the age, while the logarithm of the visitsto primary health services is determined by the gender, the existence of a chronic disease, the income, the geographical region and the perceived threat from the health condition. Thus, primary healthcare utilization is determined by beliefs, health need as well as socioeconomic factors

The economic burden of treating neonates in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in Greece

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In a period when a public-private mix in Greece is under consideration and hospital budgets become restrained, economic assessment is important for rational decision making. The study aimed to estimate the hospitalization cost of neonates admitted to the ICUs and demonstrate discrepancies with reimbursement.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Chosen methodology was based on the selection of medical records of all NICUs and intermediate care admissions within February to April 2004. Neonates (n = 99) were classified according to birthweight and gestational age.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Mean cost per infant was estimated at €5.485 while reimbursement from social funds arises to €3.952. Costs per birthweight or gestational age show an inverse relationship. Personnel costs accounted for 59.9%, followed by enteral/parenteral feeding (16.14%) and pharmaceuticals expenses (11.10%) of all resources consumed. Sensitivity analysis increases the robustness of the results</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Neonatal intensive care in Greece is associated with significant costs that exceed reimbursement from social funds. Reimbursement should be adjusted to make neonatal intensive care economically viable to private hospitals and thus, increase capacity of the services provided.</p

Comparative Analysis of Legislative Requirements About Patients' Access to Biotechnological Drugs for Rare Diseases in Central and Eastern European Countries

Objectives: The aim of the study was to compare the access of patients with rare diseases (RDs) to biotechnological drugs in several Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). We focused on the legislative pricing and reimbursement requirements, availability of biotechnological orphan medicinal products (BOMPs) for RDs, and reimbursement expenditures. Methods: A questionnaire-based survey was conducted among experts from 10 CEECs: Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia, and Macedonia. The legal requirements for reimbursement and pricing of BOMPs were collected. All BOMPs and medicines without prior orphan designations were extracted from the European list of orphan medicinal products, 2017. The reimbursement status of these medicinal products in 2017 in the public coverage of the included CEECs as well as the share of their costs in relation to the total public pharmaceutical spending for the period from 2014 to 2016 were defined. Results: Our survey revealed that some differences in the legal requirements for pricing and reimbursement of BOMPs amongst the countries included in the study. All European Union countries have developed and implemented pharmacoeconomic guidelines with or without some specific reimbursement requirements for orphan medicinal products. Cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, Markov models, meta-analysis, and discount levels of costs and results were required only in Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary. The number of reimbursed BOMPs and biotechnological medicinal products for RDs without prior orphan designation was the highest in Hungary (17 and 40, respectively). Patient-based reimbursement schemes were available only in Hungary for 11 out of 17 BOMPs. Poland and Greece have the highest pharmaceutical expenditure of reimbursed BOMPs with are similar to 214 million and 180 million EUR, respectively in the observed period from 2014 to 2016. High proportion of the pharmaceutical expenditure on the reimbursed biotechnological medicinal products for RDs for the observed period 2014-2016 is presented in Bulgaria and Slovakia. Conclusions: The non-European Union CEECs face a significant delay in the legal implementation of pharmacoeconomic guideline for assessment of BOMPs. The access to BOMPs is similar among the observed CEECs and the countries with the best access are Hungary and Greece. The influence of BOMP expenditures on the budget in the individual countries is significant

Ege Akademik Bakış / Ege Academic Review HEALTH SAFETY AND LIFE PROTECTION COVERAGE IN THE SOCIAL ECONOMY SECTOR IN GREECE: ANALYSIS OF EMPIRICAL FINDINGS

ABSTRACT In the past decade, there has been a growing interest in reinforcing the role of social economy in Greece, due to significant changes in the labor market, the economic recession and the public sector failure to cover social needs. Given the fact that there is limited research literature on this topic, the aim of this paper is to determine the implications of the social economy sector in Greece on the current economic conditions. It will also discuss employees&apos; and volunteers&apos; status and their social insurance coverage in terms of their health safety and life protection. The findings of two studies carried out by the Department of Economics of the University of Thessaly are analysed and criticised. The population sample in both studies included farmers&apos; organisations, cooperatives, non-profit associations, consumer organisations, environmental organisations, associations representing the family and persons with disabilities, nongovernmental organisations, social enterprises and foundations. In addition, their main activities were health care, social care, culture, education, environment, entrepreneurial and education activities. According to the results of both studies, it seems that social sector contributes to an annual 10% creation of new posts of employment. 21.5% of the employees are fully covered by social insurance and are also eligible for occupational health and safety, while 9.9% work as part-timers and are also covered and eligible for health care, even though they face severe restrictions regarding their retirement rights. However, 68.6% of people involved in the third sector are volunteers who do not have a permanent job, they are not covered by social insurance and are not eligible for occupational health and safety. Also, there are no retirement rights for them. Consequently, it seems that social economy in Greece, does not promote a safe and healthy working environment by providing to volunteers Mary GEITONA and Lorena ANDROUTSOU 994 occupational health and safety, including the avoidance of job related injuries and professional diseases. It is believed that if the reform already announced becomes active, numerous positive changes will occur in the performance of the third sector. New work places will be created, competitiveness of the public sector monopoly will be increased as well as social cohesion and social capital will be further reinforced. Moreover, the quality of employment by preventing occupational accidents, the expansion of social coverage to volunteers and the reinforcement of the volunteerism will be finally achieved. Further expected synergies will be the reduction of unemployment, economic growth and eventually the overcome of the economic crisis

Generics market in Greece: The pharmaceutical industry&apos;s beliefs

The aim of this study was to investigate the beliefs and perspectives of the pharmaceutical industry on generic medication in Greece. Questionnaires were mailed to all 58 members of the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies from November 2002 to February 2003. The response rate was 52%, namely 30 questionnaires were completed and returned. The questionnaire requested information on companies’ involvement in generics, their opinion on generics’ characteristics and on public policies affecting the demand and supply of generic medication. A descriptive analysis of the outcomes, that is percentage comparison through binomial tests and Fisher tests, was performed. According to our findings, 43% of the respondents were involved in the production and distribution of generics and the mean period of their involvement was 12 years. The majority of the respondents were in favor of their companies’ involvement in generics, despite the relatively small market share of generics in Greece; 9.7% of total pharmaceutical market in 2003. Bearing in mind that in Greece the prop motion of generics is not encouraged, pharmaceutical companies believe that the mandatory introduction of bioequivalence studies is an indirect promotional strategy towards generics. Additionally, the majority declared that their main competitive advantages are their safety, efficacy and effectiveness as well as their economic benefit to the society. Finally, the respondents expressed their preference for the introduction of pharmacoeconomic submissions for drugs’ reimbursement by social insurance funds. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Managers’ Perceptions and Opinions towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Greece

AbstractThe present study explores Greek managers’ perceptions towards CSR as well as their attitudes regarding the institutionalization of CSR. Our findings indicate that most companies have an internal management function that executed CSR programs which were mostly oriented towards society, environment and employees. The way CSR is managed depends on the size of the company. Moreover Greek managers believe that CSR activities offer a number of benefits. Interestingly, managers who believe that CSR activities should be communicated and evaluated externally by a national agency tend to hold a strong positive attitude for the institutionalization of CSR

Assessing the Efficiency and Productivity of the Hospital Clinics on the Island of Rhodes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

(1) Background: The aim was to measure the efficiency and productivity of 15 specialty clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic period 2020–2021 in the General Hospital of Rhodes. (2) Methods: An input-oriented data envelopment analysis and the Malmquist productivity index are used. Labor and capital were used as inputs, and in-patient discharges and days were used as outputs. (3) Results: Five out of the seven clinics in the pathology sector appeared fully efficient with an optimal productivity, and the rest showed progress in 2021. In 2020 the COVID-19 pathology clinic appeared to be inefficient and less productive, while in 2021, it showed a positive performance change. The surgical sector showed very high efficiency rates or even reached an optimal efficiency in both years. The productivity measurement, in most of the surgical clinics, was satisfactory to very high. In 2020 the COVID-19 surgical clinic appeared to be more efficient and productive than in 2021 when its performance declined. (4) Conclusions: The hospital responded to the pressure during the pandemic, by increasing its efficiency and productivity from 2020 to 2021. This was due to the accomplishment of the appropriate organizational changes in the infrastructure, human resources, and technology. The efficiency and productivity assessments should be incorporated in the hospitals’ decision making