Distributors and retail pharmacies expect the step to cut drug prices to have a negative impact on the business of the companies in the industry and on patients, as they said at the ZF Pharma Summit’ 15 on Wednesday.
“There is a problem in supplying pharmacies and hospitals, which has gotten worse in the past two or three months especially in hospitals. We’ll see a tsunami at the end of 2015 and in 2016, it will be a disaster for Romanian pharmacies. Many will go bankrupt,” said Mihai Miron, general manager of Ropharma.
Another problem of the healthcare industry is the physician drain, as well as the physicians’ salaries, which are much lower than in other countries. Diana Loreta Paun, state counselor with the Public Health Department of the presidential administration, says there is a paradox in Romania: on the one hand, this is the country with the highest number of medical school graduates of all European countries and on the other hand, the country has the lowest number of doctors per 1,000 people.
“There are 2.5 doctors per 1,000 people, compared with a European average of 3.4. Romania’s healthcare system is chronically underfinanced because of the low number of people contributing to the health insurance.”
A number of 2,400 doctors left the country last year alone and another 600 filed applications to do it this year, because salaries in clinics and hospitals are very low, Diana Loreta Paun added.
Cristian Sas, chief executive officer of Anima clinic network, too, says doctors’ salaries are too low and warns that the announced raise for the healthcare system will not apply to main category of employees, the family practitioners.
“Half of the doctors in the system are family practitioners, they are the driving force but the raises are not for them, because they do not get any money from the Ministry. The raises therefore target very few doctors. They will benefit the 20 hospitals that get funds from the Ministry.”
The real shortage of physicians is just beginning to grow worse now, says Cristian Sas and cannot be stopped because doctors in Romania make less than they would in Africa.
Another problem is the underfunding of the healthcare system as a result of the lack of insurance, said Radu Lupu Grozea, CEO of medical service operator Affidea.
“They keep saying access to public healthcare system is free and unconditional but nothing could be further from the truth.”
He believes dropping the co-payment was a mistake because it guaranteed each insurer was able to contribute to the medical system it was part of.
“It’s incredible how Romanians can choose insurers when buying comprehensive insurance for their cars but do not do the same when it comes to their health and that of their families.”
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)