AmCham Montenegro’s Health Care Committee recently produced a position document and has commenced communicating its positions with relevant stakeholders in the health care industry. AmCham presented the document to the Minister of Health, Mr. Miodrag Radunović, and to representatives of the Montenegrin Drugs and Medical Devices Agency (CALIMS), in order to discuss recommendations to improve the health care system in Montenegro. The meeting was the starting point for future cooperation with these key institutions.

The Health Care Committee’s position document was produced by AmCham member companies, mainly from the pharmaceutical industry in Montenegro. The document identifies challenges and gives recommendations for improving the sustainability of state-funded medication for patients. These recommendations represent a solid ground for further cooperation between AmCham Montenegro and the Ministry of Health.

The Health Care Committee believes the process of placing and removing drugs to/from the State’s Positive Reimbursement list as a key challenge for both health care providers and patients. AmCham recommends that a rulebook, with well-defined procedures for including drugs on the positive list, should be introduced as soon as possible. Such a rulebook would significantly contribute to increasing transparency and consistency in the health system.

AmCham Executive Director, Mr. Edin Seferović, sees the Health Care Committee as a valuable partner to the Ministry of Health in improving the health care system. „AmCham’s Health Care Committee was established to be a partner to the Ministry of Health and other health care institutions in Montenegro. Our goal is to improve the health care system and aide the Ministry with providing more sustainable patient-oriented solutions. With that in mind, we will continue to propose ways to create a better, more improved health care system in Montenegro“, said Mr. Seferović.

Both parties agreed this initial meeting provided an excellent basis for further cooperation between the Ministry of Health and AmCham in improving transparency in the health care system.