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2014On the Road to Improving the Health Care System in Montenegro
There is no question that the Health Care System of any country represents the crucial pillar of development and prosperity of a society. Montenegro is no exception. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for a country to deliver proper, modern therapy to every patient in need, on time and at a reasonable price. However, the private sector should also find a way to support this common goal and provide the necessary expertise to the state authorities. This transformation road is certainly paved with many challenges. But, the final goal should be kept in mind, and that is the patients’ well-being.
Therefore, the AmCham Health Care Committee (AmCham HCC) has gathered the main international pharmaceutical companies to advocate for priority improvements in the pharmaceutical industry sector in Montenegro. In their experience, the pharmaceutical policy is not transparent enough and does not provide companies with the necessary regulatory framework for doing business in Montenegro. The last State Reimbursement List was published in 2011. Since then, many innovative medications have been produced. However, these medications are not available for Montenegrin patients, due to the outdated List. Exceptionally, if the appropriate council of doctors from the Clinical Centre of Montenegro recommends certain drug which is currently not on the List, the Health Care Fund’s Commission for the Reimbursement List approves its particular use for the patient. The Reimbursement List and other issues were discussed with the Minister of Health during the recently held Business Breakfast, organized by AmCham Montenegro. Besides the Reimbursement List issue, the Ministry of Health should work on defining regulations regarding maximum and reference prices of medications.
In sum, the current state of the pharmaceutical policy in Montenegro leads to the following conclusions:
In its effort to support this reform process, AmCham Health Care Committee will intensify its communication with the Ministry of Health in providing the best regulatory and practical solutions for the patients. The bottom line is: if the pharmaceutical policy were more transparent, there is no doubt that both patients and the country would benefit from more investments of the innovative pharmaceutical companies into the Health Care System.