Health Takes Priority
By Alexandra Loli, PhD | Business Partners, Jul-Aug 2023

The prioritization of health undoubtedly forms the cornerstone of the overall wellbeing, productivity, and prosperity of individuals and societies. To optimize the value of the healthcare system for all citizens, it is crucial to create an environment that fosters open discourse and collaboration on the basis of a patient-centric approach.

This is why at Roche, as true partners of the healthcare ecosystem, we are committed to embracing innovation and pursuing an approach that benefits all involved stakeholders including the national healthcare system and society in general but, first and foremost, the patients.

It is crucial to create an environment that fosters open discourse and collaboration on the basis of a patient-centric approach

This approach requires mutually beneficial collaborations across the board. And the key should be for the Greek state to recognize the value of such collaborations and to lead a collective effort to upgrade healthcare in Greece.

A great case of such an upgrade is OIKOTHEN, an original program for providing treatment to oncology patients at home, which was developed in partnership with Saint Savvas, the  largest oncology hospital in Athens. However, advancing further on this road and achieving the desired results requires the implementation of a series of structural reforms. These include the existence of sufficient funding for pharmaceutical innovation, rationalization of spending, and accelerating the digitalization of the healthcare system to serve the need for transparency and evidence-based decisions.

Our commitment to this holistic approach underscores our dedication to being catalysts for positive change within the healthcare system, advocating for a future where collaboration, innovation, and patient-centered initiatives thrive.

Health being a government priority cannot but be acknowledged as a positive development. The implementation of long-awaited structural reforms, along with a clear timetable and specific performance indicators, is imperative and will establish a more predictable and stable operating model, benefiting both patients, with improved access to innovative treatments, and the pharmaceutical industry, by encouraging further investments in Greece.

We continue partnering with all stakeholders in developing a more resilient prevention system focused on vaccination

Looking ahead, innovation must be perceived as a strategic investment and key growth driver, through the deployment of a national strategy to strengthen the healthcare system and make it more resilient and responsive to the population’s current and future health needs. The pharma industry must partner with the Health Ministry in highlighting the advantages of innovation and the importance of delineating sustainable public financing for pharmaceutical expenditure and developing a pharma policy with clear milestones and evaluation indicators. This will facilitate ongoing monitoring of policy progress, enable timely corrective actions, and produce measurable outcomes.

At GSK, we firmly believe that prevention through vaccination, as one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, is a low cost and high yield investment, that should be a dominant topic on the health policy agenda, with the aim of developing a strong national action plan on life-course vaccination, especially for adults, given the rapidly aging population and the resulting pressure on health systems. Close collaboration between all stakeholders—government, experts, patients, and the industry—is imperative to achieve this. At GSK Greece we are committed to continue partnering with all stakeholders in developing a more resilient prevention system focused on vaccination, which will relieve the public health system of the financial burden caused by vaccine-preventable diseases.

These are undoubtedly exciting times. We can travel to any part of our planet in a matter of hours. We can communicate by sound and image with people thousands of kilometers away. Electric cars are a reality, and soon we will have autonomous moving vehicles. Last but not least, artificial intelligence and its applications are changing our daily lives at a rapid pace.

Our life expectancy is also increasing at a consistent rate. And one of the key factors in this evolution is biotechnology’s success in the pharmaceutical industry. HIV and many cancers, which in the past posed a serious threat to human life, are now successfully treated. The vision of personalized medicine expressed as “the right treatment for each patient at the right time” is no longer a fantasy.

It’s time to consider where we want to stand on the global stage: among the nations that encourage innovation and progress or among those that lag behind?

However, the advent of this biotechnological revolution finds us unprepared. With a complex and anachronistic healthcare system that treats innovative therapies as costs rather than life-saving solutions and puts barriers in the way of patient access while ignoring the health benefits. With an economy that is unable to take advantage of the boost that the biotechnology revolution brings to our country’s economy.

It’s time to consider where we want to stand on the global stage: among the nations that encourage innovation and progress or among those that lag behind? Creating a straightforward, predictable health care system that rewards innovation rather than punishing it is a one-way highway. Because only so will we be able to maximize the advantages for our citizens and the national economy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has focused global attention on the important role of diagnostics tools in controlling transmission and reducing outbreaks. It has also shown that health needs to remain a political priority and that multi-sectoral partnerships are required to create sustainable health systems.

Health needs to remain a political priority; multi-sectoral partnerships are required to create sustainable health systems

As the world’s population ages and the burden of chronic disease increases, so does the demand on healthcare systems. Diagnostics have a transformative potential in delivering healthcare and can play a fundamental role in improving outcomes and lowering costs. However, they receive 2% of global healthcare funds, yet support 70% of clinical decisions, which demonstrates how they are significantly undervalued. This is limiting healthcare professionals’ capacity to have access to the right diagnostic data to make informed decisions.

In May 2023, the World Health Assembly adopted the World Health Organization Resolution on strengthening diagnostics capacity. This is a historic milestone on the path to increasing global access around the world, one of Roche’s 10-year ambitions: doubling patient access to novel, high medical value diagnostics. The Resolution puts forward various policy recommendations such as the establishment of national diagnostics strategies, strengthening of laboratories and infrastructure, workforce capacity building, and the adoption of a regulatory framework that accelerates access.

Implementation of the World Health Organization Resolution in Greece offers a tremendous opportunity to strengthen our healthcare system by progressing towards increased health equity in a sustainable way. A national diagnostics strategy enabled by cross-sectoral partnerships is fundamental to shift from primarily treating diseases to preserving health by prevention to help people live longer and healthier lives.

In his book, The Dark, Lemony Snicket writes: “Laszlo is afraid of the dark. The dark is not afraid of Laszlo.” And rightly so: Why should the dark be afraid of Laszlo? In the absence of light and taking advantage of Laszlo’s fear, the dark can decide what to do around the house—hide in the closet, sit behind the shower curtain, spend time in the basement. No one holds the dark accountable for its behavior. It can run wild. You get the idea.

It is imperative that the holders of data offer us a lightbulb and a pathway to optimize the use of data to facilitate policy reform

How similar is this to how pharmaceutical policy evolves in Greece? Identical. Try replacing Laszlo with the pharmaceutical industry and the dark with, well, the dark. The utter unwillingness to publish or share data on actual population needs and spend per therapeutic area renders everyone—industry, academia, and the state itself—completely helpless in calculating needs, defining how to meet them, and measuring how well (or badly) we did in terms of achieving optimal health outcomes with finite resources. So, we stay in the dark. Afraid of what might come next, but equally unable to propose a way to resolve persistent challenges, including unsustainable mandatory returns, because we simply do not know.

So how do we solve this? We use a lightbulb (in Snicket’s story, offered by the dark itself). And the dark never bothers us again. What does the lightbulb stand for? Data. Data that we have increasingly digitized but have been unable to find a will and a way to share with each other. On the basis of a clear mandate to define what and how many therapies we need for each health challenge, how much we can pay for them, and how we can bridge any remaining gap. It is imperative that the holders of data offer us a lightbulb—and a pathway to optimize the use of data to facilitate evidence-based, results-oriented, value-driven, pharmaceutical policy reform that can sustain access of patients to the care they deserve.

The urgency to build a more resilient and sustainable healthcare system becomes clearer every day, especially with what we all endured in the past years. Such a system should be founded in science and use the resources available in the most efficient and effective way while ensuring every patient’s immediate access to optimal treatment.

Science, of course, paves the way to shielding and reinforcing our entire healthcare system

Science today offers precise solutions and responds, faster than ever, to crucial challenges. This is an everyday reality for us at AstraZeneca, as we witness it repeatedly through the results of our pipeline. Science, of course, paves the way to shielding and reinforcing our entire healthcare system. Healthcare experts, globally, have already mapped the way and are today calling all of us to join them and collaborate toward this common goal.

In Greece, more than 20 high level healthcare experts representing the government, academia, and the public and private sector collaborated to highlight weaknesses and suggest solutions under the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience (PHSSR) initiative. The PHSSR provides us with targeted recommendations that lay the foundation for developing a more sustainable and resilient system. According to these, Greece needs an overall health policy with a longterm scope that will increase predictability, a pharmaceutical policy built on the actual true needs of Greek patients, and a national strategy focused on early and targeted prevention.

If today the way towards a sustainable and more resilient national healthcare system is better known, there is still some way to go towards filling the shortfall in means, funding, and mindset. We are also running out of time, this is why all of us, all the relevant stakeholders, should collaborate and act immediately.

Prioritizing health means providing high-quality pharmaceutical care to all citizens, through an efficient and high-quality healthcare system. The innovative pharmaceutical industry plays an essential role in this process, in terms of not only providing solutions for unmet medical needs but also contributing to economic development through increased local production, job creation, and attracting investments in biopharmaceutical and clinical research.

However, it is absolutely necessary to tackle a series of challenges and address significant inadequacies of the healthcare system in Greece. These include issues such as structural reforms, enhancing public funding, rationalizing expenditure, completing the digital transformation, and further incentivizing investments. The optimal way to address these issues is to take a holistic approach in the context of a comprehensive strategic dialogue involving all stakeholders with the goal of generating consensus on a roadmap for sustainable and effective pharmaceutical policy in Greece.

Regardless of the differences between stakeholders, the necessary reforms must be implemented immediately

The innovative pharmaceutical industry has already worked on detailed, realistic proposals to contribute to this dialogue. These proposals are centered around fundamental structural reforms entailing a simple, transparent and predictable pricing framework, developing a transparent, efficient, stable and non-complex reimbursement system, creating patient-centered and fair HTA and negotiation processes, and utilizing big data, RWE, and digital health.

Regardless of the differences between stakeholders, the necessary reforms must be implemented immediately. The sooner the dialogue between all stakeholders takes place, the sooner the beneficial effects for patients, the healthcare system and the economy of Greece will be visible.

Innovative medicines lay at the heart of the therapeutic journey of patients with chronic and rare diseases, with proven benefits to their quality of life and to overall disease management. However, the current pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement framework does not favor unhindered and timely access to such treatments. For more than a decade, the public pharmaceutical budget has not been sufficient to cover patients’ needs, and the systematic underfunding of pharmaceutical expenditure is mainly addressed through the overtaxation of pharmaceutical companies. Today, more than 60% of the financial need for innovative medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases is covered by the pharma industry, creating a suffocating and unsustainable situation for the sector. Meanwhile, complex reimbursement procedures cause unnecessary delays in the access to new medicines.

A stable, efficient, and sustainable pharmaceutical policy can also help unleash pharmaceutical companies’ development and investment potential

With ever-increasing patients’ needs and with cutting-edge treatments expected in the coming years, we must urgently plan for a realistic pharmaceutical budget that will gradually converge with the real needs and must proceed with decisive pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement reforms to ensure smooth and timely access to new therapies. Digital tools, health protocols and prescription control measures can help allocate the available resources more effectively and ultimately allow the state to provide the best treatment available to every patient at the right time. A stable, efficient, and sustainable pharmaceutical policy that can serve patients’ needs longterm can also help restore the very challenging business environment in which pharmaceutical companies have been operating in recent years, unleashing their development and investment potential.

Greece’s pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors have faced significant challenges in recent years, including government actions that have inadvertently reduced patient access to medicines, making Greece the least attractive market for pharmaceutical companies in Europe, with far-reaching consequences for the healthcare system and patients’ wellbeing.

Increased collaboration between academia, the private sector, and healthcare institutions is necessary to stimulate research and innovation

One major challenge is the implementation of horizontal budget control measures without addressing the need for structural changes in healthcare expenditure. Efforts to reduce prices and increase affordability have come at the expense of medicine availability. Shortages of many medicines, withdrawal of old inexpensive drugs, and delays in accessing innovative therapies have caused distress for patients in need. Despite these challenges, some progress has been made in areas such as electronic prescribing, which improves traceability, control, and ultimately patient access to medications. However, there is a need for further development and utilization of electronic prescribing systems to more effectively control fraud and wastage in the healthcare system.

Investment in clinical R&D remains inadequate, hampering the availability of innovative therapies and limiting Greece’s contribution to medical advancements. Increased collaboration between academia, the private sector, and healthcare institutions is necessary to stimulate research and innovation. The government must prioritize structural changes in healthcare expenditure control while ensuring a balance between affordability and availability of medicines. Increased investment in R&D, along with stronger collaborations, can pave the way for the introduction of innovative therapies. Addressing healthcare disparities and promoting preventive care should be key components of the government’s plans.

Though challenges persist, Greece has the opportunity to improve its pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. By recognizing limitations and taking strategic actions, Greece can strive towards a healthcare system that truly prioritizes the health and wellbeing of its citizens.

The ever-increasing demand for diagnostic tests and imaging procedures has led to overcrowded hospitals and burned out clinicians. Medical care today is migrating outside the four walls of traditional healthcare facilities. And technology has a critical role to play in this transformation.

Can we increase access to high quality healthcare, offering relief from overcrowded hospitals? Medical devices, software and pharmaceutical diagnostics support the shift of care closer to patients and their homes. Modern technologies and applications, deploying the transformative benefits of AI, enable diagnostic procedures to take place within primary healthcare facilities with high clinical confidence. Digital applications connect clinicians with each other and with patients for consultation, sharing of best practices and guidance.

The medtech industry develops and builds innovative products to help patients be more empowered and involved in their healthcare

This shift goes further to in-home use of medical technology without a reduction in quality. Home monitoring devices enable patients to have access, through a smartphone, to the support of their healthcare provider. One example of such devices includes self-operated prenatal home ultrasound solutions, which today enable pregnant women to self-scan and request a remote assessment.

The medtech industry develops and builds innovative products to help patients be more empowered and involved in their healthcare. This focus not only increases the affordability and access to healthcare, but it allows the delivery of efficient and high quality care when it is needed most.

In 2023, Greece is still following the same crisis-era initiated policies, that have completely failed in containing spending, reducing patient co-payments, maintaining fiscal balance, or securing a sustainable business environment. Total pharma spending in 2023 will exceed 2009 levels (~€7bn) reaching ~€9bn in 2026. Patient co-payments will reach ~€1bn by 2026, whereas the government has added resources to pharma spending, albeit without improving efficiency. Data transparency and data-driven policy are absent. The industry cannot continue funding government inaction and bringing new innovations while covering almost 50% of total national spending against the government’s approximately 40%. Consequently, it is increasingly difficult to bring new innovations to Greek patients.

A comprehensive, coherent strategic reform is necessary – the priority is restoring financial balance

A comprehensive, coherent strategic reform is necessary. The priority is restoring financial balance, i.e. reducing spending to RRF legislated targets. Short term interventions such as amending pricing distortions, supporting negotiations, channeling hospital spending via the national procurement committee, and managing IFET and the uninsured citizens’ budgets could secure more than €1bn in spending reductions while maintaining the quality of healthcare. A unified pharma budget will allow pooling of resources and reduce pharma spending excess by improving system efficiency. Moreover, it will alleviate inequalities between patient groups, as patient access to effective care is at risk, given the level of paybacks in public hospitals and EOPYY pharmacies. Concurrently structural reforms—including electronic medical files, a robust protocol setting and spending monitoring system, a full-time HTA-negotiations mechanism, data transparency and availability and patient registries—will allow for an efficient pharmaceutical care system. Pharma is an important partner and ready to collaborate in finding solutions that will benefit patients in their access to current and future innovative treatments.

There is no denying the importance of health. Without good health, it can be difficult to enjoy life to the fullest and accomplish goals. Therefore, improving health and providing equitable access to high quality healthcare is essential for all.

Prioritizing health is crucial to ensuring the wellbeing and productivity of people

Science and innovation are recognized worldwide as drivers of economic and social prosperity. In order to improve healthcare in an efficient and longterm sustainable way, we need to recognize the value of innovation and resolve access challenges through novel outcome based agreements.

Making healthcare reform a political and investment priority for Greece is crucial and must include:

1. Redefining funding for drugs. At present the pharmaceutical industry pays for 7 out of 10 hospital drugs, which is not sustainable. A significant increase in the current budget is imperative in order for pharmaceutical industry companies not to be obliged to make tough decisions regarding their current and future portfolio.
2. Driving digitalization through the use of digital tools for the control of prescriptions, the implementation of health protocols, the development of prescription filters, and the introduction of electronic patient files.
3. Strengthening investments in R&D through providing incentives for attracting more clinical trials, which should be an objective.

 

Overall, prioritizing health is crucial to ensuring the wellbeing and productivity of people. By investing in healthcare systems and promoting healthy lifestyles, Greece can create a healthier population and drive economic and social development.

As Greece navigates the global healthcare revolution, the medtech industry is poised to play a pivotal role. The industry is pioneering life-saving, cost-effective technologies, underpinned by health economic principles that are not only saving lives but also driving the shift towards value-based healthcare (VBHC).

VBHC is a healthcare delivery model where providers, including hospitals and physicians, are paid based on patient health outcomes. It is a step away from the traditional fee-for-service approach, where providers are paid based on the amount of healthcare services they deliver. The focus of VBHC is patient-centricity and the idea that healthcare systems should spend more on better health outcomes rather than on services. This model aligns perfectly with Greece’s healthcare objectives, particularly in the face of finite resources and an increasing demand for improved healthcare.

It’s time to view healthcare not as a cost, but as an investment in a healthier, happier Greece

The medtech industry is at the forefront of this transformation, developing innovative technologies that are not only life-saving but also cost-effective. Moreover, the advent of disruptive technologies such as AI is further accelerating this shift. AI tools are being used to predict patient outcomes, personalize treatment plans, and improve operational efficiency. These advancements are making healthcare more predictive, personalized, and efficient, and countries, including Greece, should be ready to welcome this innovation.

In conclusion, it’s time to view healthcare not as a cost, but as an investment. An investment in innovative technologies that save lives, improve health outcomes, and are cost-effective. An investment in a healthcare system that values quality over quantity. An investment in a healthier, happier Greece.

Improving the performance of our healthcare system is not only one of the most important challenges we face but also a historic responsibility. Developing a resilient, sustainable, and patient-centric health system while ensuring access to innovative and high quality healthcare services is a key objective of the EU’s healthcare reform. Novartis welcomes the vision of an innovative life sciences ecosystem and shares the goals of faster and more equitable access to medicines for patients across Europe. To bring this potential to fruition, we need to collectively make healthcare reform a priority.

By fundamentally reimagining the way we work, we can successfully improve the performance of healthcare systems for current and future beneficiaries

We need to establish long lasting, effective partnerships between policymakers, business communities and civil society to ensure that policies are crafted thoughtfully, taking into consideration concerns from diverse groups and creating inclusive and effective solutions that bind everyone on their implementation. At Novartis, we are committed to working with all stakeholders to find sustainable solutions that will enable more patients to have access to the treatment they need.

Leadership holds a key role in providing the vision, involving key stakeholders, and ensuring accountability and transparency throughout the reform, thus protecting, and strengthening the transformational change. In addition, new media and technology minimize the gatekeeping effect and facilitate access to information, so that citizens can become active participants in the decisionmaking processes.

By fundamentally reimagining the way we work, we can successfully improve the performance of healthcare systems for current and future beneficiaries. Making this transformational change a priority for the entire community, we ensure that we are constantly striving to meet needs and help people live longer and better lives.

Healthcare reform is of strategic importance for our society, and there is a great opportunity before us to implement comprehensive changes to improve the accessibility, affordability, and quality of healthcare for patients in our country. This requires an open, collaborative process to develop significant changes that will accelerate access to innovative medicines and vaccines and foster an environment that harnesses scientific advances to meet health challenges.

Healthcare reform is about more than securing access to innovative medicines and quality healthcare for all; it can reinforce Greece’s financial development and economic growth

Healthcare reform is about more than securing access to innovative medicines and quality healthcare for all; it can reinforce Greece’s financial development and economic growth by helping to attract more investments, increasing innovation, and generating more high-quality jobs. Through the RRF, we have the unique opportunity not only to reform primary care, modernize public hospitals, redefine the state’s budget for medicines, digitalize public health, and enhance access to health services but also to bridge the investment gap, stimulate innovation, and improve future growth prospects.

The pharma industry has proven not only that it stands firmly by Greek patients and the Greek healthcare system but also that it is a strong contributor to the Greek economy. Take for example Pfizer’s investment in Thessaloniki, which started in 2020 with the establishment of the global Center for Digital Innovation, grew in 2021 with the operation of the Global Business Services and in 2022 with the Safety Surveillance and Risk Management site, and was further strengthened in 2023 with a new site for Clinical Trials and Regulatory Affairs. Today, approximately 1,000 people are working from Thessaloniki for Pfizer’s global organization.

As we look to the years ahead, we are at a critical point for healthcare in Greece. Now more than ever joint action on prevention, innovation and investment has become imperative.

In a disruptive period of continuous crisis, the cooperation of all stakeholders to formulate up-to-date effective public health policies is of utmost importance. The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most regulated markets in terms of research and development, marketing authorization, reimbursement, pricing, and distribution. The most important shortcoming is the lack of resources and financing that hinders the integration of innovative treatments into health systems and patient access. The time is ripe for positive actions to reshape the existing framework and the mindset which perceives innovation as an expenditure rather than a valuable tool of investment for longterm social and economic prosperity.

Synergy between the private and the public sector can provide critical innovative health solutions

The pharmaceutical industry acknowledges that innovation is the future of effective healthcare systems and bountifully invests in the research and development of innovative treatments. Furthermore, new digital technologies are rapidly revolutionizing healthcare thus providing wider treatment options for patients and contributing to crucial savings for the public healthcare system.

The responsibility of the pharmaceutical industry is holistic and must make a positive impact on society. The public and private sector can work together and co-shape the looming economic and social environment. The COVID-19 vaccines proved that the synergy between the private and the public sector can provide critical innovative health solutions.

We are at a decisive threshold to address the lack of financing, control consumption, advance treatment protocols, accelerate digitalization, and establish a solid framework for reimbursement. We must be insightful, and concise, with feasible proposals that build on the achievements of modern science. Then patients can enjoy seamless and prompt access to the best treatment options.

The past few years have brought unprecedented challenges that have taught us that society’s health and wellbeing depend heavily on access to innovative therapies—that we need healthcare solutions to benefit everyone and that innovating for health by investing in delivering life-saving medicines to the right patient at the right time should always be an unwavering priority.

Investment in innovative medicines offers a pathway for greater hope for patients and delivers proven health and societal value

Investment in innovative medicines offers a pathway for greater hope for patients and delivers proven health and societal value. To this end, the role of biopharmaceutical companies such as Janssen has always been and will continue to be crucial to innovating for health, creating, and driving collaboration and progress for better health outcomes. It is thus critical to recognize that strong, effective intellectual property protection systems should be supported and respected. This secures medical innovation and the development of value-based solutions benefiting patients and society. After all, access to innovative medicines means quality healthcare for all.

As a world leading innovative pharma company, we at Janssen remain committed to continued trust-based collaboration with patients’ associations, healthcare providers and institutional healthcare stakeholders. To secure these benefits for Greek patients, we strongly advocate for a transparent, predictable, and stable business environment that secures access to innovative medicines for all. This can be achieved by addressing the challenges in the Greek healthcare system by implementing three structural reforms: rationalization of current investments; prioritization of innovative medicines, including a 30% cap on industry returns; and acceleration of digitalization in healthcare. Implemented in partnership with all stakeholders, these reforms will support a sustainable and thriving healthcare ecosystem, fulfilling our promise to the community and the patients we serve to make disease a thing of the past.