Bucharest, May 4 /Agerpres/ - The Romanian drugs market advanced 21.4 pct in the first quarter of 2010 to 602.1 million euros, in an evolution supported by prescription and retail products, reports daily Ziarul financiar citing data provided by market research firm IMS Health Romania. By volume, the market inched up 1 pct to 125.7 million units. The same period of 2009 witnessed a 7 pct drop in quantitative terms to 124.4 million units, whereas by value expressed in euros, the market rose 3.3 pct to 496 million euros. Expressed in the national currency (the leu), the growth rate for medicine sales in the first three months of 2010 was lower than in the previous period of reference. Thus, over January-March 2010, the drug market was 17.3 pct higher, hitting 2.47 billion lei, whereas in the first three months of 2009 the pharma segment increased by 19.3 pct to 2.11 billion lei. "We see a strong dynamics compared to the same period last year due to a more modest performance in Q1 2009 and an adjustment of the overall market in the first three months of 2010. A similar evolution is expected next quarter, yet at a toned down growth pace. The major incertitude looms over the last two quarters of the year, when the health care budget is expected to be depleted," said general manager of IMS Health Romania Corina Ciolan. Between 1 April 2009 and March 30, 2010, the total value of the Romanian pharmaceutical market attained 9.15 billion lei (about 2.153 billion euros), rising 18.1 pct in comparison with the interval April 2009 - March 2010; of this amount, the retail segment accounted for 8 billion lei (plus 23.1 pct) and hospitals for 1.14 billion lei (-8.1 pct). Expressed in euros, the value of the local specific market stood at 2.17 billion euros, up 7.7 pct. The IMS report was carried out based on drug prices at delivery to drug stores.
Private medical services market in Romania to grow by 13% in 2010
The private medical services market in Romania is one of the fastest developing markets in Central and Eastern Europe, according to a study on Thursday made public by Companiesandmarkets.com.
This sector has made significant progress in recent years in Romania, amid improving purchase power, while the deficiencies in the public health sector also represented a driving force to raise the private sector. On the other hand, the lack of guaranteed medical services, as well as the limited competition between the public and the private sector ate the main obstacles to market growth, said the study. The study estimated that in 2010 the private medical service market in Romania will grow by about 13 percent up to 73 million British pounds (RON 336.53 million). At the same time, the medical subscriptions market might stagnate, due to reduced number of employees at companies, although the health insurance market is expected to grow relatively fast, on the background of increasing number of people choosing the private system, disappointed being with the deterioration of the quality of the public system. Source: Agerpres.
EUR 40 million investments in Bucharest hospitals
The transfer, eight months ago, of 18 Bucharest hospitals under the administration of the Bucharest City Hall, resulted in a visible improvement of the quality of medical services, following of more than EUR 40 mln made in 2009, general manager of the Bucharest Hospitals and Medical Services Administration Marius Savu said on Jan. 21. According to Savu, the financial effort led to the improvement of medical technology, the refurbishment of buildings, improvement of thermal insulation included. Marius Savu said that solving all the problems in the taken over hospitals would require about EUR 100 million. Regarding the number of patients outside the capital who received the medical services in the hospitals freshly transferred under the City Hall administration, Savu said that half of them came from rural areas. "So far, investments in these hospitals were minimal, because the central authorities focused on institutions, emergency hospitals and the rest remained somewhere behind" said Savu. He noted that Romania currently has a few hospitals that can stand on equal footing with such foreign facilities, like for instance the Foisor Hospital, equipped with state-of-the-art radiology equipment. At the time being, the Malaxa Hospital is the only medical facility in Romania to handle overweight patients. Virtually every hospital underwent improvement, depending on its specifics, like for instance the replacement of old anesthesia machines dating back to 1964 with new ones, said the ASSMB director. He also gave the example of the equipping from scratch of the Carol Davila Hospital, which was also taken over by the City Hall; at that time this was no more than a beautiful, but empty building. Currently, the hospital is functional, complete with modern equipment. Referring to the less visible aspects of investments in Bucharest hospitals, the ASSMB director said that infrastructure was reshaped, and the heating system of hospitals like Cantacuzino, Caritas and Babes was modernized. "Referring to projects in 2010, the City Hall official said that investments will focus on the accommodation part of the hospitals, and on the start of the construction of new hospitals, in a move unseen in Bucharest for 30 years (the new wings of the Carol Davila and the Coltea hospitals excepted, but here construction works have been going on for ten years now). As for new investments, Savu mentioned the construction of a new children's hospital, and the modernization of the Gomoiu hospital that should add to the services of the existing Grigore Alexandrescu and Budimex hospitals. Marius Savu added that a new hospital is about to be built on the grounds of the Colentina hospital. The third project consists of the expansion of the Foisor hospital, the hotel part of which is not well enough developed and where the patient recovery facilities are lagging behind. The fourth project is about the building of a new hospital, possibly behind the oral and maxillofacial treatment wing and which should deal with whatever means surgery of the face, neck and dental surgery. Other smaller projects refer to the attic conversion at the St. Luca Hospital to fill the needs of the geriatrics and oncology departments. The Filantropia Hospital is also subject to attic conversion works, mentioned Savu. According to other information provided by the ASSMB official, about 230,000 patients received treatment in the 18 hospitals taken over by the Capital City Hall, which are equipped with 5,000 beds and employ some 3,000 staff. Source: Agerpres.
National health card to be introduced starting 2011
The Health Ministry plans to introduce the national health card starting January 1, 2011, Minister Cseke Attila announced during a press conference held on Jan. 5. Cseke said that Romania is the only country in the European Union where the card has not been yet implemented. The card represents a means for reducing bureaucracy within the system. Citizens will no longer need certificates to prove they are insurance payers, as this document shall include the data regarding the proof of being an insured person, as well as the history of the diseases and of the treatments, the minister explained. Moreover, the card will allow the insured person to verify whether the employer paid the health insurance contribution. Cseke discussed about the need to identify a system of measures for the improvement of the insurance fund collection, given that at present there are many categories that are exempt from such payment. “There is an inconsistency within the system, as there are five million payers to the health insurance fund and over 10 million uninsured persons that benefit from services. It is necessary to analyse the possibility to allocate to the National Health Insurance Fund the amounts corresponding to the 10 million persons that belong to the special categories and do not pay for health insurance, but who benefit from health services,” Attila Cseke stated. He added that he wants to establish a health system in which the Health Insurance Office may contract with each separate insured person, the payment of the free services from which they benefit, so that the citizen knows what services are covered by health insurance. According to the minister, the conclusion of a contract between the insured person and the Health Insurance Office is sought because of the need for a minimum medical services package. Cseke Attila spoke of the clawback system, underlining that, in order to unlock the healthcare system’s financial situation, the Health Ministry will implement this type of financial mechanism. Clawback is a system through which all medication producers that sell products on the Romanian market will contribute to the financing of the public healthcare system by 5 % up to 11 % of the income resulted from the product sales. The contribution grid will be progressive and will lead to the decrease of the public financial effort as the amounts of procured medication will increase. Source: Agerpres.
