IV edition of „The best way to predict the future is to create it” conference series is behind us!
About the Polish Deal, National Reconstruction Plan and a Healthy Future in the group of decision-makers and experts and a Healthy Future in the group of decision-makers and experts
Several dozen panelists discussed key initiatives to strengthen the Polish health care system in Poland in the face of a pandemic and post-covid reality during the Thursday conference organized by the Kulski Foundation and the Institute for Social Policy Development. The institutional partner of the conference was the Medical Research Agency. The honorary patronage over the event was taken by the Minister of Health, the Ministry of Development, Labor and Technology, and the National Institute of Public Health of the National Institute of Hygiene – National Research Institute.
Healthy Future, Polish Deal, National Reconstruction Plan – key initiatives to strengthen the healthcare system in Poland – this was the slogan of IV edition of the conference in the series “The best way to predict the future is to create it”. This time the conference took place in the multimedia studio at the Sofitel Warsaw Victoria hotel in the hybrid format.
– When in 2019 in Washington we inaugurated our series of conferences, no one expected our lives to turn upside down at such a radical pace within 2 years. For many of us, today’s conference is also one of the first opportunities to meet in person in a wider group of friends and business partners, as well as one of the few chances for direct interaction” – during the conference opening ceremony said Małgorzata Bogusz, President of the Kulski Foundation, President of the Institute for Social Policy Development and Member of the European Economic and Social Committee for 2020-2025.
– Many of have experienced COVID-19 at quite a personal level, it opened our eyes to the constantly piling up socio-economic challenges. Paradoxically, however, a zero-one return to pre-pandemic reality seems to be a step back today. Telemedicine, digitization of public services and the practical lack of geographic barriers in communication have demonstrated that a pandemic is not only a crisis, but also an opportunity to implement reforms that, in pre-pandemic conditions, would take not so many years but rather decades. The Polish and European health care system did not face as many challenges as they do today. The initiatives of the European Commission and the growing activity of Polish public administration give hope in this regard – added Małgorzata Bogusz.
Government officials (including the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance), representatives from chief public administration bodies, scientists, clinicians, system experts, as well as pharmaceutical sector people were among the speakers and panelists.
– The ongoing pandemic has highlighted the need to effectively address the non-epidemic needs of our patients, which accumulate in the form of the so-called health debt. I sincerely hope that government programs that are currently in place, such as the Polish Deal, the National Reconstruction Plan or various types of solutions in the field of public policy of the Ministry of Health, will enable to successfully tackle the priority needs of the health care sector – with these words the Minister of Health, dr n. ekon. Adam Niedzielski addressed the conference participants in a letter read out by the president of the Medical Research Agency, dr. hab. Radosław Sierpiński.
The participants discussed the significance of the Polish Deal related to Poles’ health, possible development scenarios of the healthcare system under the National Reconstruction Plan, as well as conclusions drawn from the coronavirus pandemic and the ways to get prepared for such kind of upcoming challenges.
– There are different emotions with regard to oncology patient. Here we talk about life and the next chance introduced by new pharmacological technology, which is quite expensive sometimes. I do not want to go into these details, because I’m not the person to decide who to give and extend this chance and who to reject, saying “Unfortunately, I face a wall: nothing else can be done”. The cardiological patient is theoretically in a better situation, because his/her therapies are much cheaper today; at the same time, however, the scale of these therapies forms a huge amount of money from the state budget and I understand the dilemma of the authorities – said prof. Robert Gil during the conference, Head of Invasive Cardiology Department from Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Interior and Administration.
– On the other hand, we can clearly and easily demonstrate the effectiveness of our treatment. There is no other industry in which the treatment effectiveness – whether surgical or pharmacological – is as high as in cardiology, but the scale of these problems requires a lot of money and causes our frustration, why some of our patients, who can’t afford the use of the latest drugs on their own, are not treated optimally – added the expert.
The conference participants also substantially focused on the fight against civilization diseases and paying off the health debt generated by COVID-19, as well as on the reimbursement processes and modern drugs.
– In general, the Reimbursement Act is a good one. In relation to our predecessors, this is the best law adopted by them. There was a number of possibilities for these drug prices in Poland to be as good as possible from the payer’s perspective. Of course, there are many different problems, because it is also a matter of certain courage in allowing and bringing in the new therapies, which are extremely expensive. Here I would like to praise the Ministry of Health, which, in the last few years, has made these decisions boldly; this is emphasized by many patient circles, they are the most objective ones here – argued the Chairman of the Parliamentary Health Committee, dr. Tomasz Latos.
– But it is also the case that in the face of development, appearance of new drugs and the costs of the related healthcare financing – whatever it is – one will never keep up with the costs of these new, different therapies, At the same time one should approach everything reasonably and check the effectiveness of these therapies. Professor Łukasz Szumowski also spoke about this issue during the conference – added dr. Tomasz Latos.
Decision-makers and experts also discussed the health safety of Poles and the development strategy of the healthcare system.
Full report from the conference with a video is coming soon!