Following a publication of the newspaper "Phileleftheros", dated 25 January 2022, the Health Insurance Organisation wishes to clarify that in 2021, the Pharmaceuticals Advisory Committee (PAC) reviewed the protocols concerning 70 innovative medicines for 15 different diseases. Within 2022, the Committee plans to review and create a further 15 protocols covering at least another 18 medicines. In addition, it is noted that only 16 requests for the inclusion of new medicines in the GMP have not yet been evaluated by the SEF. Therefore, the claim that '600 medicines for serious diseases remain outside the GHS' does not correspond to reality.
It is worth noting that the procedure and criteria for the inclusion of medicines in the SHI are in line with the practice followed by most Member States in the European Union.
It should be recalled that at this stage the SHI covers about 2100 medicines, a number much higher than the number of medicines covered by the public sector. The above number includes more than 500 innovative medicines.
The Agency assures that it is continuing at a steady pace to evaluate new innovative medicines by revising their place in existing treatment protocols and/or defining new protocols where necessary. It is clarified that this is a very laborious and time-consuming process that requires expertise and many human resources.
Finally, it is stressed that the joint objective of the Health Insurance Agency, the Ministry of Health and the Federation of Cyprus Patients' Associations remains the equal and unhindered access of beneficiaries to innovative therapies.
(B]PIO[/B]
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