Physicians and patients don’t have enough information about access to subsidized prescription drugs, while the recommendations of specialist doctors and general practitioners are not always in agreement regarding the delivery of subsidized medicines to patients. These findings were unveiled during the presentation of the study "Accessibility of Medicines through the List of Compensated Medicines" on July 19.

Stela Bivol, head of the Center for Health Policies and Analyzes (PAS Center), said that Moldova has switched to a wide range of subsidized drugs, while their costs have increased considerably. Even so, the people’s expenditures on medicines are also on the rise. The PAS Center director hopes that the results of the study will help find mechanisms to increase people's access to medicines.

"Providing medication, including subsidized drugs, to rural citizens in particular is an issue that has preoccupied decision-makers for many years," said Elena Bacalu, chairwoman of the parliamentary commission for social protection, health and family. According to her, to solve the problem of access to compensated medicines it is enough to apply the relevant international norms, which also requires taking into account the study in question.

The research also found that there are inconsistencies between different regulatory acts regarding drug subsidies, among other issues that confuse patients. For example, some physicians or pharmacists tell patients that they can benefit from a certain subsidized drug, while the family doctor has to explain that the medicine is only compensated for certain diseases.

The authors recommend the development of a complex electronic tool to track the demand path for subsidized medicines, the development of coherent, transparent and justifiable tools and guidelines for decision making bodies and experts, and the revision of the mechanism for selecting medicines for subsidies.

The study was carried out by the Center for Health Policies and Studies within the framework of the ”Striving for Greater Access to Medicines” Project, funded by the Soros-Moldova Foundation.