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11-06-2024

Committee Promoting the Rational Use of Medicines will prioritise safe and effective treatment of patients

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The Medicines Committee, which has been operating for several years in the area of activity of the Šiauliai Territorial Health Insurance Fund, has become a national committee by decision of the Ministry of Health and from now on it will promote rational prescription and use of medicines in favour of the patient, will carry out monitoring and make recommendations to medical institutions and pharmacies.                  

Romaldas Mačiulaitis, professor at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, nephrologist and pharmacologist, who has been elected as the chairman of the Committee Promoting the Rational Use of Medicines, pointed out at the first meeting that the Committee will aim to optimise the use of the most expensive, but not essential, medicines, promote the appropriate prescription of new innovative medicines, provide training on how to recognise adverse reactions to medicines, and promote the proper administration of antimicrobial medicines to reduce the resistance to bacteria.    

Dalia Ozolienė, Deputy Chairman of the Medicines Committee and Head of the Control Department of the Šiauliai Territorial Health Insurance Fund, noted the problems of rational prescription of antibiotics and the need to organise nationwide training for healthcare professionals. Therefore, one of the main directions of the Committee’s activities this year will be to ensure rational prescription of antimicrobial drugs in outpatient and inpatient settings.         

Considering that the inclusion of new biologic therapies for migraine in the list of reimbursable medicines increases the use of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund for reimbursement of these medicines every year, it has been decided that the Committee will also prepare recommendations for the rational treatment of migraine and establish criteria for assessing the effectiveness of the treatment of this disease.     

Next year, the Committee plans to assess whether antithrombotic agents are being rationally prescribed and used, whether arterial hypertension is being treated appropriately, and whether tranquillisers and mood-enhancing drugs are being abused. The Committee intends to involve pharmacists and increase trust in their competences in order to improve the rational prescription and use of medicines for the benefit of patients.      

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) definition, rational use of medicines is when they are prescribed according to the patient’s clinical condition and the most appropriate dose and duration of treatment, at the lowest cost to the patient and society. However, according to WHO, more than 50% of medicines worldwide are prescribed, issued or sold inappropriately, and 50% of patients use them incorrectly. This problem is also relevant in Lithuania.   

“The Committee’s strategic direction is to rationalise the use of reimbursable medicines. Therefore, we will strive to improve the qualifications of doctors, healthcare and pharmaceutical professionals, to analyse the consumption of reimbursable medicines and the effectiveness of patient treatment,” says D. Ozolienė.     

Since 2017, the Medicines Committee in Šiauliai region has been monitoring and analysing the prescription and use of reimbursable antibiotics, anti-hypertension drugs and antithrombotic agents. The Committee’s educational activities, suggestions and recommendations have helped to reduce the use of antibiotics cephalosporins in the Šiauliai region by as much as four times, and to reduce the number of antibiotic prescriptions for children by 2-3 times.

Henceforth, the Committee, which operates throughout Lithuania, will publish information about its activities, as well as scientific and informative information on rational use of medicines on the website of the health insurance funds.  

(Freepik photo)

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Last updated: 21-06-2024

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