Patients may face selection process for obtaining drug therapies

Patients may face selection process for obtaining drug therapies

The National University Hospital of Iceland (Landspítali) is grappling with a potential crisis in providing drug treatments, primarily due to insufficient funding, outdated facilities, and ongoing construction delays.

The hospital's situation has been described as deeply serious by Jakob Falur Garðarsson, CEO of Frumtoek, who has repeatedly highlighted the inadequacy of the current budget. He emphasizes that the hospital may struggle to ensure equality in drug access for all patients, with the possibility of newly diagnosed patients not receiving the same treatment as their predecessors.

The hospital's drug committee has stated in a report published on its website that Iceland will quickly fall behind other Nordic countries without additional funding for drug purchases. The committee no longer considers it feasible to approve coverage for new medications, individual payment assistance, or enroll new patients in treatments that were approved last year.

The hospital's memorandum, discussing the need for increased funding, has been the subject of discussions with the Ministry of Health. However, the outcome suggests little hope of increased funding this year. The hospital states that funding for the drug budget would need to increase by 2.078 billion ISK to pay for already adopted treatments and ensure access to new medications on par with neighbouring countries.

Garðarsson proposes that Iceland base its drug pricing on average prices in the Nordic countries instead of the lowest price. He also stresses the importance of considering unique factors such as high distribution and administrative costs in drug pricing.

The hospital's ongoing construction, which started six years ago, was originally scheduled for completion in 2023 but is now estimated to reach full operational status around 2029–2030. The delays mean that overcrowding and suboptimal treatment environments persist, exacerbating the problem of delivering timely and adequate drug therapy.

The lack of resources is already affecting patients, according to Garðarsson. He believes Iceland's small market size is not taken into account in the country's drug pricing model, partly explaining limited access to the newest and best medications.

Garðarsson urges authorities to act immediately to ensure healthcare that stands up to comparisons with Iceland's neighbours. He emphasizes the importance of ensuring equality in drug access, which may become difficult if new patients are unable to access treatments already in use.

This potential crisis underscores the urgent need for increased funding and infrastructure development to maintain the quality of healthcare services in Iceland.

[1] Source: Landspítali's website and various news articles.

1. The current budget for the National University Hospital of Iceland is inadequate, according to Jakob Falur Garðarsson, CEO of Frumtoek.
2. The hospital may struggle to ensure equality in drug access for all patients, with newly diagnosed patients potentially not receiving the same treatment as their predecessors.
3. Iceland will quickly fall behind other Nordic countries without additional funding for drug purchases, as stated in a report by the hospital's drug committee.
4. The hospital's committee no longer considers it feasible to approve coverage for new medications, individual payment assistance, or enroll new patients in treatments already approved last year.
5. The hospital states that funding for the drug budget would need to increase by 2.078 billion ISK to pay for already adopted treatments and ensure access to new medications on par with neighbouring countries.
6. Garðarsson proposes that Iceland base its drug pricing on average prices in the Nordic countries, rather than the lowest price.
7. He also stresses the importance of considering unique factors such as high distribution and administrative costs in drug pricing.
8. The ongoing construction at the hospital, which started six years ago, is now estimated to reach full operational status around 2029–2030, exacerbating the problem of delivering timely and adequate drug therapy.
9. Garðarsson believes that Iceland's small market size is not taken into account in the country's drug pricing model, partly explaining limited access to the newest and best medications.
10. He urges authorities to act immediately to ensure healthcare that stands up to comparisons with Iceland's neighbours, emphasizing the importance of ensuring equality in drug access.
11. This potential crisis underscores the urgent need for increased funding and infrastructure development to maintain the quality of healthcare services in Iceland.
12. Apart from healthcare, other areas such as health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, mental-health, therapies-and-treatments, nutrition, and personal-finance could also benefit from policy-and-legislation and finance, ensuring a holistic approach to individual lifestyle and self-development, career-development, education-and-self-development, and overall personal-growth.

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