The Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece autumn 2010

Regarding pharmaceuticals, the government implements measures yielding savings of at least EUR 2billion relative to the 2010 level, at least EUR 1 billion of which would materialise already in 2011.

−Ensure full implementation of a uniform e-prescribing system, by extending the system currently used by OAEE to all the social security funds providing health insurance;
−Define (through EOF) and publish prescription guidelines for physicians on the basis of international prescription guidelines;
Publish the complete price list for the medicines in the market, using the new pricing  Mechanism.
Apply the negative list of non-reimbursed medicines and the list of over-the-counter  medicines prepared by the EOF.
Finalise the new positive list of reimbursed medicines using the new reference price System
collect the agreed rebate from pharmaceutical companies
−the pharmacy profession, to promote more flexible opening hours and reduce minimum  profit margins (see also measures to modernise the health care system);
Pricing of medicines
Government
−Moves the responsibility of pricing medicines to EOF and all other aspects of
pharmaceutical policy to the Ministry of Health, to rationalise licensing, pricing and
reimbursement systems for medicines;
−Reduce the profit margin of pharmacies on retail prices directly to 15-20 percent, or indirectly by establishing a system of rebates for pharmacies with sales above a  designated threshold. Starting from 2012, pharmacies profit margins should be  calculated as a flat amount or flat fee combined with a small profit margin.????
Και η χαριστική βολή για τις φαρμακαποθήκες
−Reduce the profit margin of wholesale companies distributing pharmaceuticals by at
least one third, from January 2011.
Privatisation and better management of state assets
Government publishes a full inventory of commercial state-owned real-estate assets.
To modernise the health care system Government takes additional measures to promote the use of generic medicines through:
−compulsory doctors' e-prescription by active substance;
−associating a lower cost-sharing rate to generic medicines that have a significantly lower price than the reference price (lower than 60 percent of the reference price) on the basis of the  experience of other EU countries;
−setting the maximum price of generics to 60 percent of the branded medicine.


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