OREANDA-NEWS. February 19, 2014. The Expert Council for Developing Competition in the Social Sphere and Heath Care at the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) discussed the issues of implementing health care technology assessment in the Russian Federation.

Representatives of the Ministry of Health Care of the Russian Federation, the Federal Service on Surveillance in Health Care (Roszdravnadzor), the Ministry of Economic Development, the State Duma Committee on Health Care, medical, research and pharmaceutical organizations, legal firms, business and non-governmental organizations, including OPORA RUSSIA, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and the Association of Russian Pharmaceutical Producers.

The meeting started with a presentation by a senior research advisor of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence of the UK (NICE), Elizaveta Osipenko, who informed the Expert Council about the National Health Care Service in the UK, NICE important principles and procedures, in particular, health care technology assessment, and NICE cooperation projects with other countries. Participants learned that health care technology is aimed at assessing only new products (medicines or devices) It is an evidence-based method of efficient distribution of health care resources, guided by the principles of scientific evidence, transparency and independence, possibilities of appeals, interchangeability, implementation support and timeliness. The senior research advisor emphasized that the quality of medicines is not a subject of NICE research; NICE studies only economic efficiency of a new medicine (the ratio of the molecule costs to the difference of the health benefits of these molecules).

The second speaker was the Chairman of the Expert Council on Health Care, at the Social Policy Committee of the Federation Council, the Director of the Centre on Health Care Technology Assessment of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Vitaly Omelyanovsky. His report focused on the current models of health care technology assessment in the Russian Federation.

At the outset of his presentation, the President of Pharmaeconomic Research Society, Deputy Chairman of Formulary Committee of Russian Academy of Medical Science, Pavel Vorobyov, made a statement on a conflict of interests, which was rewarded by applauses from the audience. Pavel Vorobyov talked about a history of health care technology assessment in Russia and put forward his vision of the prospects of its development.

The Head of the sector for coordination of scientific research and information of the National Research Institute of Public Health, Russian Academy of Medical Science, Dmitry Meshkov analyzed health care technology assessment as a mechanism for expanding competition in the health care sector. He outlined the obstacles to implementing health care technology assessment and development competition in Russia.

Rosa Yagudina, the Head of the Department of Medicine Provision and Pharmaeconomics, of the First Moscow State Medical University named after Sechenov, gave a detailed account of a draft algorithm of compiling the lists of medicines subject to compensation by the state based on pharmaeconomic assessment.

The Director of the Centre for Social Economy, David Melik-Guseinov, discussed system-wide problems of national health care sector and pointed out that so far in Russia health care technology assessment remains a lobbying tool and an element of marketing for pharmaceutical companies.

Other speakers included the Director of the Department for Provision of Medicines and Regulation of Medical Products Circulation, of the Ministry of Health Care, Elena Maximkina; the ex-Head of Roszdravnadzor, Elena Telnova; the Head of the Department for Clinical Pharmacology and Evidence-Based Medicine, First St Petersburg State Medical University named after Pavlov, Alexei Kolbin; a chief researcher of the laboratory for health care technology assessment of the Institute of Applied Economic Research, the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Lyudmila Maksimova; and the Board Chairman of “Medical-Pharmaceutical Projects. XXI Century” Non-Profit Partnership; Zakhar Golant.

In conclusion, the Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade, Timophei Nizhegorodtsev, who chaired the meeting, thanked the speakers and pointed out that NICE uses clear and transparent procedures that can also be adopted in Russia. However, taking into account the level of health care development in Russia, it would require enormous efforts. Timophei Nizhegorodtsev said that FAS plans to continue discussing the issue by the Expert Council in order to draft the relevant proposals.