"Charities and medical experts alike have warned that the country's two-tier health system is failing public cancer patients. Public patients are not getting access to the same potentially life-saving cancer treatments as those being treated in private hospitals. Private patients have swift access to anti-cancer drugs approved by the European Medicines Agency. But public patients must wait on average two years to find out whether they will gain access to the same treatment."
"The HSE says many of the delays are due to the pharmaceutical companies not making applications for the drug to be covered for public patients, including the cost and effectiveness of new drugs. And the Department of Health says it is committed to providing timely access to new and innovative medicines, with 91 new cancer drugs introduced over the last five years."
Denmark authorised 36 approved medicines in an average of 134 days between 2019 and 2022, while Ireland authorised 14 medicines and took an average of 600 days. Charities and medical experts warn that a two-tier health system is leaving public cancer patients without access to the same potentially life-saving treatments available in private hospitals. Private patients gain swift access to EMA-approved anti-cancer drugs, whereas public patients wait on average two years pending HSE cost-effectiveness assessments. The HSE cites pharmaceutical companies' failure to apply for public coverage as a cause of delay. A lobby group states one in four new cancer treatments since 2020 is available in the public system, and the Department of Health reports 91 new cancer drugs introduced over the last five years. The divide is leaving public patients without powerful new drugs that could extend life or provide cures, and senior specialists are supporting a letter to the Health Minister.
#cancer-drug-access #two-tier-health-system #hse-approval-delays #pharmaceutical-industry-applications
Read at Irish Independent
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