“It's a return to the Soviet times of corruption” - Oleg Klimov on the proposals for drug quotas

Amendments to the draft law No. 11493 on quotas for the supply of medicines, including critical ones, such as insulin, vaccines and antibiotics, will return Ukrainians to the terrible Soviet times of corruption. This was stated by Oleh Klimov, Chairman of the Board of the All-Ukrainian Chamber of Pharmacy, member of the Board of the International Federation of Pharmacists, member of the American Pharmacists Association, in an interview with UNN.

"As a pharmacist with 50 years of experience, we remember the experience of drug quotas in Soviet times. We know what quota means: Petro sat and counted who had brought in what and how much to prescribe a quota. In this way, we are returning to the terrible Soviet times of corruption," Klimov said.

The expert emphasized that the current drug supply system in Ukraine is devoid of such practices, and the main problem is not the availability of medicines, but the financial burden on patients.

"Today, there is no problem to buy medicines, there is a problem in a person, because the state does not support him or her, and I, as a patient, have to bear all the costs 100%. In the European Union, the state covers part of the costs. For 30 years, we have not created a system of compulsory health insurance. And this is a tool that reduces the burden on the patient," he said.

Klimov emphasized that the pharmaceutical community supports the idea of adapting the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market to European legislation, but this requires the participation of all actors - the state, manufacturer, distributor, pharmacy and the public.

In late November, the Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading the draft law No. 11493, which was intended to simplify the registration of medicines for centralized procurement. However, the document may be subject to amendments before the second reading, which have caused a wide response in the pharmaceutical community. The main risks that experts point out are increased bureaucracy, complicated supply of medicines and a negative impact on the availability of medicines for citizens.