Alexandru Rogobete complains about discontinuities in oncology patients' access to reimbursed medicines

Former Minister of Health Alexandru Rogobete states that oncology patients are having difficulty finding reimbursed medicines that were included on the list more than four months ago and complains about discontinuities in treatment. According to him, doctors are forced to postpone or modify therapeutic regimens.

"Oncology patients cannot find the reimbursed medicines that we included on the list more than four months ago! I do not want to believe that the reasons for the 33 new medicines and 19 extensions of therapeutic indications are, again, related to "reform'", Alexandru Rogobete wrote on Facebook. The former minister claims that, in the case of oncology medicines, "there is no room for political spectacle", considering that the situation requires responsibility and immediate solutions. According to Rogobete, patients cannot find their treatments, discontinuities occur, and doctors are forced to postpone or modify therapeutic regimens. "Chemotherapy is not a number in a table. It is an extra chance at a normal life. It is a fight between the patient and the disease, between life and death. Whose side are we on? Let's ignore the political moment, the fight between the opposition and power. Put the drugs on the market, not because Rogobete says so, but because it is natural and humane," the former Minister of Health demanded.

• Criticism regarding the cost of innovative drugs

Alexandru Rogobete also criticizes the approach according to which access to innovative drugs could be limited due to high costs. "Do you know why? Because investing in quality treatments means long-term savings. It means fewer hospitalizations and readmissions, reduced complications, moderate interventions and yes, a quantifiable increase in the quality of life for patients," he said. The former minister argues that the evaluation of health policies should not be limited to the level of immediate spending, but should also take into account the longer-term consequences. "Stop looking at Health only through the picture of today's spending. Savings made today, without a serious assessment of the consequences, can cost us much more tomorrow, in a few months or years," Rogobete also declared.