Reimbursement of pharmaceuticals in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary - the update on reference pricing and risk sharing

Abstract

There is a limited amount of published evidence, available to the international audience, on experiences from implementation of various initiatives within the field of pharmaceutical policies of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The reference pricing, both internal and external, has been introduced in the nineties of the 20th century in all countries of the Visegrad Group, however each country has developed its own local version. Hungary has the strongest experience related to the pharmaceutical risk sharing. Due to the economic crisis, the Hungarian health care system is under extremely strong pressure to keep pharmaceutical expenditures on a low level, which could possibly conflict with the appropriate provision of drugs. There is a well justified need for a more intensive exchange of experiences related to pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement among the Visegrad Group countries - especially today, in the era of the global financial austerities.